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Sharing auto parts increases risks of having safety recalls
September 12, 2005
More auto manufacturers are sharing parts and designs across more vehicles, but the companies face greater risks of having safety recalls covering millions of vehicles, as exhibited by last week's Ford Motor Co. recall.
Rae Tyson, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said a recall these days affect a lot more vehicles because manufacturers are sharing drivetrain components and platforms among multiple models. Last year a record 30.6 million vehicles were recalled, an increase of 6 million from the previous record set in 2000, which Tyson says was largely blamed on the increase in shared parts among manufacturers.
Last week's Ford recall affected 3.8 million pickups and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) that used the same cruise control system suspected of causing hundreds of fires. Ford says all affected vehicles, which include the Ford F-150, Expedition and Bronco and Lincoln Navigator, have the same layout under the hood that allowed brake fluid to leak into a cruise control switch. Over time, the fluid can lead to overheating, resulting in fires.
The same day Ford issued the fifth largest auto recall of all time, Toyota announced a recall affecting 978,000 pickups and SUVs for a steering part that could break. Kevin Mixer, an automotive research director at AMR, a technology research company in Detroit, says the auto industry has been sharing platforms and parts on multiple models in efforts to cut costs, but this move means more recalls like last week's announcements could be in the future.
Some safety experts question whether the cost-cutting efforts are worth it when weighing the risks of massive recalls that will not only carry potentially damaging financial costs, but also injure a company's reputation as well. Ford and Toyota did not estimate the cost of the recent auto recalls, which will depend upon how many owners bring their vehicles in for repairs.
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