Ford Motor Company is recalling about 2 million pickup trucks due to a fire hazard caused by a seat belt issue, according to the company and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Officials with Ford said Thursday that the company determined that the mechanism used to lock a seat belt into place during a crash, known as the pretensioner, can generate excessive sparks when activated and cause a fire. The company released the following list of affected vehicles:
- 2015-18 Ford F-150 vehicles built at the Dearborn, Michigan, assembly plant from March 12, 2014 through Aug. 23, 2018
- 2015-18 Ford F-150 vehicles built at the Kansas City, Missouri, assembly plant from Aug. 20, 2014 through Aug. 23, 2018
Ford officials said the company knew of 17 reports of smoke or fire related to seat belt pretensioners in the United States. Six other cases were reported in Canada, according to the company.
No accidents or injuries have been reported.
Officials with the NTHSA said in a recall notice that 1.6 million Ford F-150 Regular Cab and SuperCrew Cab trucks model years 2015 to 2018 fell under the recall in North America. An additional 340,000 trucks in Canada and 36,780 in Mexico are also affected by the issue, according to Ford officials.
The NTHSA started an investigation last month after receiving five complaints about Ford F-150 pickup trucks.
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