YAHOO NEWS  – June 1, 2010 – U.S. safety regulators have opened a preliminary investigation into the possibility that accelerator pedals could be entrapped by floormats in Ford Motor Co (F.N) 2010 Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had verified three complaints of accelerator pedals being trapped by unsecured "all-weather" floormats in the current production model year of the Fusion.

The NHTSA warned owners not to place unsecured floormats on top of the standard, carpeted floormat on the driver's side. It opened an investigation on Friday that covers an estimated 249,301 Fusion and Milan sedans.

Ford spokesman ... said instructions imprinted on the automaker's all-weather floormats warn owners not to place them on top of existing floormats, as does the packaging.

"We do not recommend stacking floormats in any vehicle,"... "We will cooperate fully with NHTSA as we always do."

The NHTSA said it had received no complaints involving crashes, injuries or fatalities in the Ford vehicles. Any optional all-weather floormats should be installed only after removing the standard floormats, the agency said.

Edmunds.com,, director of vehicle testing at Edmunds.com, described in mid-April an incident of unintended acceleration in a 2010 Fusion hybrid caused when the accelerator pedal became entrapped by a stacked floormat.

Edmunds said the accelerator became stuck for three or four seconds after he passed slower traffic on his commute to work before returning to normal. A second experimental acceleration had a similar result, he said in a web posting.  He reported the incident to the NHTSA.

MORE RECALL INFO:   Ford Fusion   Mercury Milan

WASHINGTON (AP)  - Sept 9 --  The government is urging owners of 5 million recalled Ford vehicles to bring them to dealerships to repair a cruise control switch system that has been tied to engine fires.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday issued a second consumer advisory to owners of certain unrepaired Ford, Lincoln and Mercury sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, vans and passenger cars who have not responded to previous recalls.

NHTSA said about 12 million vehicles have been part of the recall and nearly 5 million still have not been fixed. A similar warning was issued in February but officials said the rate of the vehicles being repaired has declined.

The recalls have affected Ford's popular F-Series pickup trucks and led to hundreds of complaints and dozens of lawsuits over engine fires.

Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said the Dearborn, Mich., company supported the effort to communicate with owners. He said owners have received several recall notices but "the return rate has been lower than expected or hoped (for)."

Dealers have installed a fused wiring harness into the speed control electrical system as part of the recall, and the government said replacement parts are available. Owners can take their vehicle to a dealer to have the cruise control deactivated until the parts arrive.

NHTSA issued a lengthy list of older vehicles covered by the consumer advisory, including 1993-2004 Ford F150 trucks, 1994-2002 F250 through F550 Super Duty trucks with gasoline engines, and 1998-2001 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer SUVs, which were among the best-selling vehicles in the nation during those years.

MORE RECALL INFO: 

• Ford F-150
• Ford F-250/350/450/550
• Ford Explorer
• Mercury Mountaineer

November 2006  --  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced Ford is recalling 422 Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis sedans from the 2007 model year to properly secure the windshield to the body, NHTSA said. Dealers will replace the windshields at no cost to owners

WASHINGTON (AP) -- August 3, 2006 -- Ford Motor Co... recalled 1.2 million trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans Thursday amid concerns about potential engine fires.

The recall involves vehicles fueled by gasoline or natural gas and equipped with speed control, including the 1994-2002 F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 F-Super Duty trucks, 2000-2002 Excursion SUVs, 1994-1996 Econoline vans and 1996-2002 E-450 vans, and 1998 Mountaineers and Explorers.

DETROIT (Reuters) -- August 3, 2006 -- Ford Motor Co. said on Thursday it is recalling about 1.2 million trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans in the United States because a faulty speed control deactivation switch may cause fires.

The recall covers F-Series pickups, Explorer and Excursion SUVs and Econoline vans, and includes vehicles from 1996-2002.

DETROIT, Oct 10 (Reuters) -- Ford Motor Co. is recalling over 145,000 vehicles in the United States for a range of problems from defective latches to faulty drivetrains, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

The recall involves 139,537 2005 model-year Five Hundred and Montego sedans and 2005-2006 model-year Freestar minivans because the side door latches may let in water, NHTSA said on its Web site on Tuesday. 

Separately, Ford is also recalling 6,164 Escape hybrid sport utility vehicles from 2006 model year because a drivetrain shaft may fracture.