Ford to fix throttle on older Taurus, Sable sedans

Associated Press

DETROIT — Ford has agreed to fix sticky throttles on nearly 468,000 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans.

Because of the company’s decision, U.S. safety regulators have closed an investigation into the problem.

Last fall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating cars from the 2000 through 2003 model years. The safety agency and Ford received 100 complaints about throttles on cars with 3-Liter, four-valve Duratec V-6 engines.

The agency says Ford agreed to a “customer satisfaction campaign” and will fix problems for free.

Ford says the throttle cables can be damaged or disconnected during maintenance. Five crashes were reported, but no injuries.

Dealers will inspect the cables and add reinforcement to tabs that hold the cables in place. If the tabs are missing, the whole cable will be replaced.

NHTSA closed its investigation this past Wednesday, the agency said in documents posted Sunday on its website.

Ford says in a letter to dealers that they should replace throttle cables that have missing retention tabs. All the vehicles will get a reinforcement clip that will better hold the cables in place.

Ford was to mail letters to owners starting June 24, and dealers were told to repair vehicles even if the owners don’t have the letters.

The Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable and are nearly identical cars. Ford ended the Mercury brand more than two years ago.