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poita
1st April 2009, 01:30 AM
the last thing car companies need at the moment are failing products
they are in enough of a crisis as it is


http://carsguide.news.com.au/site/news-and-reviews/story/ford_territory_recall/?referrer=email


Ford is recalling its popular Ford Territory to fix a potentially dangerous brake defect.
The recall affects 83,534 Territorys in Australia, 7739 in New Zealand, 3612 in South Africa and about 60 in Thailand and Brunei.

Details of the defect were uncovered by Carsguide after more than 15 customers reported brake failures to our Ask Smithy guru, Graham Smith.

The recall affects the bulk of Territorys on the road, built between February 1 2004 and December 31, 2008.

Territory Turbo, Territory Ghia Turbo and the FPV F6X are not included in the recall.

Ford Australia spokeswoman, Sinead McAlary, said the problem had affected less than 2 per cent of vehicles but the company was recalling most Territorys to replace the hoses

McAlary said the issue was isolated to the Territory and did not affect Falcon models.

The problem relates to the front brake hose, which can wear through, leading to leaking brake fluid that could render the brakes almost useless.

Ford is fitting all Territorys with replacement hoses that are stronger and longer, McAlary said.

An official Ford statement said that the the rear braking system will still bring the vehicle to a halt within Australian Design Rule requirements.

If the vehicle continues to be operated in this condition, a warning light will appear on the instrument cluster to alert the driver that the vehicle's braking system requires attention, the statement said.

McAlary said that a Ford investigation had shown that a combination of high mileage on the vehicles, along with frequent cornering at full steering lock, could lead to a problem with the brakes.

She said any customers with concerns are advised to contact their nearest Ford Dealer to make arrangements to have their vehicle rectified.

The front brake hoses will be replaced free of charge

Wraith
1st April 2009, 11:24 AM
Damn, I'm gonna keep an eye out in my rear view, if one of those comes up behind me I'm changing lanes LOL don't want it pranging into me form a brake failure...

gslrallysport
1st April 2009, 11:56 AM
An official Ford statement said that the the rear braking system will still bring the vehicle to a halt within Australian Design Rule requirements.No offense to ford, but but what a crock of PR derived bullsh!t...

Has any body here tried slowly a car on the handbrake only and seen how long rear brakes only takes a car to pull up, especially a 2 tonne boat like the territory...

Saying blatant rubbish like that in a bid to quell public safety concerns should be illegal, and prosecutable.

gslrallysport
1st April 2009, 11:59 AM
Having said that, Holden is no better. I had my front brake lines replaced under a white paper instruction 6 months after I bought it for the same reasons as the Territory, only to have the replacement so called fixed line burst on the right hand side on me whilst we were in Melbourne last year, whilst towing the rally car... I can tell you, the handbrake alone does not pull up 4 tonne... It was lucky we were only doing 30km/hr down a quiet street...

poita
1st April 2009, 12:00 PM
people not knowing what tehy are doing, who 'freak' out when there brakes wont work
will smash the handbrake on, resulting in even worse results

gslrallysport
1st April 2009, 12:21 PM
Just emailed a mate with a Territory about that article, and apparently it's not only the front hoses!!!

Yeah thanks mate and I am already about to have a big fight with them and take it to the Federal Office of Road Safety as I had a rear one blow out a few weeks back.

poita
1st April 2009, 12:27 PM
oh nasty, not cool for territory owners

Keep'emRunning
1st April 2009, 12:31 PM
..been following these brake complaints in the saturday Daily Telegraph in a column called 'Ask Smithy'

I bet he was a driving force behind this recall, he was apparently inundated with mail from territory owners with the same problems, all of whom were getting nowhere with ford individually.

poita
1st April 2009, 12:49 PM
read the second sentence :p

imay
1st April 2009, 01:22 PM
About time too Ford! This has been a widely discussed and criticised "problem" for ages now. And Ford's initial response was along the lines of: "it's OK, because there is still the reserve braking in the event of one system failing." Tell that to some guy who has just tried a panic stop (as the hose let go!) while trying to avoid a red-light running semi! WWonder how many accidents have been caused by these failures that weren't identified as the cause?

rjastra
1st April 2009, 02:32 PM
WWonder how many accidents have been caused by these failures that weren't identified as the cause?


I would think a burst brake line would be the first thing accident investigators would look for ;)

Huhness
1st April 2009, 02:41 PM
Probably would have cost them 10c extra a car if they did it the correct way.

imay
1st April 2009, 05:02 PM
I would think a burst brake line would be the first thing accident investigators would look for ;)


Granted . . . but doesn't help the poor sod behind the wheel at the time, does it!

I've experienced brake failure before . . . it's not a pleasant sensation even when you have plenty of time to recognise what is happening and react accordingly.

xplosv57
1st April 2009, 06:21 PM
LOL this issue has been around for ages, and also is a well known issue on the Falcon (not sure why they say it doesn't affect the Falcon) too, i cannot believe it's taken this long to recall a car for a safety item, ridiculous!!!

SIMid
1st April 2009, 07:26 PM
I'm driving one ATM, I'll let you know when the fronts fail. :D








................. and I dont pamper it either.

ROCCO
1st April 2009, 09:05 PM
this issue has been going on for ages. almost every week there are at least 2 letters in the cars guide in the herlad about this. Ford has known about the issue for months and have done nothing...its about bloody time...

HappySlapper82
1st April 2009, 09:12 PM
LOL this issue has been around for ages, and also is a well known issue on the Falcon (not sure why they say it doesn't affect the Falcon) too, i cannot believe it's taken this long to recall a car for a safety item, ridiculous!!!

LOL they can't afford to recall both cars :D