LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- The Louisville-built Ford Escape is the subject of a recall.
Marcey Zwiebel, Ford Safety Communication Manager, explains, "We issued a safety recall, a voluntary recall for nearly 11,000 2013 model year Escapes for the clearance in the vehicle's pedal package."
Ford says the brake may be too close to the inside of the left center console panel. The fear is that congestion down there can lead to problems braking when drivers get off the gas.
Every 2013 Escape made between the start of production on March 8th and June 7th in Louisville will be called back to dealers for repair.
Zweibel explains, "There is a console trim panel piece that is being replaced with a new contour that allows for an appropriate and acceptable amount of clearance."
A.C. Cardwell, Oxmoor Ford Sales Manager, says, "Cars are built by humans, and we all make mistakes. One thing good about Ford is they're catching it up front before they're shipping it all out and then they're getting it fixed.
Of six Ford dealerships in Louisville, Managers at Oxmoor were the only ones who would talk about the recall. 15 new Escapes have been sold there -- in fact there were none left on the lot Monday.
The redesigned Escape amounted to a $600 million investment in retooling the plant, and led to thousands of local jobs being saved.
Cardwell says it's one of Ford's most successful launches in history. "We're still positive," he says. "
"We haven't gotten anything yet, none of our customers have received anything yet, but if they do all they have to do is come in and we'll get it handled."
Ford won't say how much the recall will cost, but leaders are watching the public response to this bump in the road, with Zweibel saying, "It is a very strong seller for us so far. Could this recall slow that down? We don't expect so, but we'll let our customers tell us."
Ford says there have been no injuries or accidents connected to this recall and one of their workers found the potential problem. The company will notify owners by mail beginning Monday.
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