Say you're an auto manufacturer, like Ford, for example, and you release a car (or a bunch of cars) that were built with a faulty component, like, say, a rearview camera system, and people start filing complaints.
The odds are pretty good, in that case, that you're going to have to do a vehicle recall, which is what Ford did for its rearview camera systems on over 700,000 vehicles worldwide -- only the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is saying that maybe Ford didn't handle its rearview camera recall in a timely enough manner. It's also saying Ford may not have been far-reaching enough with its recall, according to a notice filed last week by the agency and reported on by Automotive News.
It sounds like a bummer of a situation for Ford, right? Well, it is. If NHTSA finds out that Ford dragged its feet or didn't go far enough with the recall, it's likely to levy some fines. Even more, the agency is planning on investigating Ford's own internal reporting policies to make sure that they comply with NHTSA standards.
The recall, which went out in September of 2020, affected models as wide-ranging as the Edge, Escape, Expedition, Explorer, F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Mustang, Ranger and Transit vans.
We reached out to Ford for an official statement but didn't hear back in time for publication.
