By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Monday it has opened two new investigations into Ford (NYSE:) recalls, the latest scrutiny by U.S. regulators of the No. 2 U.S. automaker.
Last week, Ford agreed to a $165 million civil penalty after an NHTSA investigation found the automaker failed to recall vehicles with defective rearview cameras in a timely manner.
On Monday, the auto safety regulator opened an investigation into whether Ford should recall 112,000 Ford Expedition SUVs over seat belt issues and another into whether Ford’s recall of 456,000 SUVs over a loss of power and an electrical system failure is adequate.
The agency has received three complaints, alleging an inadvertent deployment of the seat belt retractor pretensioner. The complaints referenced a loud sound followed by the seat belt rapidly tightening and remaining in the locked position. The investigation follows the February recall by Ford of 77,000 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs over the issue.
NHTSA is investigating if Ford’s April recall of about 456,000 Bronco Sport and Ford Maverick vehicles over a loss of power stemming from sudden degradation of the 12-volt battery is adequate to address the issue.
The recall fix is a series of software updates designed to provide improved detection of the 12-volt battery state of charge but NHTSA has received 15 reports describing loss of power incidents for Ford Bronco Sport vehicles that received the software update.
The company said it was working with the NHTSA to support both investigations.
Under terms of NHTSA’s settlement with Ford last week, Ford must thoroughly review all recalls it has filed in the last three years and if needed, file new recalls.
NHTSA said Ford provided inaccurate or incomplete information, did not submit timely quarterly reports for other recalls and did not fully comply with public availability of vehicle recall information. Ford said it disagreed with NHTSA’s assessment.
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