Vehicles Affected

Ford Motor Company is initiating a safety recall of ambulances, produced by various ambulance manufacturers, that are based on 1983-1987 model Ford Econoline E350 Cutaway Chassis or Vans and equipped with 7.5 liter engines. Ford has obtained information that a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in some of these ambulances, in that conditions introduced during their manufacture or after they have been placed into Emergency Medical Service (EMS) vehicle use, can create an unreasonable risk of injury in the circumstances in which they are operated.

This safety recall supersedes the coordinated national inspection and modification program announced jointly last month by Ford and leading ambulance manufacturers in the United States.

REASONS FOR THIS RECALL:

Unlike typical safety recall campaigns, we have not identified one specific cause of fires in these vehicles. Rather, the risk of fire is believed to result from a combination of adverse factors involving a vehicle's overall mechanical condition, including excessive underbody temperatures and fuel system pressures, the operating practices to which it is subjected, and the use in some localities of highly-volatile "Winter Grade" gasoline during hot weather.

Investigations by Ford and by the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicate to Ford that certain fuel venting and emission system modifications, together with the correction of fuel leak sources and of mechanical discrepancies that cause excessive underbody temperatures or fuel system overpressurization, will substantially reduce the potential for fires related to fuel leaks or to expulsion of fuel from the filler pipe when the filler caps are removed. In the presence of an ignition source, leaking or expelled gasoline or accompanying vapors could ignite, and a vehicle fire and risk of injury could result.