(2006) Ford Motor Company said on Friday it has recalled more than 876,000 Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer sport utility vehicles to replace possible faulty suspension parts.

 

Ford spokesman Mike Vaughn said the recall is unrelated to the recall of Firestone tires linked to 119 traffic deaths after the tires lost their treads or blew out.  Those tires were equipped on Explorers, the top-selling SUV in the United States.

"We were going to extend the warranties on these vehicles, now we've decided that we want to give all these vehicle owners the upgrade so there will be no question on Explorer safety among our customers," he said of the latest recall.

Most of the 6.5 million tires recalled by Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. in early August were equipped on Explorers.  The U.S. unit of Japan's Bridgestone Corp. (5108) and Ford said 80 percent of the recalled tires have been replaced.

In its latest action, Ford said it has recalled 876,413 1995-1997-model Ford Explorers and 1997-model Mountaineers because one or both links that attach the front stabilizer bar to the SUVs can fracture.  The stabilizer bar helps control vehicle lean in sharp turns.

Vaughn said a vehicle with a broken link will only lean more, but it doesn't mean it will roll over. The problem is most likely to occur in colder climates.

He said there were no reports of injuries and only two "minor" accidents.

Vaughn said owners of SUVs with the problem typically report hearing noises from the front suspension area when driving with a fractured link or notice increased vehicle lean in a turn.

Ford's recall comes one day after Daimler-Chrysler AG's (DCX) (DCXGn) U.S. unit recalled 769,000 1993-94 model Dodge, Chrysler and Plymouth minivans to reinforce the steering wheel.  There were 70 reports of steering-wheel damage, but no injuries or accidents.

Design flaws have become a hot topic in the auto industry in the past few months after a slew of high profile international recalls by heavy hitters, including Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone.

Auto analysts have said the recent flurry of recalls stems from the complexity of modern car designs and high-speed production rates, but not necessarily a fall in quality.

In Brazil, General Motors Corp. (GM) last month recalled 14,666 of its low-priced Celta cars just two months after their launch because of a suspension flaw.  That recall came on the coattails of 1.3-million car Brazilian recall of GM's Corsica car in October for possible seat problems.