— Ford Expedition SUVs are under investigation by the government following a February recall of 2018-2020 Ford Expeditions and 2018-2020 Lincoln Navigators.
However, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration didn't include the Lincoln Navigators in the investigation, as of now.
In February, Ford recalled the Expeditions equipped with front seat belt pretensioners that deployed without crash impacts. Those pretensioners quickly tighten the seat belt against an occupant in a crash. But they should not activate without an impact.
Recall documents say the Expedition seat belt retractor pretensioners were built between October 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019, but corroded squib pins caused the pretensioners to deploy while driving.
Once deployed, the pretensioner is useless if a crash occurs, and problems could occur because a seat belt remains in a locked position once the pretensioner deploys.
Since the Ford Expedition recall was announced in February, NHTSA has received complaints about inadvertent seat belt pretensioner deployments in Expeditions that were not included in the recall.
The investigation, which includes more than 112,000 Expeditions, will determine if the Ford Expedition recall included all the vehicles at risk of pretensioner problems.
Days ago, the government announced Ford agreed to pay $165 million because of failing to follow recall procedures.
