Ford Will Not Change Recall of 8.7 Million Vehicles

05/06/96

Reuters reported that the Ford Motor Company has announced that it will not alter the 8.7 million vehicle recall it issued late last month. The recall targeted vehicles that might be prone to steering column fires caused by faulty ignition switches, and was the most extensive recall ever issued by an American carmaker. The company's announcement that the recall will not change came in response to criticisms published in last Thursday's USA Today.

The USA Today story that sparked the announcement said that the recall left out tens of thousands of additional vehicles that may be prone to fires, and cited a draft memo from 1993 that identified Ford trucks, including the 1986 Aerostar van and Econoline full-size van as susceptible to the fires.

Ford countered the report by saying that the preliminary study cited in the article does not take Ford's subsequent investigation of the problem into account. the company defended the recall by saying it was based on the conclusion of the study in question, including all the research that the company has conducted since 1993.

The recall specifically targets vehicles made between 1988 and 1993 that have an ignition switch made by United Technologies Corporation. Vehicles made before 1988 have ignition switches made by the same company, but United Technologies made a change to the switch for the 1988 model year. Ford says their research shows that the problems stem from that change. The automaker stopped using United Technology switches in 1993.

Ford says that there have been 2,000 reports of steering column fires in the U.S. and Canada. That figure has not changed since the problem was publicized and the recall was announced.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel