© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: 2020 Ford Explorer vehicles are seen at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant in Chicago, Illinois, US, June 24, 2019. REUTERS/Kamil Krzyczynski/File Photo
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. auto safety regulators said Saturday they are investigating Ford Motor Company’s (NYSE) previous recall of 710,000 Explorer SUVs due to reports of power loss to determine if a repair was appropriate.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicated that the No. 2 U.S. automaker issued recalls in April 2022 and March on 2020-2022 model years Ford Explorer SUVs to address a rear axle horizontal locking bolt that could break and cause accidents. Broken shaft. Disconnect.
Ford previously said its recalls were for addressing a disengaged drive shaft that could cause the vehicle to skid away in ‘Park’ without applying the parking brake, increasing the risk of an accident.
Ford did not immediately comment on Saturday, but said in March that it was not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the subpoena.
Ford’s fix is to add a software update that automatically applies the electronic service parking brake to prevent the vehicle from skidding away, the agency said, adding that there is no remedy to address horizontal mounting rear axle failure “which is the basis of this safety issue and the cause of vehicle damage.”
NHTSA said it has received two complaints alleging loss of power or transmission torque to the rear wheels in Explorer vehicles that received the recall repair.
One complaint told NHTSA that after getting the software update “the car would randomly stall until it came to a complete stop while I was driving. This happened several times with three different drivers (me, my wife, and my son), each happening at 30-35 mph or less.”