Ford, Hyundai Announce Recalls

Ford and Hyundai issued seven recalls affecting nearly 160,000 vehicles for issues ranging from defective half-shafts to headliners to roof glass. Ford accounts for 101,000 of the vehicles in the actions.

The largest recall involves more than 92,000 model year 2013-2014 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Ford Police Interceptor, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT; 2012-2014 Ford Edge; and 2014 Lincoln MKX models. The issue involves the right-side half-shaft on the vehicles.

The vehicles in the recall may experience "loss of drive function," Ford said, adding the vehicles could roll away if the gearshift is placed in park without the emergency brake being engaged. Ford dealers will inspect the half-shaft and repair or replace as needed.

Ford’s recalls put the maker at more than 3 million vehicles recalled this year, which surpasses the maker’s totals for all of 2013.

Ford is also recalling 2,100 2014 Ford Escape SUVs due to panorama roof glass that may have an improperly cured bond between the glass and the attaching bracket that could result in noise, water leak, or separation of the panel from the vehicle. Dealers will replace the panel if they were built between October 15-22, 2013, at the Louisville Assembly Plant.

Ford announced other recalls, including:

197 2014 Ford Fiestas for fuel tanks that may be missing an adhesive layer. Without that adhesive, it may leak fuel and catch fire
5,264 2011-2014 Ford F59 Commercial Stripped Chassis vehicles in North America because electrical junction blocks could short-circuit if driven in areas where salt is spread on roads
635 2014 Ford F53 Motorhome Stripped Chassis and F59 Commercial Stripped Chassis vehicles in North America for a possible issue with the brake calipers
368 2014 Ford Transit Connect vans are being called back because of a labeling issue with the brake fluid reservoir cap in Puerto Rico

Hyundai recalled 58,000 Elantra Touring wagons – 35,000 in the U.S. and the remainder in Canada – because the metal support bracket in the headliner could become dislodged when the side-curtain airbag deploys. If this happens, occupants could suffer lacerations.

A similar issue was found with Elantra sedans. The current recall impacts 2010-2012 Elantra wagons. The fix involves using adhesive strips will be applied to the headliner to prevent it from coming loose in a crash.