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Ford recalls 591,177 vehicles in four separate campaigns

Ford is issuing recalls for a total of 591,177 vehicles worldwide, in four separate campaigns. The announcement comes just days after the discovery of door-latch problems in 390,000 of the automaker's cars. The largest of these new recalls covers 518,313 examples of the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ from the 2013-2015 model years, plus the 2015 Edge. Of these, 487,301 of are in the US and 31,012 are in Canada. For vehicles in cold-weather areas, the bolts that hold the steering gear motor can corrode and fracture. If this happens, it could cause the power steering to fail, but manual control would be retained. There are no reported accidents or injuries from this problem. To fix things, dealers will replace the bolts and seal them. The next campaign covers 50,157 examples of the 2014 Focus, Edge, Escape, and Transit Connect, plus the Fiesta from 2014 and 2015. Of these, 45,505 are in the US, 4,618 in Canada, and 34 in Mexico. All of them exhibit a problem with the fuel pump where the nickel plating can cause the part to seize and the engine to stall, if this occurs. (All of which sounds like recent problems with Nissan and BMW models.) According to Ford, there is one allegation of an accident from this problem. Dealers will replace the fuel delivery module to fix the problem. Ford is also recalling 22,616 units of the 2015 Lincoln MKZ because when the headlights are on, the parking lamps are brighter than they are allowed to be. The light could affect the vision of other drivers. This campaign includes 21,435 of them in the US, 1,066 in Canada and 115 in Mexico. There are no accidents or injuries from the issue, but Ford is updating the software to dim the lights on these sedans. Finally, Ford has a safety campaign for 91 examples of the 2015 F-150 because an underbody heat shield might not be properly installed or not present at all, which can be a fire risk. There are no reports of any actual accidents or fires, though. The affected pickups will have the parts replaced or added, as necessary after a dealer inspection. To see the specific build dates for the models affected by each of these campaigns, you can read about them in the press release below. Related Video: FORD ISSUES FOUR SAFETY RECALLS IN NORTH AMERICA Ford Motor Company is issuing four safety recalls in North America. One accident and no injuries are attributed to these conditions.

Ford fights back against patent trolls

Some people are just awful. Some organizations are just as awful. And when those people join those organizations, we get stories like this one, where Ford has spent the past several years combatting so-called patent trolls. According to Automotive News, these malicious organizations have filed over a dozen lawsuits against the company since 2012. They work by purchasing patents, only to later accuse companies of misusing intellectual property, despite the fact that the so-called patent assertion companies never actually, you know, do anything with said intellectual property. AN reports that both Hyundai and Toyota have been victimized by these companies, with the former forced to pay $11.5 million to a company called Clear With Computers. Toyota, meanwhile, settled with Paice LLC, over its hybrid tech. The world's largest automaker agreed to pay $5 million, on top of $98 for every hybrid it sold (if the terms of the deal included each of the roughly 1.5 million hybrids Toyota sold since 2000, the company would have owed $147 million). Including the previous couple of examples, AN reports 107 suits were filed against automakers last year alone. But Ford is taking action to prevent further troubles... kind of. The company has signed on with a firm called RPX, in what sounds strangely like a protection racket. Automakers like Ford pay RPX around $1.5 million each year for access to its catalog of patents, which it spent nearly $1 billion building. "We take the protection and licensing of patented innovations very seriously," Ford told AN via email. "And as many smart businesses are doing, we are taking proactive steps to protect against those seeking patent infringement litigation." What are your thoughts on this? Should this patent business be better managed? Is it reasonable that companies purchase patents only to file suit against the companies that build actual products? Have your say in Comments.

Ford announces free brake pad offer if customers stop by dealers

These days, when you buy a new car, it's not unreasonable to expect a certain period of free maintenance to come along as well. Sometimes this is through the life of the warranty, in other cases a little less. But Ford Motor Company is going beyond those deals for at least one part of its cars. As of now, if you buy a set of Motorcraft brake pads for a Ford, Lincoln or Mercury model, you get free replacements for as long as you own the vehicle. The offer is good at Ford or Lincoln dealers and Quick Lane Tire & Auto Centers.
"We will replace the pads for as long as you own the vehicle," said Elizabeth Weigandt to Autoblog. She did clarify that the Motorcraft pads are generally for models from the '90s or newer. Also, to take advantage of this program, a person must return to the same dealer each time to get the free parts.
Of course, Ford isn't just handing out brake pads to anyone who walks by; there are certain stipulations. First, the components have to be worn down to less than three millimeters to be eligible, and the buyer still has to pay for the labor to install them. If the model is used as a fleet vehicle for commercial purposes like as a taxi or limousine, this offer also doesn't apply; the same thing for racecars. On the plus side, if you recently bought a set of pads from one of the participating locations, you're still in luck. The deal covers parts purchased as of July 1.