Ford May Have Its Own Sudden Acceleration Problem

As Toyota’s deadly sudden acceleration problem — full coverage here — drags on and on, several reports have suggested that Ford Motor Company may have a sudden acceleration problem of its own. Several sources, including the Detroit News, the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, and the Chicago Tribune have reported that federal safety regulators have opened an investigation into nearly 250,000 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan vehicles because floor mats may entrap the accelerator pedal.

From the Detroit News:

One of the complaints came from Edmunds.com’s director of vehicle testing, Dan Edmunds, who in April had an improperly installed all-weather floor mat and briefly got his accelerator pedal jammed.

The website said Edmunds’ incident in a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid "was a harsh reminder that unintended acceleration is not limited to a particular brand."

Edmunds.com noted that he "had written articles and made videos warning consumers of the danger of stacking all-weather floor mats on top of normal carpeted mats. The fact that he could find himself in this frightening situation was the result of a combination of coincidental events and a reminder that it can happen to anyone."

Floor mats are a big issue for NHTSA, which has been probing them for years.

Toyota has recalled more than 10 million vehicles and was forced to halt production of several models its vehicles due to floor mat entrapment and "sticky" pedal issues causing sudden acceleration. Many experts believe Toyota’s sudden acceleration problems also stem from electronic malfunctions within the vehicles.

Ford has had ongoing safety problems before – including fuel fed fire problems in its Ford Pinto vehicle and, currently, the deadly rollover problems in its Ford Explorer vehicles.

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