Ford is recalling nearly half a million vehicles in two separate actions announced today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Just over 244,000 Ford Escape crossovers from model year 2001 and 2002 are being recalled for potentially leaky brake master cylinder reservoir caps, while nearly 206,000 2004 and 2005 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans may have defective torque converter output shafts. Funk Flex