Ford Recalls Autos on Seat Recliner Issue
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Ford Motor Co. (F) - Get Ford Motor Company Report is recalling 33,000 midsize vehicles and SUVs in the U.S. to fix an issue with the front seat recliners. Ford informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday afternoon.
The recall centers on front seat manual recliners in 2010 Ford Fusion, Explorer, Explorer Sport Trac and 2010 Mercury Milan and Mountaineer models. The Ford models in the recall were all manufactured between mid-December through early February.
Ford described the problem as related to the "gear plate teeth" on the manual recliner mechanism, noting that they may have been built "out of dimensional specification." The recliner's gears could have problems that would lead to the seat-back and head-restraint moving toward the rear in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Ford indicated that the seat might not pass the federal safety standards for strength.
Ford said that the problem was discovered by a worker at an assembly plant who felt the seat move back.
Notification went out to Ford dealers on Friday afternoon.
A Ford spokesman told the
Associated Press
that there have been no accidents or injuries reported. Ford did not issue a press release, and the Ford spokesman told the
New York Times
that it is not company policy to issue press releases on safety recalls.
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The number of cars involved in the Ford recall is small in comparison to the millions of cars recently recalled by
Toyota
(TM) - Get Toyota Motor Corp. Report
.
The recall notice did not negatively impact Ford trading on Friday, as the shares finished the week up marginally, and the Friday closing price in Ford shares of $14.21 remains near a 52-week high.
-- Reported by Eric Rosenbaum in New York.
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