After the Ford Motor Company recalled about 1.1 million vehicles this year for power steering failures, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the same problem on another 938,000 cars. The safety agency is investigating whether a recall is necessary on Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ sedans from the 2010-12 model years and Mercury Milan sedans from the 2010 and 2011 model years, according to a report posted Monday on the agency’s website.  N.H.T.S.A. says it has received 508 complaints from owners, including four reports of accidents that occurred when the power steering assist suddenly failed, requiring “increased steering efforts that contributed to a loss of control and crash.” No injuries were noted. The complaints go back to 2010 and include many reports of close calls.“As the vehicle was attempted to be turned right into driveway the power steering completely failed and the driver nearly hit another vehicle,” one owner wrote the safety agency in August 2013. “Every bit of the 120-pound female driver’s strength was needed to manually steer the vehicle into the parking lot.” The owner also said that the repair cost $1,600. Last year, Ford recalled nearly 1.2 million vehicles in the United States. So far this year, Ford has recalled about 3.9 million vehicles. That includes two recalls in May for sudden power steering assist failures. The largest action, which covered about 915,000 Ford Escape and... |
….
Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters). For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
