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Ford Motor Company is Consequently Suffering the Second Largest Recall Fine by the NHTSA for Defective Rearview Cameras

Ford Motor Company is Consequently Suffering the Second Largest Recall Fine by the NHTSA for Defective Rearview Cameras

The leading American automobile giant Ford Motor Company is crippled to receive a stinging penalty from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the United States. The fine, the second largest recall fine in NHTSA’s history, is for faulty rearview cameras on Ford cars.

Background

The NHTSA has been monitoring the automotive industry closely in a bid to protect vehicle occupants as well as other users of the roads and road crossings. It imposes liability on auto manufacturers to act within a reasonable time and efficiently to remedy the safety defects.

The new fine pertains to Ford’s inability to deal with safety concerns associated with faulty rearview cameras on a number of Ford and Lincoln car models. All these cameras are intended to help drivers identify objects and people behind the car, mainly while reversing. Prospective harm that results from a failure of the rearview camera includes accidents, injuries, or fatalities.

Details of the Recall Fine

The former alleged that Ford did not recall about 3 million cars in 2017 because of faulty rearview cameras. Although the firm had information about the problem, they failed to correct it as soon as possible, thus exposing drivers and passengers in automobiles and other users of the road network to more harm. The NHTSA has not been exact about the fine amount but has said that it will be the second largest recall fine they have seen.

Impacts of the Fine on Ford

This recall fine will bring enormous economic effects on Ford Motor Company. Penalties set by the NHTSA are supposed to make car manufacturers avoid or not ignore certain risks and to encourage strong and prompt recall campaigns. The fine amount may also have implications on Ford brand image as other prospects may doubt the integrity and safety of the company’s products.

It may also give rise to higher regulatory scrutiny for the company in the future, although, as penalties in the future. This could lead to further inspection and audit of the company’s recall procedures by the NHTSA and perhaps constant monitoring of the same. It may also put pressure on Ford to reconsider its internal safety policies and make certain they are up to par or better to prevent accidents of such a nature in the future.

Ford’s Response

As for the NHTSA, Ford has said it is in compliance with the request of this agency, and it has already tried to fix this problem. Currently, the company has initiated a recall program aimed at having the recalled cars’ faulty rearview cameras repaired or replaced. This can include acquiring new cameras or enhancing the camera put in place through a software upgrade.

Conclusion

The second most costly recall fine in the history of NHTSA is a major blow for Ford Motor Company. It will also be important to understand that the automotive industry’s role is mainly to protect its clientele. Such failure to meet this responsibility is evident in Ford’s inaction towards the problem of faulty rearview cameras. As the car manufacturing industry and the respective control boards seek to enhance safety expectations, it is imperative that companies such as Ford should not relent on checking safety bugs. They also have a reason to study such incidents and ensure that they put appropriate measures to ensure they do not repeat the same mistake again.

UPDATE (11/17/2024):

According to the story’s initial version, Ford was forced to give the NHTSA a one-time payment of $165 million. To be more precise, Ford will pay a $65 million cash penalty right now, with an extra $55 million “held in abeyance” pending compliance with the terms over the following three years. The remaining $45 million will go toward a new testing center for rearview camera components, an information and document interface platform, and advanced data analytics.

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D. Canfield
D. Canfield
20 days ago

Will the fines matter? Probably not. I have always owned Ford vehicles, all new except my first car. My latest purchase was a 2016 Ford Mustang and the backup camera never worked or was all red and out of focus. I was told forever that they were waiting for parts to the point I quit asking. I paid my car off before this feature was ever looked at and semi-fixed. It still isn’t right, the lines don’t line up. It’s not a safety feature i feel like I have! Don’t make it right with the consumer though Ford. That might show integrity!

Eric
Eric
20 days ago

Completely ridiculous! GM lets people die for 20 years with defective ignitions and they sat around and did nothing. Ford has a bad camera that cars didn’t even have until 15 years ago and they get fined! Government just needing more money to spend!

Written by Liviu Marcus

Liviu is the founder and chief editor of Automotivesblog. He is passionate about cars, computers, and technology, and these things are part of his everyday life. He likes to do research on everything that exists in the automotive industry in order to share with you the most important information in this field. Many nights were lost for this, but Liviu has no regrets as long as everything he does is a passion—the passion for cars and everything related to them.

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