DETROIT, March 10 (UPI) -- Ford Motor Co. is recalling 1.3 million Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans to fix problems with brake lights and air filters.
The cars may have a malfunctioning stop lamp switch or bad wiring that could make the brake lights inoperable or cause them to remain on all the time.
Some 938,789 2000-03 Taurus and Sable sedans assembled in Chicago and Atlanta may have the brake light problem. Nearly 400,000 2003-model sedans have air filters that can smolder causing an engine fire.
About 118,000 vehicles may have both problems, a Ford spokesman told Dow Jones.
Dealers will install a newly designed stop lamp and wire assembly to repair the brake light problems and replace the defective air cleaners, which were manufactured differently for the 2003 model year.
Ford voluntarily began the recalls Wednesday after they were initiated by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration March 1.
