Safety regulators look into Ford Fusion wheels

Reuters (Detroit) - Safety regulators said on Tuesday that they have opened a preliminary investigation into a potential problem with wheel studs on 2010 Ford Motor Co Fusion models.

The hot-selling family sedan has been key to Ford's rebound. About 220,000 Fusions were sold last year, a rise of 21 percent, as sales fell for its two biggest competitors, Toyota Motor Corp's Camry and Honda Motor Co Ltd's Accord.

Regulators with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said they have received four complaints regarding fractures of wheel studs in Fusions with low mileage.

A fracture in a wheel stud may cause loss of control of the vehicle.

NHTSA said that the investigation may involve as many as 281,250 model year 2010 Ford Fusions.

A Ford spokesman said on Tuesday: "We are aware of the investigation and are fully cooperating with the government as always."

The NHTSA office of defect investigations said: "Three complaint vehicles belong to the same 22 vehicle fleet but were assigned to different drivers who experienced the alleged defect on three separate occasions. All four complaint vehicles had low mileage (between approximately 5,000 and 11,000 miles) and the wheels had never been serviced prior to the alleged incidents."