NHTSA Investigating Ford Recall For Possible Expansion

Adding to the list of vehicles it is investigating, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that it is probing a previous Ford recall to see whether it should be expanded to cover quite a few additional vehicles. Ford has previously recalled 3,000 trucks in October of 2013 over troubles with the exhaust gas temperature sensor, and the NHTSA is looking into whether that recall needs to be boosted to include 200,000 vehicles. The affected model years are 2011 and 2012.

The models being investigated are the 2011 and 2012 Ford F-350, F-450, and the F-550 Ambulance Package trucks, all of which are sporting a 6.7 liter diesel engine. Under this probe, more vehicles from those models would be added, as well as a look at whether 2013's solution to the issue has proven effective.

The investigation was spurred by reports of the vehicles shutting off and then not restarting again, which could prove fatal in the case of ambulances attempting to transport patients to an emergency center. At least thirteen reports of ambulances experiencing this issue have been received by the NHTSA since 2013. Ford has said that it is cooperating with the administration in its probe.

This isn't the only investigation the NHTSA has undertaken in recent times. Last week, news surfaced that the safety administration is looking into the latest Jeep Cherokees following multiple reports of fires — under that, a little over 50,000 Cherokees are being investigated, and the probe is in its preliminary stages.

SOURCE: The Detroit News