Preliminary investigations of around 1 million 2007 Ford motor vehicles by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just began. NHTSA received 37 complaints about the snap-in tire valves cracking and leaking air which resulted in a flat tire. 11 of those complaints claimed they had to replace the tire.
Specifically, NHTSA is looking at TR431, TR414 and TR418 snap-in stems on the Ford vehicles. The current cars under investigation include:
- F-150
- Mustang
- Fusion
- Edge
- Grand Marquis
- Expedition
- MKX
- Focus
- Escape
- MKZ
- Milan
- Explorer
The valve systems were created by a Chinese company. Ford Motor Co.’s spokesman, Wes Sherwood, said, “We do not think this is a safety issue.” He said the complaints did not allege any injuries, just consumers complaining about the stems.
According to one site, however, safety advocates argue any threat of sudden air loss in the vehicles tires is serious enough for a recall. I completely agree! Our safety is a priority, especially on the road. As consumers, we deserve to drive safe vehicles and not be exposed to defective products.
As one auto safety researcher Sean Kane, who tracked the Ford-Firestone case, said, “Unexpected air pressure loss in tires presents unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety, regardless of whether there are documented crashes.”
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