Despite the fact that so many individuals in the Pittsburgh area depend on motor vehicles as transportation, with any given make and model of a car, there are many things that can go wrong. For example, in the past we have written several posts about parts of cars that pose fire hazards. In addition to posing an immediate danger to occupants of the car, vehicle fires also create an additional risk to surrounding automobiles by increasing the possibility of a crash occurring. Fire hazards are not the only way in which a car can be defective however.

Certain models of vehicles manufactured by Ford could pose a risk of accidents due to issues with their engines. Some of the manufacturer's cars and SUVs have reportedly experienced issues with engines either surging or stalling. Thus far there have been approximately 1,500 reports of these instances occurring. These reports have led the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to launch an investigation into the matter.

The vehicles being investigated include the Ford Escape SUV as well as the Ford Fusion. Also experiencing similar issues are the Milan and Mariner, formerly manufactured by Mercury. The issue may be attributed to faulty printed circuit boards. These particular circuit boards control the engine's throttles. The issues the vehicles have experienced seem to be that the throttles become stuck, either closed or open.

Whether the investigation into the matter will lead to a recall being issued remains to be seen. At this point there have been reports of three crashes in addition to 1,500 complaints. One person was injured in an accident due to the problem with the failed auto component. While the nature of the injuries suffered is not known, it is possible that a lawsuit could be filed in the matter.

Source: The Associated Press, "Feds to probe Ford cars and SUVs for stalling," Thom Krisher, Feb. 25, 2013