Ford Territory floor mats recalled

FORD Australia has issued a safety recall on almost 5000 sets of Ford Territory accessory floor mats sold over the past year after reports that the driver’s mat could bunch up in front of the pedals, potentially preventing the accelerator pedal from returning to idle.

Unlike Toyota’s floor-mat problems that forced the recall of 3.8 million cars in the United States last year, the Ford Genuine carpet mats are not becoming unhooked from their fastenings, but prone to folding or bunching.

Two customers have reported problems with the mats, resulting in a low-speed crash in one of the vehicles after the driver apparently bailed out when she could not fully brake the car. The Territory apparently rolled into a barrier at about 10km/h.

In the other incident, the driver was able to stop the vehicle and no damage was sustained.

Unlike a new-car recall, in which the motor company can contact customers direct via its sales data base, Ford is reliant on advertisements and dealers to track down customers whose vehicles might have been fitted with the mats.

Ford Australia spokesman Todd Nissen said the company had written to all dealers asking them to contact customers who bought the mats for Territories since June 2009.

He said customers with the mats should remove the driver’s floor mat immediately until they could contact their dealer to arrange to have replacement mats fitted.

The new mats have a different shape to discourage bunching under the feet in the driver’s footwell.

Affected mats are made of black carpet with a rubber spike backing, and have a silver “Territory” embossed on them. The Ford part number is 5R7J A13002 AA.

Ford also sells beige velour and rubber accessory floor mats for Territory, but these are not affected.

For further information, drivers can call Ford's Customer Relationship Centre on 1800 503 672.