Transit battery recall
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by Ian Wylie • Faulty batteries are threatening to spoil the 30th birthday celebrations of Britain's most popular panel van, the Ford Transit.
Ford has been forced to recall more than 2,000 Transits built last month but dismisses reports that lifting the bonnet could cause an explosion as "complete rubbish".
Ford says the fault is restricted to Ford Motorcraft batteries fitted to vans built at its Southampton plant in March. According to spokesman Simon Sproule, the majority of vans are either in Ford's stock compounds or at dealerships, but as many as 100 have already been delivered to customers.
"We've written to customers and dealers advising them not to drive the vans or open their bonnets," says Sproule. "There is a fault within the battery which means it can dissolve and leak its contents, but it won't explode." Transit owners will be given a new battery free of charge.
Up to 60,000 Transits are sold each year. Most are built at Southampton with the remainder imported from Ford's plants in Belgium and Portugal.
The first Transit rolled off the production lines in 1965 and Ford plans to celebrate the anniversary this year with an exhibition of vintage and out-of-the-ordinary vans. Transits with faulty batteries are unlikely to feature.