Warmer, more humid climates are well known for their adverse effects on vehicles — take the massive Takata airbag inflator crisis as a recent notable example. Such conditions are at the root of Ford’s latest recall, which affects more than 199,000 cars originally sold or ever registered in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
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The affected vehicles include model-year 2014-15 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ sedans and model-year 2015 Ford Mustang coupes. (Lincoln is Ford’s luxury brand.) Exposure to high temperatures, high humidity and salt air can cause the brake-pedal bumper to disintegrate and separate from the brake pedal. A separated bumper can cause the brakelights to illuminate continuously, causing confusion to other drivers and increasing the risk of a crash. Additionally, on cars equipped with an automatic transmission, a missing brake-pedal bumper can allow the driver to shift the vehicle out of Park without depressing the brake, allowing the vehicle to roll away and increasing the risk of injury.
To resolve the problem, dealers will replace the brake-pedal bumper and clutch-pedal bumper for free. Owners will be notified starting March 3. Those with further questions can call the automaker at 866-436-7332 (Ford’s number for this recall is 22S02), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s vehicle-safety hotline at 888-327-4236, or visit its website to check your vehicle identification number and learn more.
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