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Watch as an out-of-control car demolishes gas pump

A Baltimore area man was fighting for his life Tuesday after crashing his car into a gas station. According to WBAL, the unidentified 64-year-old lost control of his vehicle for unknown reasons around 4:55 a.m. May 1 in Parkville, Md. The 2007 Mercury Milan careened downhill, ramped over a curb, and smashed full-speed into a gas station pump. The car then flipped and came to rest against one of the station's canopy support pillars. Don Karbowniczek, owner of a service station across the street, told WBAL he was shocked there wasn't more damage. It's also surprising that the car even made it to the pumps, as it had to thread past a coin-op vacuum machine, the station's sign, a utility pole, and a traffic light pole. "It came right through, took some of our bushes out, just trimmed them for us, and how it got through and flip the way it did, I don't know. From what I see on the marks, it had to go airborne and just come down on the pump," Karbowniczek said. Thankfully there was no fire or explosion. Gas pumps have shear valves - safety devices that immediately cut the flow of gasoline when a pump is damaged. The driver was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, and was in critical condition. Police theorized the driver may have become stricken with a health issue when he lost control. Related Video: News Source: WBAL Auto News Mercury maryland gas station

Ford recalls 382k vehicles across six campaigns

Ford needs to repair a total of 381,633 vehicles in North America across six newly announced campaigns, including five safety recalls and one compliance recall. By far the largest of these campaigns covers the 342,271 examples of the 1998-2003 Windstar to double check an earlier recall repair. Among these, 283,413 are in the US and 58,858 are in Canada. The combination of corrosion and stress can cause cracks in the rear axle and eventually lead to the part to snap completely. The company reports a small number of accidents might be connected to this, but there are no injuries. The minivans were recalled for this issue back in 2010, and it was investigated by NHTSA. According to Ford's latest announcement, the reinforcement brackets on some of these models might not have been installed correctly. This time, dealers will perform an inspection. Minivans with incorrectly installed brackets will get a new rear axle. The rest of the owners will be offered a deal to replace the part at a reduced cost. The next largest campaign covers 36,857 examples of the 2015 F-150 to fix a problem with the adaptive cruise control. Specifically, there are 33,481 affected trucks in the US, and 3,376 in Canada. According to Ford, "when passing a large, highly reflective truck" the radar in the system can misidentify a semi as being in the same lane as the pickup. The collision warning system would then activate, slowing the F-150. There's one report of an accident with this happening but no injuries. The fix is simply an update to the adaptive cruise control module software. Ford also has a recall for 1,477 examples of its 2016 F-53 and F-59 stripped chassis models, and they're all located in the US. A manufacturing issue might allow the trucks to shift into reverse without the driver first applying the brakes. There are no reports of any accidents from this, though. To repair the problem, the models get a new transmission shift control bracket and an adjustment to the shift cable. The Blue Oval's safety compliance recall covers 708 examples of the 2016 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ, including 658 of them in the US, 28 in Canada, and 22 in Mexico. On these models, a manufacturing problem with the fuel tank could allow it to crack in a crash, which isn't allowed under federal rules. There are no reports of accidents, injuries or fires. The fix will be a new fuel tank for all of them. The company is also repairing 251 units of the 2015 Taurus and Lincoln MKS, plus the 2016 Explorer.

NHTSA investigating Ford's solution to May 2014 power steering recall

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating a complaint that Ford's response to a May 2014 recall of the 2008 to 2011 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner doesn't quite go far enough to solve a troubling power-steering problem. Roughly a year ago, Ford recalled nearly a million vehicles after it was found that a problem with the torque sensor's communication with the power steering control module could cut steering assistance for drivers. While manual steering would still be available, the problem was enough to ask drivers to report in to have the PSCM inspected, and if necessary, replaced (along with the torque sensor, or in dramatic cases, the entire steering column). That would only happen, though, if trouble codes were being thrown. If there weren't any problems, dealers were told to simply update the PSCM's software so that any issues between it and the torque sensor would simply throw a visual and audio warning – power steering would still be maintained. The petitioner claimed that following the recall work, he still experienced a problem with the torque sensor. According to NHTSA, a claim was made that Ford didn't go far enough in its solution to the problem, and that "the software update itself may in fact cause further issues with the affected vehicle's power steering, causing it to fail, and ultimately requiring replacement of the torque sensor or entire steering column." The petition was filed in early February and is now officially being looked into by NHTSA.