NHTSA Upgrades Ford Explorer Carbon Monoxide Investigation

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has upgraded the Ford Explorer carbon monoxide investigation after officials said they weren’t too pleased with the automaker’s response to the investigation. According to a report on CarComplaints.com, the original investigation was opened in 2016 and included 2011-2015 Explorers, then expanded in July 2017 to include additional model years. The federal agency now says it found more customer reports related to the exhaust odors along with three crashes and 41 injuries.

NHTSA Not Impressed with Ford Probe

Complaints from customers have involved mainly carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms such as nausea, headaches and dizziness. Several have also reported losing consciousness while driving. Ford provided NHTSA with 2,400 owner complaints, legal claims and warranty claims involving 2,051 SUVs and details of their own investigation into the matter.

Ford also told safety regulators that third-party researchers investigated the Explorers to measure carbon monoxide levels under different driving conditions and that the technical service bulletins issued to dealers show that the repairs helped the SUVs. Ford says the carbon monoxide levels in the vehicles that it tested were well below any standards since investigators found only “momentary” levels of the toxic gas that quickly disappeared.

The automaker also says it has taken steps to repair and improve the SUVs that have proven to be very effective. But it appears that NHTSA has not been impressed by Ford’s own investigation or its findings because it has upgraded the investigation to an engineering analysis of more than 839,635 model year 2011-2017 Ford Explorers.

Time for a Recall

So far, there have been no reported deaths as a result of these Ford carbon monoxide defects. Still, Ford should issue a recall for the defective vehicles and come up with proper fixes so that no lives are lost. The problem is in Ford Explorer police cruisers as well as vehicles owned by civilians.

Our Newport Beach auto defect lawyers are represented both police officers and ordinary folks who own these Ford Explorers and have felt sick or have ended up being involved in injury crashes. One police officer we are representing momentarily lost consciousness as he was driving his cruiser and crashed into a tree. He is still recovering from his injuries and hasn’t been able to return to work.

This is a real problem with serious consequences to real people. It is about time Ford comes out of its denial and issued a recall so there are no more injuries – or worse – as a result of these dangerous auto defects. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning in a Ford Explorer SUV, please contact an experienced auto defect lawyer to obtain more information about pursuing your legal rights.