The Ford F-series truck has been the best-selling U.S. passenger vehicle for nearly 30 years.By Peter Valdes-Dapena, senior writerFebruary 23, 2011: 11:14 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday it will recall almost 150,000 F-150 pickups in the U.S. and Canada for a problem that could cause airbags to deploy when they’re not needed.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had asked Ford last month to recall 1.3 million trucks, but Ford deemed the larger recall unnecessary. The safety agency is reviewing Ford’s recall plan and will decide whether it is adequate to address the problem.
The trucks being recalled were produced between November 2004 and June 2005 at Ford’s Norfolk, Va., assembly plant. In the U.S., 135,000 trucks are being recalled and 9,000 more are being recalled in Canada.
Ford said it is recalling only the vehicles made at this plant because the rate of unwanted airbag deployments for these particular trucks is many times higher than for trucks made at other factories.
However, there have been unneeded airbag deployments in F-150 trucks made at other plants. As of late November, there were a total of 238 reported incidents that caused 77 injuries, according to NHTSA documents. Passenger vehicle airbags deploy with explosive force and temporarily cover a a driver’s face.
These deployments usually happen seconds after the truck is started which reduces the danger, Ford said, since the vehicle is generally in a driveway or parking spot and not driving on a road when the airbag goes off. But in some of the reported cases, the vehicles were either exiting or entering a roadway, according to the documents.
A warning light indicating the airbag requires servicing usually lights up multiple times before the deployment occurs, Ford (F, Fortune 500) added.
The problem was caused by an improperly placed wire in the steering wheel, where the airbag is housed. Insulating material on the wire can rub off, causing a short circuit that can lead to the warning lights and inadvertent deployment.
Beginning in January, 2006, Ford altered the way the driver’s airbags are assembled to put a stop to the problem, according to NHTSA documents.
The Ford F-series truck has been the best-selling passenger vehicle in America for almost 30 years. Ford is fiercely protective of the F-150 brand and recently sued Italian automaker Ferrari for using the name F150 on a racecar. 
First Published: February 23, 2011: 10:40 AM ET
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Ford recalls 150,000 F-150s