Ford Recalls 101,000 Ford Taurus Sedans, Lincoln MKX SUVs, Other Recent Models To Fix Safety Defects

Amid a surge in General Motors car safety recalls this year, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) announced Tuesday about 101,000 of its vehicles, mostly for an improperly installed component in 92,000 recent model sedans and SUVs.

Though no accidents or injuries have been reported, a part connected to the wheels known as a halfshaft could slip out of place and cause the vehicle to lurch forward unexpectedly.

That recall covers the 2013-14 model years Taurus sedan, Flex crossover, Lincoln MKS full-sized luxury sedan and Lincoln MKT luxury crossover, the 2012-14 model years Edge crossover and the 2014 Lincoln MKX luxury crossover.

Ford also said it was recalling about 2,100 2014 Escape crossovers for potential problems with the panoramic glass roof and about 200 2014 Ford Fiesta compacts to fix leaky fuel tanks.

Ford rival General Motors has been grappling with quality control issues in the wake of the controversial handling of a fatal ignition switch defect dating back more than a decade. In January GM announced it was recalling 2.6 million older sedans to fix the flaw the company has linked to 14 deaths and 53 accidents. As part of its efforts to absolve itself, GM has been recalling millions of its vehicles for dozens of potential flaws.

A GM spokesperson told International Business by e-mail Tuesday the automaker has issued 54 recalls involving 28,968,527 vehicles in North America, most of them in the United States.