Politicians Request Investigation of Ford Focus, Fiesta

Two U.S. senators have called for an immediate federal investigation of allegedly defective transmissions.

July 17, 2019

July 17, 2019—Two U.S. senators have called for an immediate federal investigation of Ford Motor Co.'s decision to launch and continue for years to sell Fiesta and Focus vehicles with defective transmissions despite thousands of complaints and a deluge of repairs, according to The Detroit Free Press.

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, oversee highway safety and transportation issues as members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

Ford spokesman TR Reid responded to the congressional calls for review.

“Automobiles using the DPS6 transmission were and remain safe to drive," he told the newspaper.

Ford has maintained through the years that because steering, brakes and other systems continue working when the cars slip out of gear, the so-called "unintended neutral" events are not a safety issue.