Ford Hit With Second-Highest NHTSA Penalty Ever

It seems like there are car recalls constantly these days, but automakers like Ford are expected to stay on top of them. A glaring reminder of what can happen when recalls aren’t conducted properly was just handed down in the form of a $165 million penalty from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the second highest in the federal regulatory agency’s history.

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NHTSA says the penalty was issued after Ford moved too slowly in a recall involving defective rearview cameras. On top of that, the automaker is accused of failing to provide complete information to regulators as required by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

Thanks to a consent order Ford agreed to observe, $55 million of the penalty will be deferred. $65 million will be paid to NHTSA and $45 million has to be spent to come into compliance with the law, reports CBS News.

Not only is Ford paying that huge fine, it will be subject to an independent third party overseeing future recalls to ensure it complies with the law. That will go on for at least the next three years.

Ford has to review and make changes to how it decides when to recall vehicles, specifically how it detects defects in different models. Regulators also are requiring the company to integrate technology which allows different components used in manufacturing to be traced through VINs.

In addition, the automaker has to comb through recalls it made over the past three years. If not a sufficient number of vehicles have been recalled, it will have to issue new recalls.

All of these changes amount to a lot of financial investment, so the $165 million is just the beginning.

The highest fine ever in NHTSA history was given to Takata for the airbag inflator recalls. That means this is the biggest fine paid by an automaker, not exactly a record Ford will want to tout.

Image via Ford