NHTSA probes ‘14 Ford Edge wheel rim failure

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Sunday it is investigating 20,000 2014 Ford Edge SUVs for aluminum wheel rim failures.

In November, NHTSA received a complaint of a sudden failure of a 22-inch alloy wheel rim 2014 Ford Edge with 8,500 miles on it from an incident in Dickerson, Maryland. There were no injuries in the incident.

The “right-front corner of the vehicle suddenly dropped while driving, causing the vehicle to drive off the road and into a field. The right-front wheel rim was found to have broken into two pieces. The owner said that there was no prior warning or wheel related problems with the vehicle,” NHTSA said.

The driver said he didn’t hit any pothole or object before the wheel “totally sheared off from the exterior.”

Ford didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but has a policy of cooperating with NHTSA investigations.

DShepardson@detroitnews.com