Yet Another Rollaway Recall: Ford Calls Back 550,000 Vehicles for Driverless Journeys
Automatic transmissions that shift into park but don’t actually end up in park are one of the greatest automotive sourges of our time. Of all automakers, Fiat Chrysler and Ford seem to have the worst luck with this.
On Wednesday, Ford Motor Company announced a recall of roughly 550,000 Fusions and Escapes to prevent the vehicles from getting loose, though some wonder why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration didn’t step in earlier to force the recall.
The affected models are 2013-2016 Fusions and 2013-2014 Escapes built at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant and Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant.
According to Ford, the bushing that connects the shift cable to the transmission can fail, leading to a sudden discrepancy between the gear you’ve just selected and the gear the vehicle is actually in. The potential consequences are fairly obvious.
The recall covers some 549,401 vehicles in North America, of which 504,182 were sold in the United States and federalized territories, 36,887 in Canada, and 8,332 in Mexico.
While Ford says no accidents or injuries stem from this problem, a report in Forbes points to years of complaints and several injuries. The publication uncovered 30 similar incidents involving the affected models,including one in 2014 where a woman was spun around by her vehicle’s door as it rolled away from her as she was exiting. The woman, whose foot was run over, claims she had placed the vehicle in park. All told, the incidents resulted in three injuries.
Why the NHTSA didn’t initiate an investigation isn’t known. Ford claims it became aware of the problem via “normal processes,” including field data.
While the affected Fusions came equipped with a regular gearshift lever, subsequent Fusions arrived with a potentially confusing rotary dial shifter that led to rollaway incidents when fielded by other automakers. Ford’s design, however, incorporated a “Return to Park” safety feature that activates whenever the engine is turned off while the vehicle isn’t in park.
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"According to Ford, the bushing that connects the shift cable to the transmission can fail, leading to a sudden discrepancy between the gear you’ve just selected and the gear the vehicle is actually in. The potential consequences are fairly obvious." Hmmmmm... a bushing. Made in China?
Ford has a systemic QC crisis on its hands. This is backed up by credible statistical compilation. There are, and this is not an exaggerated claim, at least 12 people (more likely it’s’as high as 18-20) that I’ve told not to purchase or lease Ford or Lincoln vehicles over the last 10’years or so, up to the past 6 months. All but maybe 3 of them that did have had more problems with their Ford or Lincolns than any vehicles they’ve ever owned, hand serious problems at that. They’ve also cursed their dealerships and Ford/Lincoln corporate, for being awful in terms of a complete lack of professionalism and customer service. None of these people purchased the F-Series. It’s not like pickup truck buyers to solicit buying advice, and they are the most brand-loyal demographic of all. Ford makes hot garbage, and it’s a systemic, process-wide issue now with their in-house facilities and in terms of their suppliers. They have a true, real reliability crisis on their hands, and their dealerships and Ford corporate do little to assuage the pain.