More than 500K Ford pickups recalled over post-crash interior fire risk
Ford says they are aware of at least one report of a fire in the U.S.
Ford Motor Company announced a recall Friday of more than 500,000 pickup trucks over concerns that the carpet flooring could catch fire after a crash.
The recall is centered on certain 2017-19 models of its Super Duty SuperCrew vehicles, according to Ford, the second largest automaker in the United States.
In the affected trucks, the front seat belt pretensioner -- a mechanism that is supposed to deploy during a crash to tighten up any slack in the belt -- could "generate excessive sparks," "ignite the carpet," or cause any potential fire to "spread within the vehicle," Ford explained in a statement.
The Michigan-based company says it is aware of at least one report in the U.S. of a fire that is "related to this condition," but that it has not been made aware of any accidents or injuries caused by the issue.
![PHOTO: Ford Super Duty F-350 is on display during North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center in Detroit, Jan. 15, 2018.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/ford-super-duty-gty-aa-191213_hpEmbed_3x2_992.jpg)
The recall affects 490,574 Ford vehicles in the U.S, 56,112 in Canada, and 852 in Mexico.
In September 2018, Ford issued a similar safety recall for around two million vehicles in the U.S.
"Ford’s investigation found that some front seat belt pretensioners can generate excessive sparks when they deploy," Ford said in a statement in September.
The company said that recall was connected to 17 reports of smoke or fire in the U.S. and six in Canada.