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Ford recalls 230,000 vehicles over suspension issue that could cause a crash

Yet another vehicle recall has come to our attention. And this one affects nearly a quarter of a million motors.

American car giant Ford said this week it’s calling in around 230,000 select 2013-18 Ford Flex, Ford Taurus Police Interceptor Sedan, Ford Taurus SHO, and Lincoln MKT vehicles over safety concerns.

Ford’s recall notice said affected vehicles that are exposed to frequent rear-suspension jolts and bounces could suffer a fractured rear suspension toe link.

“A rear toe link fracture while driving increases the risk of a crash,” the Michigan-based car company said, adding that to date it’s not aware of any reports accidents or injuries related to the issue.

Ford’s recall notice affects 211,207 vehicles in the United States and federal territories, 15,281 in Canada, and 1,396 in Mexico.

The specific vehicles include:

  • 2013-18 Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT vehicles built at Oakville Assembly Plant between September 12, 2011, and June 1, 2017.
  • 2013-18 Ford Taurus Police Interceptor Sedan and Ford Taurus SHO Performance Pack equipped vehicles built at Chicago Assembly Plant between August 25, 2011, and June 1, 2017.

The automaker said that dealers will replace the left- and right-hand rear suspension toe links with new forged toe links. Ford’s reference number for the recall is 20S04.

Recent Ford recalls

The latest recall by Ford follows many others issued by the automaker in 2019. They include the recall of 1.5 million F-150 pickups in February last year to fix an issue that could have caused a sudden and unintended downshift into first gear. Another, in June 2019, affected 1.3 million Ford Explorer SUVs regarding a problem with the suspension that had the potential to affect steering control, while another one last summer called in 550,000 vehicles across a range of models to fix an issue with the seatbacks that may have prevented them from properly restraining people in the event of an accident.

Anyone driving a Ford can check if their vehicle has been recalled by entering their vehicle identification number (VIN) on Ford’s website. If you would like to speak to someone about the recall or any other Ford-related matter, you can call the company at 800-392-3673.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also has an online tool where any vehicle owner can enter their VIN or license plate information to find out if it’s involved in a recall.

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