Ford Motor Company, the second largest automaker company in the U.S. recently announced a recall of at least 539,000 vehicles worldwide in order to repair certain errors in the affected car models.

Dan Pierce, the spokesman for Ford announced the models that are affected with this recall. The affected models include the following:

  • 286,000 Ford Escape SUVs (made for 2001 and 2002 model years)
  • 253,000 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans (made for 2004 and 2005 model years)

Most of the affected vehicles in the recall were sold in the U.S. According to the figures from R.L. Polk & Co., there were 1,200 registered recalled Freestars and Montereys in Long Island and more than 2,000 recalled Escapes.

Ford issued the recall because they discovered flaws that could be the source of fire in some SUVs. Some of the SUVs were outfitted with a faulty brake master cylinder reservoir cap which could potentially leak its brake fluid. If there is a leak in the brake fluid, it could cause an electrical short in the antilock brake system which could to smoke or fire. According to the company, some of the SUVs sold may not have been completely inspected or was not given the proper repair needed. Ford mentioned that there are "reports of property damage as a result of fire beyond vehicle-only damage" and the company also confirmed that there are no reports indicating injuries due to this defect.

Despite that assurance, Pierce issued this advice through an e-mail to Reuters: "While the potential for fire is low, it is recommended that a customer park their vehicle outdoors away from structures until this recall repair is performed." The defective part was said to be built from Oct. 1999 - July 2002 in a factory that is now closed for business. There is also a possibility that the scheduled repair for affected SUVs could be delayed due to shortage in needed parts.

As for the recall on Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans, the company discovered some flaws that could be the source of loss in power in these models. Ford mentioned to the U.S. safety regulators that the recall was due to a defective torque converter. Once the converter malfunctions, it could lose the ability to move forward and reserve without warning. This is also known as a vehicle's "motive power". If an automobile loses its motive power, it could still be steered and stopped because the engine is still running but there is a high possibility that it could crash. Ford had already discontinued manufacturing the Mecury line last 2010.