Recall wrap: 73,000 Ford Rangers now a fire risk

UPDATE 25/06/2018:Capping off a big week of recalls were two more from BMW and Audi announced late on Friday.

BMW Australia recalled 44,196 examples of the 2005-2011 BMW 3 Series, in which the electrical wiring and fan resistor in the air-conditioning blower could deteriorate over time, potentially leading to a short-circuit and fire.

Audi Australia, meantime, recalled 96 examples of the A4, A5, A6, A7 and Q5 manufactured between January 2011 and March 2017 fitted with a 2.0-litre TFSI engine.

It says moisture could find its way into electric components and cause overheating, failure of the coolant pump, smoulder damage and even fire.

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Ford Australia has extended its recall of 59,000 current-model Rangers built between July 12, 2016 and December 2017, when it first announced the recall, to include a further 14,000 utes built between then and April 5 this year, when a manufacturing production fix for a potential fire risk went live.

That brings to 73,000 the total number of Rangers affected by the potential for flammable materials to accumulate and come into contact with the exhaust after driving over long grass, leading to a vehicle fire.

Ford says parts are now available to address this concern, including a heat shield that will be fitted to the exhaust system and an underbody deflector shield mounted between the suspension and transmission cross-members.

The closely related Mazda BT-50 has also been recalled for the same issue, affecting approximately 20,000 examples.

Concerned Ranger owners can check if their vehicle is affected by calling 1800 503 672 or clicking here for the full VIN list. BT-50 owners should call 1800 034 411 or click here.

Both the Ranger and BT-50 – plus the related Ford Everest – are also affected by a steering problem announced last week, in which “inappropriate” welding quality could see the lower intermediary steering shaft fail, causing loss of steering.

The problem affects Rangers built between March 18 and April 11 this year and Everests built between March 16 and April 6.

Meantime, Volkswagen Group Australia yesterday recalled 1268 examples of its all-new MY18 Polo to fix left-rear seatbelt buckles that can inadvertently release.

“There is a possibility that in rare situations, when the rear centre seat and the rear left seat are occupied at the same time, the left seat belt lock could be unintentionally released,” said VW in May, when the problem was first identified.

“The Polo has front and rear seatbelt alerts and remains safe to drive, but Volkswagen asks customers not to use the middle rear seat until the car is equipped with the redesigned belt lock fixture.”

Concerned MY18 Polo owners can call 1800 504 076 or click here for the full VIN list.

Also this week, BMW Group Australia recalled 20,764 examples of 1 Series and 3 Series vehicles sold between March 2007 and October 2011, to fix a potential electrical connection failure that could cause a variety of problems, including complete shutdown while driving.

The list affected vehicles can be found here and owners can call 1800 813 299.

This follows the addition of 70,461 BMW 1 Series, 3 Series and X3 vehicles sold between June 2004 and June 2015 being added to the compulsory Takata airbag recall on June 20. See the full list here or call 1800 243 675.

In a big week for BMW recalls, a further 1540 BMW X3s sold between February 12, 2004 and September 13, 2007 were included in a separate Takata airbag recall on Monday.