Nov. 14 (UPI) — The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration levied a $165 million penalty against the Ford Motor Co. for mishandling a 2020 recall of vehicles equipped with defective rear-view cameras.
The civil penalty is the second-largest NHTSA has levied and exceeded only by a $1 billion penalty levied against Takata for defective airbags.
NHTSA announced the penalty on Thursday, which includes a $65 million payment, $45 million for compliance improvements and potentially $55 million more if Ford does not meet settlement terms in the matter.
NHTSA imposed the civil penalty after it said Ford officials did not respond in a timely manner to a recall of vehicles equipped with the questionable rear-view cameras.
Ford officials also must review the automaker’s responses to recalls over the past three years to ensure it properly addressed issues in the correct number of vehicles.
If any discrepancies are found, Ford must expand the respective recalls.
NHTSA in 2021 began investigating Ford’s response to the 2020 recall of vehicles equipped with the potentially defective rear-view cameras and found the automaker did not respond in a timely manner or provide complete and accurate recall information as required by the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.
The recall targeted more than 600,000 Ford vehicles from the 2020 model year, including Mustang, F-150, Explorer, Escape and Transit models.
The rear-view cameras in some vehicles showed a blank or distorted image while the respective vehicles were in reverse, which prompted the recall issued in September 2020.
No fatalities or injuries have been reported due to the rear-view cameras.