Ford recalls 2.9 million vehicles for rollaway concerns

Ford is recalling 2.9 million U.S. vehicles over concerns they could roll away after drivers move the gear shift into the park position.

The recall, which also includes roughly 394,000 Canadian vehicles, includes some of Ford’s 2013-2018 C-Max, 2015-2018 Edge, 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2016 Fusion and 2013-2021 Transit Connect models.

In documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) posted on Wednesday, Ford said bushing that attaches the shift cable to the transmission could degrade in the vehicles. 

Even if drivers move the gear shift to the park position, this issue could prevent the shifter from actually moving the transmission, allowing the cars to still roll away.

Although the driver does not receive a warning message or chime when the transmission does not shift correctly, Ford said its instrument panels will show the accurate position when the cars are turned on.

The company indicated it has received 1,630 warranty reports and 233 vehicle owner questionnaires (VOQ) in connection with the issue since April 2015. Ford said it was aware of four injury reports and six property damage reports potentially related to the issue.

Ford issued four previous recalls over the bushing issue, according to the documents. One recall announced in April included a quarter-million Explorer SUVs. The company continued meeting with the NHTSA in recent weeks to further examine the concerns. 

The company said the root cause of the issue is unknown but noted that heat and humidity could be the culprit.

Owners of the recalled vehicles can service their cars for free at a Ford or Lincoln dealer. Dealerships will replace the bushing using a different grade material and add a protective cap, the company said.

Ford will mail affected owners beginning June 27.

The company filed a separate recall notice with NHTSA that was posted earlier this week for some of its Mustang Mach-E electric cars over concerns about overheating batteries, directing dealers to stop delivering nearly 49,000 of the cars.