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Ford announces four recalls, 1.4M vehicles affected

Ford is taking a bit of the spotlight away from General Motors, announcing a major group of recall campaigns, covering a total of 1.4 million vehicles built between 2006 and 2013.
Let's start with the big one, which covers the Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner and, according to The Detroit News, Ford-built Mazda Tribute CUVs. 915,216 vehicles are covered, all of which were built in model years 2008 to 2011. 736,000 vehicles are in the US, while Canada then Mexico make up the vast majority of the remainder. The problem is due to an issue with the torque sensor in the steering column, which could lead to sudden power steering failure. Manual steering would still be available, though.
"Dealers will perform one of three service fixes, depending upon what diagnostic codes are shown when the vehicle is taken to the dealer," Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker wrote to Autoblog in an email. "They will either update software for the power steering control module and the instrument cluster module; replace the torque sensor; or replace the steering column, which includes upgraded power steering control module software."

Ford recalls Explorer and Lincoln MKC for fire hazard

The Basics: Ford will recall 5,536 examples of the 2016 Explorer and 2015-2016 Lincoln MKC. The Explorers have build dates between October 20, 2014, and January 28, 2016, at the Chicago Assembly Plant. The MKCs are from between November 25, 2013, and January 25, 2016, at the Louisville Assembly Plant. In total, there are 3,129 total affected examples of the 2015-2016 Lincoln MKC and 2,407 examples of the 2016 Ford Explorer. Of these, 1,543 are in the US and 3,993 are in Canada. The Problem: The combination of the engine block design and the block heater in these vehicles can cause the part to overheat when plugged in. Injuries/Deaths: None reported, but there are two cases of underhood fires in Canada. If you own one: Ford will begin notifying owners during the week of May 16, company spokesperson John Cangany tells Autoblog. Related Video: Ford issues safety recall for certain 2015-2016 Lincoln MKC and 2016 Ford Explorer vehicles to replace engine block heaters Ford is issuing a safety recall for approximately 5,500 2015-2016 Lincoln MKC and 2016 Ford Explorer vehicles to remove the heaters and replace them with an updated design. The engine block design, coupled with the particular block heater installed in these vehicles, causes the unit to be susceptible to overheating when the vehicle is parked and the block heater is plugged in –increasing the risk of an underhood fire. Ford is aware of two reports of underhood fires in Canada, but is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this issue. Affected vehicles include certain 2015-2016 Lincoln MKC vehicles built at Louisville Assembly Plant, Nov. 25, 2013 through Jan. 25, 2016 and certain 2016 Ford Explorer vehicles built at Chicago Assembly Plant, Oct. 20, 2014 through Jan. 28, 2016. There are 5,536 vehicles affected by the issue, including 3,129 2015-2016 Lincoln MKC and 2,407 2016 Ford Explorer vehicles, with 1,543 of the affected vehicles in the United States and federalized territories and 3,993 in Canada. Dealers will remove and replace the engine block heater with an updated design and, if needed, replace the cord at no cost to the customer.

Ford Smart Mobility plan moves forward with P2P car sharing

Back when 2015 was still just days old, Ford Motor Company outlined its Smart Mobility plan at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It consisted of 25 global experiments meant to test out various ideas, with a stated goal of learning how to better address future transportation needs and direct the company's efforts. Six months later, Ford is ready to take what it's learned and move to the next phase. During the keynote address at the 5th annual Further with Ford future trends event – this year held, significantly, in Palo Alto, California – CEO Mark Fields announced Smart Mobility is moving from experimentation to implementation. Mostly. On the more concrete action side of things, Ford Credit Company is working with partners in the US and London, England on a pilot peer-to-peer car-sharing program. Stateside, this will see it team up with Getaround, inviting some 14,000 people in six cities to sign up for pre-screened, short-term car rentals. Across the pond, Ford will work with easyCar Club, targeting 12,000 folks in a similar service. Smart Mobility will also bring the GoDrive one-way car sharing program under its umbrella, upgrading it from what it calls an experiment to an actual pilot program. Fields also revealed a new electric bike design called the MoDe:Flex. The sporty model joins its two previously announced brethren, the MoDe:Me and MoDe:Pro. MoDe:Link, the app that provides a variety of info and allows for eyes-free navigation using hand grips that give haptic feedback to parlay direction changes has been extended to run on an Android smart watch. There, the app can process a rider's biofeedback signals to alter output. For instance, in "no sweat" mode, the bike will pick up more of the workload as your heart rate increases, keeping you from overexerting yourself. None of the bikes are being offered for sale, or for use as part of any sort of sharing program. At least, not for now. Instead, they remain in the realm of multimodal mobility experimentation. Check out the video above for a closer look at Ford's P2P car sharing plans or move down for a look at its latest ebike. You can find lots of detail about the shift in the Smart Mobility plan in the official press release, which is also below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.