NHTSA Campaign 10V153000

EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY

Issued by COMM-TRANS · Reported Apr 15, 2010 · 65 vehicles affected

What's wrong

COMM-TRANS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2007-2009 ADA CONVERSION VANS BUILT ON FORD E-150, E-250, AND E-350 CHASSIS BETWEEN DECEMBER 7, 2007 AND DECEMBER 23, 2009 AND FITTED WITH CERTAIN RICON S SERIES AND K SERIES L-MODEL WHEELCHAIR LIFTS. DUE TO A PROBLEM IN THE SOFTWARE THAT CONTROLS THE LIFT'S "UP" FUNCTION, SHOULD THE "UP" BUTTON BE RELEASED BEFORE THE FLOOR LEVEL LIMIT SWITCH IS ACTIVATED, THE LIFT MAY CONTINUE ITS UPWARD TRAVEL AND MAY OVERRUN THE FLOOR LEVEL CUT OFF POINT.

Consequence

WHEN THE PLATFORM OVERRUNS THE VEHICLE FLOOR LEVEL AND STOPS AT AN ANGLE FROM 15-20 DEGREES, IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A PERSON IN A WHEELCHAIR TO TIP OVER AND FOR SOMEONE STANDING ON THE PLATFORM TO FALL, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN INJURIES.

Remedy

COMM-TRANS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND THE REPAIRS WILL BE PERFORMED BY AUTHORIZED RICON DEALERS FREE OF CHARGE. A SOFTWARE SOLUTION FOR THIS SAFETY DEFECT IS UNDER INVESTIGATION. UNTIL THE SOFTWARE SOLUTION IS AVAILABLE, RICON WILL PROVIDE OWNERS WITH A BULLETIN OUTLINING PROPER WHEELCHAIR LIFT OPERATION AND WILL SHIP OWNERS A DVD-BASED TRAINING AID TO PROMOTE PROPER LIFT OPERATION AT NO COST. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 6, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT RICON AT 1-818-267-3000 OR COMM-TRANS AT 1-901-726-9394.

Vehicles affected by this recall

Make Model Year Units
FORD E-150 2007 65
FORD E-150 2008 65
FORD E-150 2009 65
FORD E-250 2007 65
FORD E-250 2008 65
FORD E-250 2009 65
FORD E-350 2007 65
FORD E-350 2008 65
FORD E-350 2009 65

Source: NHTSA Campaign 10V153000 on nhtsa.gov. To check the current repair status for a specific vehicle, use our free VIN decoder.