The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that it will be launching an investigation into nearly 200,000 Ford and Mercury SUVs for an issue that could cause the back window to completely shatter.

The agency has received 18 complaints of the entire window spontaneously shattering when the trunk is either opened or closed. According to the bureau, at least one of these incidents led to injury, when "the complainant and her 10-year-old son were cut by glass fragments." Although no conclusive link has been determined, the NHTSA did reveal that most of the reported incidents occurred in cold weather conditions.

Specific models that will be looked into include the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs from 2010 and 2011.

Ford has previously issued a technical service bulletin (TSB) for the issue. TSBs are issued when a full recall is deemed unnecessary, but the company wants its mechanics to be aware of the issue and how to fix it. If the results of the NHTSA investigation find that the problem is widespread, Ford may be forced to recall the vehicles anyways.

Drivers in the market for a used Ford or any other vehicle should check to ensure that the model in question doesn't have a history of maintenance issues before they buy.