Ford Recall: 144,000 F-150 Pickups Included in Recall

FORD RECALL: Ford F-150 pickup trucks sit on the lot at Serramonte Ford on February 23, in Colma, California. Ford announced on Wednesday that they are recalling close to 150,000 2005 and 2006 F-150 pickup trucks due to airbags that could deploy without warning. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Ford Motor Co. said on Wednesday that it would recall 150,000 of its F-150 pickup trucks to fix an airbag issue.

Under pressure from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Ford will recall 144,000 trucks from the 2005-2006 model years sold in the United States and Canada. According to the company, air bags on such models could deploy without warning.

The trucks, assembled at Ford’s plant in Norfolk, Va., could cause a wire in the steering wheel to short-circuit, deploying its air bag without trigger.

Ford called the issue “relatively low risk” in a statement.

NHTSA, in a 2010 memo to Ford, said that up to 77 injuries to passengers could be attributed to the air bag problem. The NHTSA had wanted a bigger recall of more than 1 million vehicles and is investigating whether the recall by Ford is adequate.

The F-150 is Ford’s flagship and best-selling pickup truck model.

Ford sold 528,349 F-Series pickup trucks in the United States last year, according to company filings.