Ford Motors to recall 144,000 units of F-150 pickup trucks

Ford Motors will recall 144,000 F-150 pickup trucks in the U.S. and Canada for potential airbag problems, the carmaker said in a statement.

The recall applies to vehicles belonging to the 2005 and 2006 model years in the United States and Canada. The F-150 is the flagship of Ford's popular F-Series pickup trucks, the best-selling vehicle in America. The government expanded its investigation into the air bag problems in January 2010.

The F150s were built at the Norfolk, Virginia assembly plant in 2004 and 2005. It was discovered after consumers complained that within minutes of starting the truck, the airbag warning lights would come on and then the airbag would deploy.

Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said in a statement on Wednesday that a majority of the complaints involved trucks built during the first shift of production at the Norfolk plant and the rates of air bags accidentally deploying were much higher in trucks built at the Virginia plant than those built at plants in Michigan and Missouri.