Hot Selling Ford Explorer in the Hot Seat

In less than 2 months into 2011, Ford has already recalled more than 900,000 vehicles; that is roughly 600,000 more vehicles recalled in all of 2010. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA) recently issued a notice that Ford is recalling more than 1,600 of their newly designed Explorers equipped with manual recline second row seats. The recall affects 2011 model-year Explorers that were manufactured between July and December 2011. According to the recall, the seats, which were supplied by Lear Corporation, may not provide the required strength in the event of an auto accident. Ford has already sold more than 7,300 of the redesigned Explorer for 2011.

Ford said the problem was discovered on December 14, 2010 at its Chicago Assembly Plant when one of the vehicles was identified as having a noise in the second-row 60 percent seat. "This seat was removed from the unit and returned to the seat supplier," Ford said. "Upon inspection of the returned seat, there was unexpected observable movement of the center recliner/seatback during manual forward loading." Ford has stopped shipment and advised dealers not to sell any vehicles built between July and December 2011 until they are repaired. Recall notices will be mailed next week.

Fortunately, no accidents, injuries, or deaths have been connected to the recall. This recall was an important pro-safety measure, but Ford, like all automakers, can and should do more to ensure that their vehicles are safe before putting them on the market. I have asked this before, and I will ask it again, if the NHTSA says that new tests are more stringent and designed to encourage auto makers to go beyond the required federal standards, then why are vehicles that are supposed to be safer constantly being recalled for dangerous defects? Why are they coming off the assembly line and going into dealerships with these problems? Auto manufacturers can and should do more to ensure vehicle safety the first time, before the consumer takes possession of the vehicle.

Vehicle safety is important. Make sure that your auto is as safe as possible by checking for recalls before purchasing and while owning your vehicle. To find a list of vehicle recalls,visit www.nhtsa.gov or autorecalls.org. Regardless of whether or not you believe you are driving a safe car, you need to look at one of these websites every few months to make sure your auto is not on the list. The repairs are free to you and can save your life.

Mark Bello has 33 years experience as a trial lawyer and twelve years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit funding industry. He is the owner and founder of Lawsuit Financial Corporation which helps provide legal finance cash flow solutions and consulting when necessities of life litigation funding is needed by a personal injury plaintiff involved in pending litigation. Bello is a Justice Pac member of the American Association for Justice, Sustaining and Justice Pac member of the Michigan Association for Justice, Business Associate of the Florida, Tennessee, and Colorado Associations for Justice, a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the Injury Board.