WASHINGTON—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday Ford Motor has agreed to a $165 million civil penalty after a government investigation found the automaker failed to recall vehicles with defective rearview cameras in a timely manner.
Under a consent order that will last at least three years, the No. 2 U.S. automaker must pay $65 million in cash, spend $45 million on advanced data analytics, a new testing facility and other projects and $55 million will be held in abeyance subject to complying with the agreement.
NHTSA in August 2021 opened an investigation after Ford in 2020 recalled 620,246 vehicles for a rear camera issue to determine whether the carmaker recalled the vehicles in a timely fashion. Ford expanded that recall in 2022 and in March adding about 24,000 vehicles….