Ford Recalls Nearly 700,000 Vehicles To Fix Safety Problems

By Krishnadev Calamur / NPR

Published May 9, 2014 at 7:51 AM PDT

This story was published more than 10 years ago.

A Ford Motor assembly employee works on a 2013 Ford C-MAX Hybrid vehicle at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., on Nov. 8, 2012.

Ford has issued two recalls, each covering about 700,000 vehicles in North America.

"The first case covers 692,500 Escape SUVs and C-Max hybrids from the 2013 and 2014 model years."Ford says a software glitch can stop the side curtain air bags from inflating in some rollover crashes."The company says it has no reports of crashes or injuries. Dealers will reprogram the air bag control computer at no cost to owners."The second case covers 692,700 Escapes from 2013 and 2014. Exterior door handles can bind and stop the door from latching properly. This could allow doors to open while in motion."

The automaker said it wasn't aware of any injuries or accidents because of the defects.

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Separately, automaker GM said it was recalling 8,590 Buick LaCrosse and Chevrolet Malibu sedans from the 2014 model year. The reason: The rear brakes may have been put on the front wheels. It said it wasn't aware of any crashes related to the issue.

This is the latest recall by the automaker. Starting in February, GM has recalled more than 2 million vehicles with faulty ignition switches. The company has linked that defect to 12 deaths and more than 30 crashes in the U.S.