Ford F-150 pick-up trucks Recall in the U.S. and Canada

Ford F-150 Recall
The Ford recall of 144,000 F-150 pick-up trucks sold in the 2005 and 2006 model years is due to inadvertent airbag deployment.

Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday it will recall almost 150,000 F-150 pickups in the U.S. and Canada because of a potential airbag problem, but that's a small fraction of the 1.3 million trucks government auto safety regulators asked Ford to recall.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has the authority to force Ford to recall all the vehicles it asked for. The trucks being recalled were produced between November 2004 and June 2005 at Ford's Norfolk, Va., assembly plant. Ford said it is recalling only the vehicles made at this plant because the rate of unwanted airbag deployments for these particular trucks is many times higher than for trucks made at other factories.
A warning light indicating the airbag requires servicing usually lights up multiple times before the deployment occurs, Ford (F, Fortune 500) added.

The Ford F-series truck has been the best-selling passenger vehicle in America for almost 30 years.
Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it will recall thousands of F-150 pickup trucks for potential airbag problems, the second safety issue this month with its best-selling vehicle.
Owners reported airbags inadvertently deploying after starting their pickups, Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said in a statement--That recall started Feb. 14.

The recall involves trucks built at Ford's now-closed Norfolk, Va., auto factory from November 2004 through June 2005 and sold in the 2005 and 2006 model years. The automaker said the inadvertent airbag deployments are preceded by many illuminations of the airbag warning lamp indicating that restraint system service is required.

Federal safety regulators are reviewing Ford's recall plans and looking into whether the automaker's plan will fix enough vehicles with the potential for unexpected airbag deployment

The F-Series is the bestselling truck in America and last year was the nation's top selling vehicle of any type.

Trucks built at factories in Dearborn, Mich., and in Kansas City had much smaller rates of unexpected airbag deployment.

If not serviced, and unique circumstances occur, an inadvertent driver frontal airbag deployment may occur."

Federal safety regulators had wanted Ford to recall 1.3 million of the trucks, a wider range that included vehicles from the 2004 through 2006 model year. Sherwood said Ford decided it could correct the problem with a limited recall.