Ford to recall 1,889,110 vehicles in the United States due to risk of detachment of exterior trim. A potential risk for other vehicles. On January 24th, documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were posted online which indicated that Ford had delayed in resolving the issue after it was first detected in 2018.
The problem lies with plastic clips that hold the exterior trim of the Ford Explorer in place. According to the NHTSA, if all the clips are not secured properly, the trim can detach, posing a serious risk to other vehicles on the road. The recall affects SUV Explorers manufactured between 2011 and 2019.
In Japan, Daihatsu Motor Co., a subsidiary of Toyota, has suspended production after it was revealed that they had been cheating on safety tests for years. This has led to the Japanese government ordering a halt on the production of all Daihatsu models. So far, no accidents have been reported due to the issues with the safety tests. The company has promised to make significant changes to their corporate culture in efforts to regain the public’s trust.
The scandal unfolded last year when an internal employee blew the whistle on Daihatsu for their unethical practices. The company apologized for their actions and vowed to make sweeping changes. The president of Daihatsu, Soichiro Okudaira, has attributed the faults to pressure put on employees to meet deadlines.
As Ford and Daihatsu both take steps to address safety and ethical concerns, it is clear that there is a renewed emphasis on transparency and accountability in the automotive industry. It remains to be seen how these recalls and the measures being taken by the companies will impact regulators, consumers, and the market as a whole.
