Ford Motor Co said on Monday it is recalling 1.22 million older pickup trucks in the United States and Canada to replace straps that hold fuel tanks in place and could corrode and break.
The recall affects Ford F-150 full-size pickups from model years 1997 through 2004, F-250 pickups of less than 8,500 pounds from model years 1997 through 1999, and Lincoln Blackwood trucks from model years 2002 and 2003, a Ford spokesman said.
Of the trucks being recalled, 1.1 million are in the United States and the rest are in Canada.
The trucks affected in the recall were all sold or are registered in 21 eastern and Midwestern U.S. states, Washington D.C., and Canadian provinces, where the possibility of severe corrosion of the straps that hold the fuel tanks may occur due to prolonged exposure to road de-icing chemicals, Ford said.
As a result of the corrosion, one or both straps may fail, causing fuel lines to separate from the tank or in some cases the tank to fall to the ground, Ford said. Either scenario could result in a fuel leak or fire.
Ford said there were reports of three vehicle fires and one injury related to the issue.
Ford will notify owners to take the affected vehicles to a dealer to have the straps replaced with ones that offer increased corrosion protection, according to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.
Dealers may install a cable support under the strap as an interim repair or a steel reinforcement over the existing straps as a permanent repair, the NHTSA website said.
Ford said it will notify owners in mid-September.