Ford engine Co. will pay the U.S. government a fine of up to $165 million if the company moves too slowly in a recall and fails to provide accurate recall information.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that the civil penalty was the second highest in its 54-year history. Only the fine Takata paid for faulty airbag inflators was higher.
The agency said Ford was slow to recall vehicles with defective backup cameras and failed to provide the agency with the full information required by federal motor vehicle safety law.
Ford agreed to a consent order with the agency, which includes a payment of $65 million and $45 million in expenses to comply with the law. An additional $55 million will be set aside.
“Timely and accurate recalls are critical to keeping everyone safe on our roads,” said Sophie Shulman, NHTSA deputy administrator. “If manufacturers fail to prioritize the safety of the American public and comply with their obligations under federal law, NHTSA will hold them accountable.”
Under the order, an independent third party will monitor the automaker’s recall performance obligations for at least three years, and Ford must cooperate with the monitor.
Ford must also review all recalls from the last three years to ensure enough vehicles have been recalled and file new recalls if necessary.
The company also needs to review and change its recall decision-making process and improve the way it analyzes data to find safety defects in its vehicles. There is also a need to invest in technology to be able to track parts based on vehicle identification numbers.
Ford says it will invest the $45 million in advanced data analytics, a new document system and a new testing lab.
“We welcome the opportunity to address this matter with NHTSA and remain committed to continued safety improvements,” Ford said in a statement.
The law requires an automaker to notify NHTSA by filing a defect report within five business days of determining that a series of vehicles have a safety defect.
The problematic Recall of more than 620,000 vehicles in the USAover 700,000 in North America, came in September 2020 for rearview cameras that may fail on several 2020 models, including the F-Series pickup, the best-selling vehicle in the United States
In agency documents, NHTSA said Ford identified warranty claims related to the faulty cameras from February to April 2020 and that the matter was presented to a Ford committee in May of that year.
In July 2020, NHTSA contacted Ford regarding received complaints about failed cameras, and during a meeting with NHTSA in August 2020, Ford provided data for many 2020 models with high camera failure rates.
The company conducted the recall on September 23, 2020, and about a year later, NHTSA began investigating whether the recall was conducted quickly enough or included enough vehicles.
In 2022 and 2024, Ford issued two additional recalls for the same problem, he added About 24,000 vehicles until the first camera recall.
In the consent order, NHTSA said its investigation found that Ford violated several parts of the law by moving too slowly to recall vehicles with faulty cameras, providing the agency with inaccurate or incomplete information and failing to provide required quarterly reports on others Didn’t submit callbacks.
The order said Ford disagreed with his claims.
For several years, high warranty and recall costs have dented Ford’s profits, but the company says it is working to resolve the problems.
The penalty does not end the conflicts between Ford and NHTSA.
The agency earlier this year an investigation has been initiated into a Ford SUV recall repair that fails to address fuel leaks that can cause engine fires. Investigators wrote in an April 25 letter to Ford that this was the case “Significant safety concerns” about a March 8 recall of nearly 43,000 Bronco Sport and Escape SUVs.
Ford said in documents that fuel injectors can break, allowing gas or steam to leak near hot engine parts, potentially causing fires and injuries. The solution, however, is to add a drain pipe to direct the gas away from hot surfaces and software that shuts off the fuel supply if a leak is detected.
In the letter, the agency’s Office of Defects Investigation wrote that based on its review of the recall resolution, it “believes that the remedial program does not address the root cause of the problem and does not proactively require replacement of defective injectors in advance of its failure.”
Ford said it has a strict recall process and is committed to complying with the law, but there can still be improvements. It was said that they had learned from the camera recall.
“We look forward to working with NHTSA and the independent third party to implement further improvements,” Ford said.