Ford recalls autos already fixed once

Wiring harnesses put into 225,000 vehicles during earlier repair have improper fusing.

Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News

Ford Motor Co. is recalling some 225,000 vehicles that were already repaired as part of an earlier recall, the company announced Friday.

The affected vehicles represent a small portion of the 9.5 million cars and trucks that the Dearborn automaker has recalled since 1999 to fix a potentially serious defect in the cruise control switch. That defect caused some vehicles to catch fire, sometimes with fatal consequences.

Ford responded to that problem by installing new wiring harnesses in the recalled vehicles. Now, some of those wiring harnesses appear to be defective. The harnesses, all of which came from a single supplier, have improper fusing.

Ford discovered the problem while repairing a vehicle in its own fleet, and stressed that no accidents or injuries have been caused by the defect. In fact, the company said the issue does not appear to have affected any customers yet.

"It turned out that this group did not have the intended protection, so we are re-recalling them and replacing that," Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said Friday.

Mostly older models

The affected vehicles mostly are older models, the bulk of them — 185,000 — E-Series vans with model years ranging from 1992 to 2003. Other affected vehicles include:

• 1993-95 Ford Taurus SHO

• 1992-98 Ford Crown Victoria/ Mercury Grand Marquis

• 1992-95 Lincoln Town Car

• 1993 Ford Bronco

• 1993 Ford Super Duty (gas engine only)

• 1995-97 Ford Super Duty stripped chassis (gas fueled only)

Ford stressed that not all vehicles in those model years had the faulty wiring harness installed. It knows which vehicles were fitted with the defective part and will notify owners directly.

"It tells you a lot about the quality control systems that are in place both at Ford and at its vendors," said Sean Kane of Safety Research & Strategies Inc., a vehicle safety research and advocacy firm based in Rehoboth, Mass. "It was embarrassing enough for them the first time."

Other recalls

General Motors Corp. is recalling 181,516 Chevrolet HHR wagons because they don’t meet U.S. government standards for protection of drivers and passengers. The recall affects 2006 to 2008 models that don’t have so-called roof rail air bags, the automaker said in a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Dealers will install an energy-absorbing plastic piece to the headliner trim, GM said in the letter, posted on the agency’s Web site.
Ford Motor Co.’s Volvo is recalling 23,000 of its S40 sedans and V50 sport wagons to fix a faulty seal that may cause corrosion in a fuel-pump component and lead to loss of fuel pressure. The recall, for model years 2004 through 2006, will affect vehicles in about 20 states in the U.S., Volvo Cars of North America LLC said in a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The letter was posted on the agency’s Web site.