Some automakers design the engine control system to increase the idle speed when the power steering pump or a/c compressor is operating.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Ford Freestyle models after it received hundreds of complaints about engine surging.
At least 18 crashes are alleged after the minivans jumped ahead when the driver’s foot was not firmly on the brake pedal, according to the NHTSA defect investigation that started last week.
NHTSA will decide after an engineering analysis if a safety recall is required covering almost 200,000 Ford Freestyle minivans. The family vehicles use a throttle kicker to increase the engine idle speed when the steering wheel is turned or the air conditioning activates. In both cases the load on the engine increases.
Some automakers design the engine control system to increase the idle speed when the power steering pump or a/c compressor is operating. During other times a lower idle speed is used, increasing fuel economy and decreasing engine noise.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov.
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.
