Ford has issued recalls for more than 1 million SUVs in North America after power steering and electrical issues that have resulted in accidents and injuries, The Wall Street Journal reported. Dealers will be making one of three service repairs, depending on the model.
The automaker is recalling 915,200 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs due to a faulty sensor that can affect the power steering and result in loss of control of the car. In a separate recall, Ford is also recalling 195,500 Explorer SUVs that can lose power steering from a malfunctioning electrical connection.
The recalled Explorer models are from 2011-'13, while the affected Escape and Mariner vehicles are from model years 2008-'11.
The Escape and Mariner issues, which were reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, have resulted in five accidents and six injuries, according to the automaker. For the Explorer, Ford is aware of 15 low-speed accidents and two minor injuries.
Ford has been investigating the power steering defect in Escape and Mariner vehicles since 2009, USA TODAY reported.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based carmaker increased its warranty and recall repair fund by $400 million in April to mitigate an expected increase in costs for recalls and repairs.
Earlier this month, Ford recalled around 750,000 vehicles for software and door handle problems.
Not yet halfway over, 2014 has already seen a plethora of vehicle recalls, with General Motors infamously recalling 2.6 million small cars and undergoing a federal investigation. Toyota has issued the biggest single recall yet this year with a record 6.4 million-vehicle recall related to five safety defects, a cautionary measure that has not been related to any accidents or injuries.
Altogether, more than 22.4 million vehicles have been recalled in the U.S. so far this year.
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