WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Ford said on Wednesday it is recalling nearly 1.45 million older vehicles in the U.S. due to faulty rear-view cameras and will extend warranty coverage on millions of other vehicles.
The announcement is the latest in a series of recalls over the issue for the second-largest U.S. automaker. Last month, Ford recalled 1.9 million vehicles worldwide due to faulty rear-view cameras.
“We at Ford aim to move past this specific problem with analog rear-view cameras,” Ford Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra said.
The new recall comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in October 2024 opened a probe into rear camera issues involving 36,000 2019 Ford Flex vehicles. NHTSA in January asked Ford about complaints of camera failures, prompting the automaker to investigate.
Recalled vehicles may have cameras that have distorted, intermittent or blank images when in reverse, increasing the risk of a crash.
The recall covers various 2015 through 2020 model-year Explorer, Escape, Mustang, Flex, Fiesta, C-Max, Taurus, Fusion and Lincoln MKT and MKZ vehicles. Dealers will inspect and replace cameras as needed.
Ford shares were down 0.7% in early trading.
In September, NHTSA and Ford agreed on a plan to address the population of all vehicles built between 2015 and 2025 with analog cameras in two categories: some would be recalled and the remainder would be covered by a customer satisfaction program that includes a 15-year extended warranty on rear cameras.
Ford did not immediately say how many vehicles are covered by the extended warranty, but that it includes more than two dozen vehicle models, including 2015-2020 F-150 trucks.
Ford told NHTSA it is aware of about 12,500 warranty claims tied to camera issues as well as five accidents but no injuries.
In November 2024, Ford agreed to a $165 million civil penalty after a NHTSA investigation found the automaker failed to recall vehicles with defective rear-view cameras in a timely manner.
The automaker has been beset by a wave of recalls this year for a range of defects, including backup-camera failures, faulty low-pressure fuel pumps and problems with the seat-belt system.
Earlier this month, Ford recalled about 625,000 vehicles for another rear-view camera issue as well as for a seat-belt issue.
Ford said the new recall and customer service campaign will not have a material impact on its earnings.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Devika Nair and Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Chizu Nomiyama)
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