New reports of alleged sticky accelerator pedals are coming back to haunt Ford and Mazda as government safety regulators are investigating complaints from owners of the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute SUVs with V6 engines from the 2001 to 2004 model years.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Tuesday that the probe affects an estimated 730,000 Escape and Tribute SUVs in the United States.
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) said it has identified 99 reports alleging incidents of throttles failing to return to idle when the accelerator pedal has been released (“stuck throttle”), including 68 reports from Ford owners and 31 from owners of the Mazda model.
According to documents filed with ODI, of the 99 reports alleging a sticky throttle, there were 13 crashes, 9 injuries and 1 death that involved a 17-year-old girl in Arizona this past January.
“Some of the complaints, including a fatal crash incident that occurred in January 2012, allege that the failure was caused by interference between the speed control cable and the appearance cover at the throttle body cam,” said the NHTSA.
Safety regulators added that they are investigating whether the throttle failures are related to repairs performed as part of safety recalls initiated in 2004, when Ford and Mazda recalled approximately 590,000 Escape and Tribute SUVs from the 2002-2004MY to fix an accelerator cable assembly that could present a stuck throttle risk.
The NHTSA said that it has opened a preliminary evaluation to “assess the scope, frequency and safety-related consequences of the alleged defect” and will release details on its finding in due time.
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