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Ford makes some of the best cars to buy. Of course, the automaker’s vehicles aren’t perfect, but some of the most iconic cars come from the blue oval. Sadly, Ford now has a bit of trouble on its hands. It’s facing a massive civil penalty for not issuing car recalls as soon as it should have. Notably, this is one of the biggest penalties in the history of the NHTSA. 

Ford is on the hook with the NHTSA after not issues car recalls fast enough

No one likes to deal with car recalls. However, they are one of the best ways to maintain vehicle safety. According to The Detroit News, Ford owes the second largest civil penalty in NHTSA history because the company took too long in issuing car recalls. The amount of this penalty comes out to $160 million. Notably, the largest civil penalty came from Takata due to the massive issues with its airbags. 

The investigation that led to this penalty for car recalls started in 2021. Specifically, Ford was found to not recall vehicles with defective review cameras promptly. The company also failed to provide “accurate and complete” information about the recalls to customers. Of course, this is required by the NHTSA to allow for full transparency. 

This issue with Ford and its car recalls concerns 600,000 of what some would call many of the best cars to buy. They include some 2020 Ford Escape, Explorer, F-150, Mustang, and Transit models. Specifically, rearview cameras were known to sometimes have distorted or blank images, which is a huge safety concern for people who have become accustomed to using cameras to back up. The initial recall for this issue happened in September of 2020. 

Regarding the penalty, Ford owes $65 million upfront, $55 million will be held based on Ford honoring the consent order, and it must use $45 million to invest in data analytics. Ford also has to look into all of its car recalls from the last three years to ensure they have been handled properly.