The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced an upgrade to their ongoing investigation into steering issues affecting more than 190,000 Ford Crown Victoria police cars.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced an upgrade to their ongoing investigation into steering issues affecting more than 190,000 Ford Crown Victoria police cars from the 2005 through 2008 model years. Initiated in November of last year, the investigation, now classified as an engineering analysis, was launched to uncover potential defects leading to steering failures after six complaints were received and fifteen incidents reported from police departments across the country. According to a letter to the federal agency from Ford, issues may have developed as a result of a previous accident or vehicle service.
Prior to the NHTSA’s investigation, Ford had been conducting their own testing, starting in May of 2012, after being contacted by the Ontario Provincial Police Department in Canada over a vehicle that lost steering control without warning in a routine driving situation. Police from the Montgomery County Police Department in Maryland issued a similar complaint a short time later after two of their cruisers also experienced steering failures. In examining the vehicles involved, one was found to have been in an accident prior to the steering loss. Following the announced upgrade, Ford released a statement saying that it will “continue to work with the agency to better understand the circumstances associated with these reports.”
In the NHTSA’s testing, it was discovered that steering loss was most often related to a separation of the upper and lower steering shafts within the steering column. These upper and lower shafts serve as the mechanical link between the steering wheel and rack and pinion steering assembly. If a separation were to occur, steering wheel inputs would no longer be sent to the wheels, eliminating the possibility for turning. Of the subject vehicles included in their testing, the failure rate of the steering shafts was 7.7 per 100,000 vehicles. In an analysis of other Ford police car vehicles, including the 2009 through 2011 Crown Victoria, the failure rate was just 1.1 per 100,000.
During an inspection of police vehicles receiving repairs for complaints of loose steering, binding, or noise in the steering system while turning, the NHTSA also uncovered thirty nine instances of vehicles with displaced bearings in the lower steering column shafts. These out-of-place bearings did not lead to a complete separation of the steering column shafts, but still had a significant impact on steering performance. In an inspection of vehicles not included in the investigation, just three were found to have the bearing problem.
In each of these findings, a noticeable defect seems to exist in comparison to other models examined. Should a regular defect be confirmed by the NHTSA, presenting police officers with real danger for accidents as a result of steering failures, a recall will be issued to remedy the problem. Ford’s Crown Victoria Police Interceptor has long been the vehicle of choice for police departments across the country; ensuring their proper function is essential, not only for the safety of officers behind the wheel, but to allow police to respond quickly to emergency situations, chasing down criminals and rescuing victims from danger.
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