A few Ford F-150’s could hit the brakes when they’re not supposed to, possibly causing an accident, the manufacturer said Wednesday. The bracket was created to mitigate problems if the axle failed.
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The problem will only occur when an F-150 is in what’s called “adaptive cruise control” mode, which will apply the brakes if it detects an obstacle.
Next in line are the Ford F-150 pickup trucks.
The company said that when passing a large truck, the radar could incorrectly determine that it’s in the F-150’s travel lane when it is not. That can trigger warnings and illuminate the brake lights. Ford said it knows of “a small number of accidents that might be connected to this issue but no injuries”.
Affected vehicles include certain 2001-2008 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner vehicles with remanufactured transmissions that were built June 11, 2015 through July 5, 2015. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also investigating complaints about the automatic braking system in the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Ford just issued five safety recalls and one compliance recall. The vehicles are being recalled to inspect a fix from a previous safety recall related to the installation of a rear axle reinforcement bracket. They were previously recalled to reinforce the rear axles which could have had brackets incorrectly installed, the company said.
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Ford says it has a report of one crash caused by the problem but no injuries. Lastly the Ford F-53 and F-59 for 2016 are also in the recall list. In these vehicles, the fuel tank might not have been manufactured properly and could crack in a crash, which is a compliance issue with FMVSS 301 regarding fuel system integrity.
