POTENTIAL PRODUCT LIABILTY ON FORD VEHICLE RECALL: GOVERNMENT URGES CAR OWNERS TO REPAIR DEFECTIVE CRUISE CONTROL SWITCHES TO PREVENT ENGINE FIRES
Automobile owners in Los Angeles, California and across the nation are being urged by the federal government to respond to a product recall that covers Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury sport utility vehicles (SUVs), pickup trucks, vans, and passenger cars. Ford issued the recall in 1999 in response to hundreds of complaints and dozens of lawsuits after faulty cruise control systems caused engines to catch on fire, even after the vehicles were turned off.
Nearly ten years after the recall, Ford Motor Company still faces over 100 lawsuits as a result of their defective product. In addition to severe burn injuries, three wrongful deaths have been linked to engine fires caused by the faulty electric cruise control system. Furthermore, the NHTSA has received approximately 60 complaints since August 2007 on this problem.
Although 9.6 million vehicles have been recalled, only a little over half of them have been fixed. Worried about the outstanding 4.6 million automobiles with defective wiring systems, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued consumer advisory warnings to owners of these vehicles. It appears, however, that Ford is struggling to produce enough replacement parts for this recall. As a temporary solution, vehicle owners can have their local service dealership disconnect the cruise control switches until replacement parts are in full supply. Owners who opt for this interim solution will not have to leave their vehicles at the dealership or make an appointment. A representative from the Ford Motor Company says that there should be an “ample supply” of replacement parts by June.
The recall covers cars as old as 1992 and as new as 2003. To check to see whether your SUV, truck, or car is affected by this recall, please refer to a full list published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/recallsearch.cfm.)
If you were the victim of this product recall and have suffered injury or damages from an engine fire in California, we are here to help you. Please call 1-800-ALAWPRO to speak to an experienced legal expert at the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP. We are here to help you recover.
