Nearly 5 million
vehicles recalled

WASHINGTON » It hasn't been the best of years for Ford Motor Co.

Already dealing with a profit slump, intense competition and mounting health care costs, the nation's No. 2 automaker now has a new headache: getting people to bring back 3.8 million trucks and SUVs in the fifth largest recall in U.S. history.

Ford issued the massive recall yesterday, responding to hundreds of complaints of engine fires from owners of vehicles from the 1994-2002 model years, including the top-selling F-150 pickup.

Toyota Motor Corp., meanwhile, recalled 978,000 sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks over problems with the power-steering system. A rod linking the steering wheel and the wheels could fracture, the company said, when the steering wheel is turned while the vehicle is stopped.