CHICAGO, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. will call back 4.5 million vehicles, the largest recall ever made in its history, for a faulty switch linked to hundreds of vehicle fires, reports reaching here from Detroit said on Wednesday.
According to a Detroit News report, the action follows an 18-month federal investigation. The automaker has now recalled 14.1 million vehicles in eight separate recalls over 10 years.
The cruise-control deactivation switches, made by Texas Instruments and sold for about 21 dollars, were installed in 16 million Ford vehicles over a decade before the automaker stopped using them in early 2003.
The switches have been linked to at least 550 vehicle fires and1,500 complaints, and linked to several suspicious deaths.
Ford told the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration it will recall all of the 14.1 million vehicles with the switches that are still on the road, although the company said it does not believe they pose a safety issue in 3.4 million vehicles.
Ford has resisted this step for years, despite pressure from safety advocates.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urged consumers to get vehicles repaired soon. "These hazardous cruise control switches pose a safety risk even while the cruise control is not in use and vehicles are turned off or unattended," he said.
Owners of recalled Fords should not park their vehicles in garages or near homes until repairs are made, he said.
Ford still faces dozens of other lawsuits on the issue and has settled dozens as well.
Between 1999 and 2008, Ford previously recalled 9.6 million vehicles with the switch including a second recall of 225,000 vehicles.
