Ford recalling 20,000 vehicles over electrical short

(December 30, 2010) DETROIT — Ford is recalling about 20,000 new vehicles in North America, mainly its heavy duty pickup trucks, due to the chance that an electrical short could cause a fire, Ford and U.S. federal regulators said today.

According to news reports, Ford will inform owners of its F-series pickups, small sports utility vehicles Edge and Lincoln MKX of the potential problem by Jan. 10, according to a filing with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

About 15,000 of the affected vehicles were sold in the United States, and most of the rest in Canada, according to Ford. The automaker said it is not aware of any injuries, crashes or fires resulting from the issue.

In a six-day period, a supplier not identified by Ford made body control modules that may produce an electrical short, Ford told NHTSA in a filing.

The suspect vehicles were built between late October and mid-November.

"If an electrical short develops, an overheating condition may occur which can result in an unattended vehicle fire," the NHTSA filing said.

Of the nearly 20,000 vehicles affected, 13,200 are Super Duty F-Series trucks, which are the F-250, the F-350 and the F-450 models. Some 476 F-150 pickup trucks were affected. That model is the biggest selling vehicle in North America. About 6,200 Edge and MKX crossovers are affected.

Ford will pay for repairs performed at Ford dealerships.