The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Ford Escape vehicles manufactured May 19, 2014, to February 6, 2015, and Transit Connect vehicles manufactured May 11, 2014, to July 2, 2015. Due to a software incompatibility issue, the instrument panel cluster be inoperative including a blank multiple functional display (MFD), and non-functional warning chimes, messages and warning lights. Specific warning chimes, messages and warning lights. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 101, "Control and Displays."
The risk
If the instrument cluster is inoperative, the driver of may not be warned of safety related issues such as low tire pressures or disabled air bags, increasing the risk of personal injury or a crash.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the instrument panel software, free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15C03.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape | 2014, 2015 |
| Ford Transit Connect | 2014, 2015 |
Components: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Escape | 2014 | 2,089 | 16 |
| Ford Escape | 2015 | 1,130 | 9 |
| Ford Transit Connect | 2014 | 127 | 15 |
| Ford Transit Connect | 2015 | 66 | 11 |
Other electrical system recalls in 2015
85 of the 863 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2015 concerned the electrical system; Ford Motor Company filed 737 campaigns in all.
| 15V874000 23 Dec 2015 | Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) |
| 15V854000 18 Dec 2015 | Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. |
| 15V851000 18 Dec 2015 | Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. |
| 15V853000 18 Dec 2015 | Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. |
| 15V828000 9 Dec 2015 | Halcore Group, Inc. |
| 15V813000 2 Dec 2015 | Ford Motor Company |
| 15V799000 25 Nov 2015 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
| 15V754000 13 Nov 2015 | Daimler Trucks North America LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2015