Back in August of last year, Ford Motor Company issued a recall for select 2021 Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair models due to issues related to the fuel delivery module. In affected models, the fuel delivery module could leak inside the fuel tank, causing low fuel pressure which could cause the engine to stall or not start at all. The leak itself is caused by a faulty fuel tube with a wall that is thinner than specification. Now, Healey Brothers Ford in Beacon, New York is being investigated over claims that it sold a 2021 Ford Escape impacted by this recall before the required repairs had been performed, according to Automotive News.
Healey Brothers is being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) after the agency says that it received information indicating that the dealer had indeed sold at least one new 2021 Ford Escape to a customer without performing recall repairs in compliance with federal regulations. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act states that dealers cannot deliver a new vehicle subject to a recall to a customer until it has been fixed.
“Safety recalls are issued because a manufacturer has identified a safety defect that could pose a danger to drivers, passengers, and others on the road,” the NHTSA said in a statement. “NHTSA takes safety recalls very seriously and urges everyone to have open safety recalls repaired as quickly as possible. Because unprepared recalls are a safety risk, it is illegal for a dealership to deliver a new vehicle with an outstanding safety recall.”
“Ford is aware of NHTSA’s audit inquiry and will be cooperating as we always do,” said Ford spokesperson Karl Henkel. “While Ford dealers are independently owned, Ford communicates all recall information to dealers and customers in a timely manner as required by NHTSA.”
We’ll have more on this investigation soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford Escape news, and 24/7 Ford news coverage.
Comments
So when there is a recall on a new Ford, Ford actually places a stop sale in Vincent (where the dealer applies for the rebates and reports the vehicle sold) so it can’t be sold until the recall is show as complete. So to complete the sale they would have had to submitted a repair ticket showing the recall completed, which means they falsified the work and claimed the repair time for the recall without doing the work
I recently purchased a new 2021 Ford Escape SE from an out of town dealer, sight unseen, basically using the internet and email on 3/28/2022. I had been researching this model extensively for several months and had decided to commit to this particular model. I also did trade in a 2020 Ford Fusion which also was applied to my purchase price.
The day of delivery and trade in, after reviewing all paperwork, new car procedure with salesman, and basic info, I and Salesman, Finance manager, and a geek (for the setup of GPS and radio) discussed the recall for this particular Escape model. I mentioned that I was familiar with the no-sell, recall statement on the 2021 Escapes, and wondered how, and why this dealer could sell when others would/could not? Not a problem for me as I drove my new Escape home.
As the consumer, I ask what should I do?