Famous Vehicle Recalls from Automotive History Are a Reminder to Take Vehicle Safety Seriously

At a great Midwestern summer barbecue, it doesn’t take long for people to start reminiscing about their youth and the cars they drove in those memories: the car you drove on your first interstate road trip, your senior prom, or your first date with your spouse.  You loved your first car, but if your kids saw a picture of it, they would probably think it looked ridiculous. Cars have changed a lot since you first got your license; some of the changes are purely stylistic choices, but cars have also become safer over the years. 

Consider that the oldest automobiles didn’t even have seat belts. While today’s cars are very safe, manufacturers still issue recalls when they discover a defect in a car part after that year’s model has gone on the market. Defective parts make cars more prone to accidents; if you were injured in an accident involving a car with a recalled part, contact a St. Louis car accident lawyer, whether the defective part in question was in your car or someone else’s.

The Most Notable Auto Part Safety Recalls

These safety recalls had a lasting effect on car history, either because they led to a major change in the way a certain part was manufactured or because they conferred on a certain model of car the reputation for being a lemon, a reputation the manufacturer had to spend a long time living down.

• 2013 Ford Escape Recall – Cracked fuel lines in this popular SUV led to gasoline leakage, which caused engine fires.  Even though this defect did not cause any known injured, Ford recalled more than 11,000 vehicles.
• 2010 Toyota Corolla Recall – The scary defect at the center of this recall was a faulty accelerator pedal, which would get stuck and cause the car to accelerate out of control.  The problem caused 31 fatalities, and Toyota recalled more than nine million cars.
• 2000 Lincoln Navigator Recall – These vehicles had a defective cruise control mechanism which would cause the car to overheat and catch fire.  Ford recalled more than eight million vehicles because of this problem.
• 1996 Ford Ranger recall – The defect was that when drivers would turn off the car the ignition system would continue to overheat, sometimes leading to fires.  As a result, defective Ford Rangers parked in garages caused several house fires. Ford recalled eight million vehicles.
• 1990s Ford Explorer recall – The Ford Explorers in this recall had been sold with Firestone tires with faulty treads.  The cars with the defective tires were at an increased risk of rolling over in an accident. By the time the recall was issued, more than 200 people had died in accidents involving the affected cars.

Contact Walton Telken Bragee Injury Attorneys About Car Accident Cases

Contact Walton Telken Bragee Injury Attorneys in the St. Louis, Missouri area for a legal consultation if you have suffered serious injuries in a car accident and are thinking of filing a personal injury lawsuit.