May, 30, 2014—Ford is recalling nearly 1.4 million SUVs and cars in the U.S. to fix steering, rust, and floor mat problems, the automaker announced Thursday.
The largest part of the recall includes 915,000 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner small SUVs due to a potential issue with a torque sensor in the steering column. The issue could cause the car to lose power steering, according to CBS News.
Nearly 1.2 million of the recalled vehicles are in the U.S., a figure just shy of the total number of vehicles that Ford recalled in the country during all of last year, Reuters reported. So far, General Motors has recalled 15.8 million vehicles worldwide this year, Reuters said.
Ford is aware of 20 accidents and eight injuries that might be related to the power steering problems.
The automaker is also recalling 196,600 Taurus sedans from model years 2010–14 because corrosion brought on by road salt in some regions could cause the license plate lamp to short circuit, possibly causing a fire, according to NPR, which also reported that Ford said up to 18 fires are connected to the issue.
Also, floor mats have been improperly installed and came in contact with the accelerator pedal for more than 82,000 cars that are being recalled. Two accidents are allegedly connected to the problem, Ford said, according to NPR.
The recalls come as automobile safety is being watched closely by Congress, the Justice Department and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. All are investigating General Motors' delayed recall of small cars for ignition switch problems that went unreported for about 10 years, CBS News reported.
Analyst Karl Brauer of Kelley Blue Book told Reuters that Ford's spate of recalls on Thursday may be "driven by the heightened sense of concern all automakers are feeling right now, though we'll likely never know for sure."
