Ford Motor Company has expanded its recall of Escape and Mazda Tribute SUVs to nearly 600,000 vehicles, according to the automaker and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The small sport utility vehicles involved in the recall, first announced on Friday, include 474,000 Escapes and 121,000 Mazda Tributes from the 2002-2004 model years. Ford owns one-third of Mazda Motor Corp.
Ford originally said it was recalling 474,000 vehicles because an accelerator cable may prevent their engines from returning to idle, increasing stopping distances and potentially resulting in a crash.
A majority of the vehicles are in the United States, according to NHTSA’s Web site on Monday.
Detroit’s automakers have claimed dramatic quality improvements in recent years, but they continue to be hit by a relatively high number of vehicle recalls.