Ford, Lincoln and 1 others engineering analysis EA12009
Floor mat interference with accelerator. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this engineering analysis about the accelerator pedal on 21 model years (2006–2011). Opened Dec 12, 2012, closed Jun 12, 2014 after 18 months. It led to safety recall 14E028000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn May 27, 2014, Ford Motor Company submitted recall 14E-028 (Ford recall #14S07) to correct a safety-related problem with certain driver's side Ford optional all-weather floor mats sold for use in model year 2006 through 2011 model year Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Zephyr, and Lincoln MKZ vehicles built at Hermosillo Assembly Plant (HAP) from November 9, 2007, to October 31 ,2010. NHTSA testing determined that the original accessory all-weather mat with a single retention clip (Figure 1), may interfere with accelerator pedal return to idle with the mat retained by the clip and rotated clockwise. Both the single- and double-clip (Figure 2) all-weather floor mats may interfere with the accelerator pedal return to idle when the mats are not secured by the retention clip(s).Testing showed that this can occur if the mats are moved forward from the clipped position approximately two inches into a position in which the rear edge of the mats will abut the retention clip(s) when installed singly and align with the clip(s) when stacked on another floor mat. The pedal interference incidents reviewed by the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) include 1 crash and 9 incidents with allegations of brake friction materials smoking and/or requiring repair for heat related damage. The crash incident occurred after the parking brake was applied at speed, resulting in loss-of-control vehicle yaw event caused by lock-up of the rear tires. The spin-out resulted in a side impact collision with an oncoming vehicle in an opposing lane of traffic. For the 29 incidents with sufficient information available to make an assessment; 23 (79%) were controlled by the driver either shifting to neutral, turning the engine off, or both; 4 (14%) were ended by the driver either kicking the pedal free (2) or pulling the mat away from the pedal (2); and 2 (7%) were ended by the pedal freeing itself from the mat with no apparent driver action. None of the drivers who reacted to the incident by shifting to neutral or turning the engine off reported any difficulties with either action. The subject mats were sold by Ford and Lincoln dealers directly to customers as an optional accessory equipment item or, beginning in November 2007, the mats were also available as a factory installed accessory if ordered with a new vehicle. Ford estimates that approximately 82,579 affected driver's side all weather floor mats were sold worldwide; either over the counter through Ford dealerships or as original equipment. Owners that purchased the subject all-weather floor mats as a factory installed accessory with their new vehicle will be notified to return their all weather floor mats to their Ford or Lincoln Dealership in exchange for replacement mats. Owners of all other potentially affected vehicles will be notified that, if they have an affected Ford driver's side all weather floor mat, they should return their mats to the dealership in exchange for replacement mats. The VOQs associated with the closing of this investigation are: 10327597, 10332233, 10334211, 10335336, 10339330, 10348772 (and duplicate 10342572), 10372674, 10379562, 10415911, 10426255, 10434107, 10521053, 10554966. This investigation is hereby closed.
A Engineering Analysis is the deeper stage, usually upgraded from a Preliminary Evaluation: NHTSA tests, requests engineering documents and decides whether a safety defect exists. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one became a recall. The campaign page carries the manufacturer’s filed defect, risk and remedy, the build window and every model year covered; whether one specific vehicle is included is settled by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2006 Ford Fusion; 2007 Ford Fusion; 2008 Ford Fusion; 2009 Ford Fusion; 2010 Ford Fusion; 2011 Ford Fusion; 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid; 2011 Ford Fusion Hybrid; 2006 Lincoln MKZ; 2007 Lincoln MKZ; 2008 Lincoln MKZ; 2009 Lincoln MKZ; 2010 Lincoln MKZ; 2011 Lincoln MKZ; 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid; 2006 Mercury Milan; 2007 Mercury Milan; 2008 Mercury Milan; 2009 Mercury Milan; 2010 Mercury Milan; 2011 Mercury Milan.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs EA12009 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 14E028000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is EA12009 still open?
No. It closed on Jun 12, 2014 and led to recall 14E028000.
Which vehicles does EA12009 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 21 model years: 2006 Ford Fusion, 2007 Ford Fusion, 2008 Ford Fusion, 2009 Ford Fusion, 2010 Ford Fusion, 2011 Ford Fusion and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.