“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is conducting a preliminary investigation surrounding Ford Explorers made from 2011 through 2019. Over 160 complaints have come in surrounding windshield trim pieces that detach at highway speeds. If a recall ends up getting issued it could affect 1.86 million vehicles in total.

Every day, vehicle owners have the ability to log on to the NHTSA’s website and file a complaint about said vehicle. Sometimes, those complaints go nowhere and sometimes they lead directly to recalls. According to the NHTSA, it’s received 164 different complaints about windshield trim coming off of Ford Explorers.

More specifically, the investigation filing states that, “A windshield trim panel can detach while driving at highway speeds. This could cause the detached piece to hit the windshield of a vehicle, or even a motorcyclist, following behind the subject vehicle and cause a loss of vehicle control and a crash.” It goes on to say that drivers following Ford Explorers with this issue have been “startled” by the flying debris.”

Read more on this story here.

You don’t have to be a safety expert to understand the dangers of dislodged car parts flying off at high speeds. Does it warrant a recall? That’s a difficult question which would ultimately effect nearly 2 million vehicles. Fortunately, no deaths have been recorded but if these complaints aren’t taken seriously that may change.

Here at IAS Auto Glass, we take windshield installation safety very seriously. Contact our professional technicians at 952-797-4374 if you need repair or replacement of your windshield.