Ford recalling 450,000 minivans, SUVs

@CNNMoney January 11, 2012: 12:35 PM ET
A 2002 Ford Escape, one of the vehicles in the current recall.

A 2002 Ford Escape, one of the vehicles in the current recall.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Ford announced a recall Wednesday of 450,000 older model minivans and SUVs for risks from fire and loss of power.

The affected vehicles are the 2001 and 2002 Ford Escape compact SUV, and the 2004 and 2005 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans.

The Escape, of which there are an estimated 245,000 on the road, has a reservoir cap on its brake master cylinder that can leak brake fluid, which could lead to smoking or even a fire, according to the recall notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (Cool cars from Detroit auto show)

The minivans, of which there are 205,000 on the road, have a torque converter output shaft that can fail, which can cause the vehicle to lose power, increasing the risk of a crash.

Ford (F, Fortune 500) spokesman Daniel Pierce said the company is aware of two minor accidents attributed to the minivan recall, with minor injuries reported in one and no injury in the other.

Pierce said he's not aware of any accident or injury involved in the Escape recall, only reports of property damage. To top of page

Find Your Next Car

Get the latest car news:

  • -->

    Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.