Ford has announced two new safety recalls targeting a total of 422,814 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles in North America.
First of all, certain 2011-2013 Ford Taurus and Flex vehicles, Lincoln MKS and MKT vehicles, certain 2011-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles, and certain 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles may have a potential intermittent electrical connection in the steering gear that might result in the loss of electric power steering assist while driving. If this happens, the steering system defaults to manual steering mode, making the vehicle more difficult to steer, especially at lower speeds.
Four minor accidents and no injuries are attributed to this condition. Dealers will either update software for the power steering control module or replace the steering gear.
The second recall affects 19,486 2015 Ford Mustang vehicles with a 2.3L engine, which could be prone to elevated underbody temperatures. This might cause degradation of the fuel tank and fuel vapour lines, which could eventually result in a fuel leak, or cause the parking brake cable seals to degrade, potentially affecting parking brake functions.
In this case, Ford dealers will replace the current fuel tank shield with a shield with better insulating capability, install thermal patches on the fuel tank and parking brake cable, and install thermal wraps on the fuel vapour lines.