Ford Motor Co. will recall 915,216 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs in North America because of a possible loss of power steering, the company and U.S. regulators said on Thursday.

The affected vehicles are from 2008 to 2011 model years.

The loss of power steering can increase the risk of a crash when vehicles are traveling at lower rates of speed.

U.S. regulators have received consumer reports of six injuries and five crashes related to this issue, Ford said.

There has been increased scrutiny in the United States by automakers this year as General Motors Co faces a safety crisis that began with its ignition switch issue in older model cars.

Of the Ford North American vehicles affected, 740,878 are in the United States, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"Dealers will perform one of three service fixes, depending upon what diagnostic codes are shown when the vehicle is taken to the dealer," said a Ford spokeswoman.

"They will either update software for the power steering control module and the instrument cluster module; replace the torque sensor; or replace the steering column, which includes upgraded power steering control module software."

Ford did not say how much the recall campaign is expected to cost the automaker. Dealers are to be notified on Thursday and letters to all affected U.S. owners by July 25, NHTSA said.

There may be additional vehicles included in the recall outside of North America, Ford said.