Ford is recalling around 200,000 cars so they can fix an issue that causes the brake lights to stay on. The cars affected are 2014 and 2015 Ford Fusions, some Mustangs, and Lincoln MKZs. As of right now, the recall is only affecting cars sold or registered in a few states: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Hawaii.
The issue is with part of the rubber brake pedal. According to ABC News, high temperatures and humidity can cause part of the brake pedal to fall apart. When this happens it keeps the brake lights on. It’s dangerous because it can confuse other drivers on the road and lead to an increased risk of getting into an accident. For those with automatic transmissions, they can also shift out of the “park” gear without putting their foot on the brake.
Car owners will be notified by mail of the recall starting on March 3rd. Dealerships will replace the affected brake and clutch pedal bumpers.
Ford Doubles Up On Production of the F-150 Lightning
Earlier this year, Ford announced that they will be increasing the production of their new F-150. The electric truck is in high demand, so production will be nearly doubling. The automaker will make 150,000 of the truck a year. So far, there have been around 200,000 reservations for the electric F-150. The first group of reservation holders has already been invited to order the truck.
Ford has been scrambling to meet demand for the truck. The entire company has had to think creatively in order to please customers and reservation holders. “Our teams are working hard and creatively to break production constraints,” said Kumar Galhotra, President of the Americas & International Markets Group at Ford. “[This is in order] to get more F-150 Lightning trucks into the hands of our customers.”
To combat the huge amount of interest consumers have in the truck, Ford is rolling out orders. Reservation holders will be able to order the truck by groups. The invitations to order arrive via email. Of course, those that don’t get an invitation for a 2022 model will have a chance to order future models of the truck.
Keeping up with demand has been harder than ever for automakers. During the pandemic, lots of supply chain issues arose, which kept key parts away from manufacturers. The main missing part for car production right now is microchips. They’re used for many car features. To combat this, some car brands are rolling out bare-bones models of their cars. They’re missing features that would otherwise need chips. Of course, none of the features are necessary to the car, but they’re still nice to have. Automakers, like Ford, decided that sending out bare models of their cars was better than having incomplete cars sitting in storage.
