Ford's Land Rover and Jaguar Recalled

CLICK4 COMPLETE January 2004 Recalls List

DETROIT March 19, 2004; Tom Brown writing for Reuters reported that Land Rover and Jaguar recalled nearly 180,000 vehicles this month, putting another dent in the quality image of Ford Motor Co.'s luxury Premier Automotive Group.

The British-built vehicles involved in the recalls are mainstays of Premier Automotive, Ford's stable of foreign nameplates it hopes will eventually account for about a third of its earnings.

Larry Rosinski, a spokesman at the U.S. headquarters of Premier Automotive in Irvine, California, said the Land Rover recall involved 100,116 Discovery Series II sport utility vehicles sold in the United States and Canada between September 1998 and December 2003.

"The problem involves a deterioration in brake performance," Rosinki told Reuters.

He said no major accidents and no injuries had been linked to the problem, caused by a malfunctioning component of the anti-lock braking system.

Rosinski said 3,267 Discovery IIs sold between Jan. 27, 2003, and March 26, 2003, had been found to have a problem with the throttle that could potentially leave it engaged at high speeds.

No accidents have been reported due to that problem either, Rosinski said.

Separately, in an advisory on the Web site of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Ford said it was conducting a global recall of more than 79,000 Jaguars.

The vehicles affected are the Jaguar XJ8, from the 1996-1999 model years, and Jaguar XK8s from the 1997-1999 model years.

The Jaguar problem also involves a sticking throttle. But unlike the problem with the Discovery II, the accelerator is prone to sticking in the closed position, effectively stalling the engine, Ford said.

"When the driver lifts off the throttle pedal and then depresses the pedal again, the throttle will occasionally not open until the engine stops turning," the automaker said.

It said 5,445 warranty claims had been reported due to the problem.

A Jaguar spokesman said he was unable to offer immediate comment on the recall.