Ford Ka's recalled due to brake failure fears

MORE than 600 Ford Ka's have been recalled due to a fault which could cause the brakes to fail.

Last week, 633 Irish owners received a letter urging them to return their car to a Ford garage for a safety recall.

The letter revealed that “a loss in braking efficiency” could occur, because the clip which secures one of the brake pipes to the front wheels is inclined to come away, causing the pipe to rub against the wheel and wear through.

This can cause a loss of brake fluid, leading to brake failure.

A flashing light on the dashboard is supposed to alert drivers to the problem, but Ford keeps track of the faulty cars by the identification numbers on the vehicle’s chassis. If a customer fails to return for a safety check, Ford will send out another letter. Mark Linnane of the Ford Customer Service Division admitted yesterday that the brakes of the car could fail.

“If you ignored all the notices and the flashing light on the dashboard, then, yes, you could have brake failure,” he said. “But you’d have to be ignoring all warnings.” Launched on the Irish market six years ago, the teapot-shaped car has always merited an average safety rating, scoring three stars in motoring magazine, NCAP.

“In terms of safety, where the Ka would lose NCAP points would be that it doesn’t have ABS as standard, it only has one airbag, and there is no seatbelt warning light,” said Conor Twomey, news editor of car-lover’s internet site, motornet.ie.

“On the other hand, it’s not a bad car to crash, and it’s very reliable mechanically.

“It’s also one of the better-looking cars in its class,” he said.

Meanwhile, German luxury carmaker BMW yesterday recalled 38,700 British built Minis and 56,000 X5 4X4 vehicles worldwide to fix transmission and brake problems it said had yet to cause any accidents or injuries.

The Munich-based company said the Mini, which went into production last year, has a problem with a cable connecting the gearshift to the gearbox, which could result in the car getting stuck in one gear.

The X5 has a problem with the brake pedal shaft which could result in a sudden loosening of the pedal and loss of brake power at low speeds or while parking, said company spokesman Joachim Herr.