Ford Expands F-150 Recall by 1 Million Pickups

WASHINGTON -- Ford Motor Co. and U.S. safety regulators have agreed to a greatly expanded recall of the best-selling vehicle in North America, the Ford F-150 pickup truck.

The recall is for a possible short circuit that could cause airbags to deploy unexpectedly and involves nearly 1.2 million F-150s and some Lincoln Mark LT vehicles, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall covers F-150s from the 2004 to 2006 model years.

Previously, 144,000 of the pickup trucks were recalled. The expansion comes after talks between the automaker and safety regulators in Washington.

Ford, in an e-mailed statement, said its review found the airbag deployments were linked to a "wiring chafe" condition.

"If a wiring chafe occurs, the airbag warning lamp will illuminate for an extended period of time prior to any risk of deployment, alerting owners to service their vehicle," Ford said. "We urge all of our customers to seek service immediately for an airbag warning lamp that is illuminated."


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