Photo: Ford
Ford announced on Wednesday one of its biggest recalls of the year, involving over half a million cars manufactured from 2013 to 2016.
The reason for the recall is the shifter cable bushing fitted on select Fusion and Escape vehicles produced in the mentioned period. These bushings may detach from the transmission, allowing it to be in a gear state different than the gear shift position selected by the driver.
In essence, the fault may cause the driver to believe the car is in Park, for instance, when in fact that is not the case. Since the transmission itself doesn’t know that, it will not notify the driver of the problem. Although not confirmed as such by Ford, there have been reports of cars rolling away on their own.
“If the parking brake is not applied, a degraded shifter cable bushing that detaches from the transmission could result in unintended vehicle movement, increasing the risk of injury or crash,” said the carmaker, adding that to date it is not aware of accidents or injuries related to this condition.
As per the recall notice, there are 549,401 vehicles with this problem in North America, 504,182 of which in the United States and federalized territories. They will all be sent to the dealerships to have the shifter cable bushing replaced at no cost to the customer.
Below is the list of models affected by the issue and their manufacturing date and location.
- 2014 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant between June 18, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2013
- 2014-16 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant between June 2, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015
- 2013-14 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant between May 15, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2013
- 2014-16 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant between June 2, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015
- 2013-14 Ford Escape vehicles built at Louisville Assembly Plant between May 15, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2013
In essence, the fault may cause the driver to believe the car is in Park, for instance, when in fact that is not the case. Since the transmission itself doesn’t know that, it will not notify the driver of the problem. Although not confirmed as such by Ford, there have been reports of cars rolling away on their own.
“If the parking brake is not applied, a degraded shifter cable bushing that detaches from the transmission could result in unintended vehicle movement, increasing the risk of injury or crash,” said the carmaker, adding that to date it is not aware of accidents or injuries related to this condition.
As per the recall notice, there are 549,401 vehicles with this problem in North America, 504,182 of which in the United States and federalized territories. They will all be sent to the dealerships to have the shifter cable bushing replaced at no cost to the customer.
Below is the list of models affected by the issue and their manufacturing date and location.
- 2014 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant between June 18, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2013
- 2014-16 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Flat Rock Assembly Plant between June 2, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015
- 2013-14 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant between May 15, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2013
- 2014-16 Ford Fusion vehicles built at Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant between June 2, 2014 and Aug. 31, 2015
- 2013-14 Ford Escape vehicles built at Louisville Assembly Plant between May 15, 2013 and Sept. 15, 2013
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