DETROIT.- U.S. highway safety regulators are conducting an investigation into complaints involving more than 540,000 cars manufactured by Forddue to possible sudden changes in speed that could increase the risk of accidents.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced in documents posted on its website that it began an investigation this week after receiving 86 complaints from consumers reporting this problem in the vehicles' automatic transmissions. .
The documents detail that the investigation focuses on the F-150 models of the year 2014. NHTSA is examining whether these trucks should have been included in previous recalls due to this specific issue.
According to the complaints received, Pickups can unexpectedly shift to a lower gear without warning. In many cases, this led to the rear wheels locking, and one customer even reported to the agency that his truck suddenly changed speed, resulting in an accident into a concrete barrier and another vehicle. Both the driver of the truck and the driver of the other vehicle were injured in the incident.
Ford said it is working closely with NHTSA on this investigation. Ford's F-series trucks are known for being the best-selling vehicles in the United States.
It is important to note that certain F-150 models from the years 2011 and 2012 were already subject to recalls in 2016 due to the same problem. Later, Ford also recalled the 2013 model year for similar reasons.
