WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- The federal government's auto safety agency Thursday closed an investigation into fuel leaks from the gas tanks of Ford Crown Victoria cars in high-impact rear-end collisions.
Fiery crashes involving Crown Victoria police Interceptors were blamed for the deaths of 12 officers since 1983.
The full-sized Crown Victoria, outfitted with a police package, is used by about 85 percent of law enforcement agencies in the United States, with some 500,000 cruisers on the road.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened its investigation in November after receiving 17 reports of fires following rear-end crashes of 1992-2001 Ford Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car and Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles, with nine deaths.
During the investigation, another 12 post-crash fires and nine deaths involving the rear-wheel drive sedans were identified.
Last Friday, Ford announced it would install protective shields around fuel tanks on the Interceptors to prevent gas tanks from leaking and catching fire after crashes. The plastic safety shield will be free of charge to law enforcement agencies.
A plastic trunk liner designed to protect the gas tank from puncture by dislodged objects is optional.
Ford said it had no plans to recall more than 2.6 million civilian models of the full-sized sedans, some a decade old. The police Interceptors are far more likely to be parked along the shoulders of busy highways than civilian cars.
"The subject vehicles meet current federal motor vehicle safety standards for fuel system integrity, which requires a 30 mph rear collision without fuel spillage in excess of established limits," the NHTSA said.
Ford said that the Crown Victoria had withstood 50 mph rear-end impact tests without leaking fuel.
GM stopped making the Chevrolet Caprice, the only other full-sized, rear-wheel drive sedan available for heavy-duty police use, in 1996.
The NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation had only two reports of civilian vehicle fires in high-speed rear-end crashes involving the Caprice.
