Ford Structure: Hinge and Attachments

Ford is recalling about 137,700 vehicles over a problem with the structure. A hood fly-up while the vehicle is being operated could result in reduced driver visibility.

Campaign
00V394000
Manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Reported
28 November 2000
Vehicles
137,700
Built between
Sep 1999 – Oct 2000
Models
3
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
23 January 2001
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between September 1999 and October 2000. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2000-2001 Ford Explorer SportBuilt September 1999 to October 2000
  • 2000-2001 Ford Explorer Sport TracBuilt September 1999 to October 2000
  • 2001 Ford RangerBuilt March 2000 to October 2000

What the defect is

Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles with steel hoods and certain pickup trucks equipped with sheet molding compound hoods. A wire formed hood striker could be susceptible to fatigue fractures. If the hood striker fractures, the hood could fly open while the vehicle is being driven.

What could happen

A hood fly-up while the vehicle is being operated could result in reduced driver visibility.

What gets fixed

DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE HOOD STRIKER.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtSeptember 1999 to October 2000
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA28 November 2000
  3. Owners notified23 January 2001

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 28 November 2000.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
00S45
Recalling manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owner notification began january 23, 2001.OWNERS who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand