Some of the complaints allege that the failures are related to repairs performed as part of Ford and Mazda safety recalls initiated in 2004 for unintended acceleration.
Ford and Mazda are recalling Escape and Tribute SUVs from the 2001 up to the 2008 model year because a cruise control cable can stick and cause unintended acceleration. Since repair parts are not available, dealers will disconnect the cruise control as an interim measure for the safety defect.
The recall was forced when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration two weeks ago opened an unintended acceleration investigation on 2001 through 2004 Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute SUVs after receiving 99 reports of unintended acceleration from owners. At least one fatality and nine injures are alleged in multiple accidents. Sixty-eight stuck throttle reports are from Ford Escape owners; thirty-one reports are from owners of Mazda Tributes.
NHTSA itself was prodded into action when the Center for Auto Safety petitioned NHTSA to open defect investigations on the Escape and Tribute models equipped with cruise control. NHTSA opened its own investigation instead, in a move that was forced given the seriousness of the allegations that CAS, funded in part by product liability lawyers, was publicizing.
Some of the stuck throttle complaints, including a fatal crash in January 2012, allege that the failure was caused by interference between the speed control cable and a cover at the throttle body cam. Some of the complaints also allege that the failures are related to repairs performed as part of Ford and Mazda safety recalls initiated in 2004 for unintended acceleration.
Ford is also now in the process of recalling the redesigned 2013 Escape because carpeting can interfere with the accelerator and brake pedals, and also for engine fires.
Ford’s recall campaign number is 12S37. Mazda’s recall campaign number is 6812G.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
