AUSTIN, Texas, July 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The fiery deaths of two small boys this week may be tied to a truck with a recall history. The older model Ford F-150 was parked in the driveway of the family home, in front of a garage that had been remodeled into a bedroom for the two children. An investigation will be conducted to determine the actual cause of the fire.
"Whether the recalled truck is the cause of the fire or not, this is a tragic reminder of how important it is to check regularly for recalls on vehicles, trailers and tires," according to Linda Water Nelson, editor of INSIDEout: Cars & Trucks and sport truck editor of Texas Fish & Game magazine.
Part of a large recall about seven years ago for a faulty cruise control switch, a repair fix has been offered for years after Ford accepted responsibility for the problem, but only about half of the vehicles in question have been brought to dealers for repair of the problem.
Based upon typical sales patterns, many of these have been sold and are in the hands of second or even third owners. Only the original owner of recalled equipment is known to the manufacturer, and only they receive a recall notice. If the original owner has moved and is unreachable by mail, they will also fail to receive notice.
"Unless the current owners have checked for recalls on their vehicles, and verified whether the specific vehicle has been fixed, they are literally playing with fire," Nelson says. "This is not only true of the truck in question. Recalls have become relatively common and consumers must be aware of their own responsibility to learn about them."
Tracking a recall is easy. The Federal Government has a website that can be found at recalls.gov/nhtsa.html. Or, you can plug in the terms: recalls for (name and year of product) to your search engine and obtain information to get your search started. Sites like Edmunds.com also have recall information.
"This is as much an owner's responsibility as purchasing car insurance, and I recommend using at least two methods of search," Nelson adds. "It's as important as having smoke detectors in your home, and checking them regularly."