Thursday, May 26, 2016

Ford recalls 2013-14 F-150 pickups due to faulty brakes.

News outlets report that Ford is recalling 2013-14 F-150 pickups with 3.5-liter V-6 engines due to a fluid leak in the brake master cylinder that may cause the front brakes to malfunction. The New York Times (5/25, Jensen, Subscription Publication, 14.18M) reports that the Ford said it was aware of nine accidents related to the recall but no injuries. The Times writes that Ford said that the loss of too much fluid would prompt a warning, but more than 120 pickup owners told the NHTSA that they did not receive any warning. The Times mentions that the NHTSA had been investigating recalls related to the brakes since February, including “complaints of one brake failure on a 2015 and another on 2016 model F-150, neither of which is covered by the recall.” Automotive News (5/25, Bunkley, 189K) reports that initially NHTSA looked into 33 complaints However, since February, 74 more complaints about the 2013 and 2014 F-150 pickups were posted on the NHTSA website.
        The Los Angeles Times (5/25, Fleming, 4.12M) adds that the recalls includes “225,012 trucks sold in the U.S., 43,682 sold in Canada and 402 sold in Mexico.” The Times adds that this recall marks Ford’s 14th recall this year.
        The AP (5/25) explains that dealers will replace the pickup’s brake master cylinder, as well as the brake booster if there is a leak. The AP adds that Ford “says the problem is not related to an investigation by federal safety regulators into power brake assist failures in F-150 pickups.” The NHTSA closed that investigation earlier this month.

        The Detroit Free Press (5/25, Gardner, 1.03M), Reuters (5/25), the Car Connection (5/25, Add, 169K), the WXYZ-TV Detroit (5/25, 153K) website, the WWJ-TV Detroit (5/25, 34K) website, the WDIV-TV Detroit (5/25, Haddad, 239K) website, and the WRTV-TV Indianapolis (5/25, Hider, 107K) website. 

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