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Ford Focus, C-Max Steering Defect Leads to Sales Halt

The Ford Motor Company has instructed its Stateside dealerships to stop selling the C-Max and Focus nameplates. Not even test-driving is allowed anymore because Ford has identified a problem with the steering gear assembly fitted to the two models.
Ford C-Max 1 photo
Photo: Ford
This sales-halt is a precautionary solution to the previously mentioned glitch with the C-Max and Focus. If the sub-standard steering gear fails, that could lead to a loss of control and a crash. Ford tells that "a few dozen units" built at the Blue Oval's Michigan Assembly Plant near Detroit are suspected to suffer from the aforementioned defect.

The automaker believes that affected steering gear assemblies might not have enough ball bearings, which renders the ensemble more fragile than properly made units. The Blue Oval announced that no vehicle has been sold or delivered to customers. As a result, the manufacturer issued a quiet stop-sale order. If affected vehicles would've been delivered, then Ford would've had to announce a formal recall.

In the United States, the 2014 Ford Focus starts from $16,810 for the most basic sedan model, which boasts with a 2-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed manual transmission that returns 26 mpg city and 36 mpg highway. The 2015 Ford Focus will arrive in showrooms early next year. As for the 2014 Ford C-Max, you can get one for as little as $24,170 for the entry-level Hybrid SE model that boasts with a 2-liter four-pot gasoline mill, an electric motor and an eCVT transmission.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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