Three Ford recalls total 221,000 trucks, SUVs

Ford Motor announced today that it will conduct three separate recalls that total about 221,000 North American trucks and SUVs -- nearly all in the U.S.

Included are recent-model ambulance and emergency vehicles and police SUVs.

The automaker says it knows of no accidents or injuries as a result of the faults, but has cataloged two underhood fires.

Involved:

•2011-2013 Ford Explorer SUVs and Ford Police Interceptor Unity vehicles. Interior door handles can come unhatched in a side crash, reducing the amount of side-impact protection for occupants.

The recall is for 212,911 vehicles built at Chicago Assembly Plant from Feb. 1, 2011 to Jan. 31, 2012; from June 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012; and from Oct. 1, 2012 to Nov. 30, 2012.

Ford says 194,484 of the vehicles are in the U.S. and its territories, 12,392 in Canada and 6,035 in Mexico.

•2013-2015 Lincoln MKT limousine and hearse vehicles A faulty vacuum pump relay could cause an underhood fire.

Ford says it knows of two such fires; no injuries resulted.

The 1,725 vehicles were built at Ford's Oakville Assembly plant March 6, 2012 to March 4, 2015.

There are 1,586 vehicles in the U.S. and 139 in Canada.

Dealers will replace the vacuum pump relay and associated wiring at no cost to the customer.

• 2011 - 2013 F-series Super Duty ambulance vehicles and 2014 - 2015 ambulance and emergency vehicles. The exhaust temperature sensor can malfunction and give a false high-temperature reading.

The 6,472 vehicles were built at Kentucky Truck Plant, Feb. 22, 2010 to Feb. 1, 2015.

There are 6,322 vehicles in the U.S., 96 in Canada and 54 in Mexico.

In each case, dealers will make repairs free.