Ford is issuing another recall, this time for 23,111 Aviator SUVs from its luxury brand Lincoln. And it’s for an issue that is particularly dangerous for… fingers.
The problem
The issue is that the Aviator’s rear side window auto-reversal mechanisms may not engage quickly enough to prevent someone's fingers from being pinched.
Normally, when encountering resistance, a window should immediately stop its movement and even reverse. Furthermore, regulations stipulate that power windows must automatically reverse when they encounter an obstruction.
In the case of the Aviators, they "may exert excessive force" before doing so, according to documents published by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the equivalent of Transport Canada.
All models affected by the recall are impacted by the problem, which stems from "the erroneous activation of a feature" in a supplier's software, according to what Ford told the NHTSA. The manufacturer added that the issue was discovered during internal testing and that it is not aware of any injuries related to this problem.
Ford says the erroneous software feature was not intended for its vehicles and that it was not informed that it was activated.
To resolve the issue, a software update for the driver and passenger door modules will be necessary. This will, of course, be performed free of charge by dealerships.
Ford plans to notify its customers by mail starting September 15 regarding the procedure to follow.