NHTSA Recall 10V243000
Filed by Ford Motor Company. Component: Equipment Adaptive/Mobility. Reported 2010-06-04. An estimated 60 vehicles are affected. Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer.
Defect
MOBILITY TRANSPORTATION (MTS) IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2007 THROUGH 2009 CONVERSION VANS BUILT ON FORD E150, E250, AND E350 CHASSIS FROM SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 THROUGH APRIL 15, 2009 AND FITTED WITH CERTAIN RICON S SERIES AND K SERIES L-MODEL WHEELCHAIR LIFTS. DUE TO A PROBLEM IN THE SOFTWARE THAT CONTROLS THE LIFT'S "UP" FUNCTION, SHOULD THE "UP" BUTTON BE RELEASED BEFORE THE FLOOR LEVEL LIMIT SWITCH IS ACTIVATED, THE LIFT MAY CONTINUE ITS UPWARD TRAVEL AND MAY OVERRUN THE FLOOR LEVEL CUT OFF POINT.
Risk
WHEN THE PLATFORM OVERRUNS THE VEHICLE FLOOR LEVEL AND STOPS AT AN ANGLE FROM 15-20 DEGREES, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A PERSON IN A WHEELCHAIR TO TIP OVER AND FOR SOMEONE STANDING ON THE PLATFORM TO FALL, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN INJURIES.
What the manufacturer will do
MTS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND THE REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY AUTHORIZED RICON DEALERS FREE OF CHARGE. A SOFTWARE SOLUTION FOR THIS SAFETY DEFECT IS UNDER INVESTIGATION. UNTIL THE SOFTWARE SOLUTION IS AVAILABLE, RICON WILL PROVIDE OWNERS WITH A BULLETIN OUTLINING PROPER WHEELCHAIR LIFT OPERATION AND WILL SHIP OWNERS A DVD-BASED TRAINING AID TO PROMOTE PROPER LIFT OPERATION AT NO COST. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT RICON AT 1-818-267-3000 OR MTS AT 1-734-453-6452.
Notes
OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO <A HREF=HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV>HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV</A> .