The AP reported over one million Ford pickup trucks are involved in a recall over concerns that metal straps securing the trucks’ gas tanks “can rust, allowing them to fall, rupture and catch fire,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday on its website. The recall includes some Ford F-150s between model years 1997 and 2004 and F-250s between model years 1997 and 1999. Also “affected are Lincoln Blackwood pickups from the 2002 and 2003 model years.” Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood “said the company will notify owners in September to bring their trucks to dealers who will replace the straps with new ones that are coated to resist corrosion.”
The Chicago Tribune reported the 1.1 million vehicle recall is “because in certain cold-weather states, road chemicals can corrode the fuel tank straps.” It adds, “The recall will begin on or around Sept. 12 in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.”
These states utilize large amounts of salt and other chemicals on their roads during the winter, the Wall Street Journal reported in its “Drivers’ Seat” blog. The NHTSA initiated an investigation into the gas tank issue a year ago.
AFP reported, the NHTSA’s recall announcement said “prolonged exposure to road deicing chemicals may cause severe corrosion of the fuel tank straps which secure the tank to the vehicle.” Additionally, about “120,000 trucks in Canada would be affected by the recall, Ford said.”
MarketWatch reported nearly 97 percent of complaints have come from trucks sold or driven in highly-corrosive parts of the country.
Reuters reported identifying high-corrosive areas as a potential problem narrowed the recall from 2.7 million to 1.2 million. Before Ford installs permanent fixes, dealers can put in a cable to support the existing strap, the NHTSA said. It added that putting in a steel strap can serve as a permanent repair. Ford has reported three fires and an injury related to the defect.
From the American Association for Justice news release.
