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Ford expands air bag recall nationwide

Ford Motor Co. has agreed to government demands to expand a driver's side air bag inflator recall to the entire U.S. The move announced Thursday adds 447,000 Ford vehicles to the list of those recalled due to driver's inflators made by Japan's Takata Corp. The inflators can explode with too much force, spewing shrapnel into drivers and passengers. Ford's action puts pressure on BMW and Chrysler, the only two automakers that haven't agreed to national recalls. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made the demand of five automakers, saying the inflators are dangerous. Honda and Mazda already took their recalls national. Previously the recalls were limited to high-humidity states mainly along the Gulf Coast. The Ford national recall covers certain 2005 to 2008 Mustangs and 2005 and 2006 GT sports cars. The company also announced it would recall the same cars in Canada, Mexico and a few other countries. Thursday's announcement brings to just over 502,000 the number of Ford vehicles under recall for Takata driver's side air bags. The company said it knows of one accident and injury from the problems, in a 2007 Mustang in North Carolina. Dealers will replace the inflators at no cost to customers. Last month, NHTSA demanded that Takata and the five automakers recall driver's inflators across the nation.Takata and Chrysler have refused and could face legal action. BMW says it's still evaluating the demand. Takata hired the New York public relations firm Sard Verbinnen & Co. and took out full-page advertisements Thursday in newspapers including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and three German publications. The ads, featuring a letter from Chairman and CEO Shigehisa Takata, said the company will work with NHTSA and automakers to expand the recalls by increasing production capacity for replacement air bags. The company said it's exploring whether other companies' air bags can be used in replacement kits, and it's increasing testing to find the exact cause of the problems. "Takata will work in unison with automakers to advance our common goal of putting the safety of customers first," the letter said. But in documents filed with NHTSA, Takata refused to do a national recall, saying it's not supported by testing data. The company also said NHTSA didn't have the authority to order a parts supplier to do a recall, and that only automakers can conduct them.

Ford dinged by OSHA for asbestos at Buffalo plant

Ford has come under fire from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for violations regarding asbestos exposure in a company metal stamping plant in Buffalo, NY. OSHA has cited Ford for eight violations in total, according to an Automotive News report, and faces fines of up to $41,800. 537 workers are employed at the stamping facility.
The violations include a pipefitter at the facility being exposed to asbestos-containing material while working on a steam line, other workers exposed to the material without respiratory protection and work areas that were not designed to limited the number of workers in contact with asbestos. Further, areas in which asbestos was present were not properly restricted, and levels of asbestos in the air were not monitored.
According to an unnamed Ford spokesperson in the AN report, the company feels that the OSHA citation is erroneous saying, "We have fully cooperated with the local OSHA officials and we don't believe the citations are warranted." Ford also maintains that it will work with the authorities to resolve the issue.

Ford calling in 28k Edge crossovers over fuel line leak

A problem with the fuel line on certain examples of the Ford Edge has prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a recall. The issue revolves around the metal housing on the fuel line pulse damper, which was apparently improperly manufactured in the first place and is prone to crack in certain circumstances, leading to a fuel leak. And as we all know, a fuel leak is not a good thing.
The problem affects model year 2012 and 2013 Edge crossovers equipped with the 2.0-liter engine and manufactured between September 2, 2010 and April 25, 2013 - a total of 27,933 units. Although the Lincoln MKX is closely related to the Edge, since it isn't offered with the same engine (to which the problem is related), the recall does not include the premium-badged version. See the recall notice below for further details.