According to the reports, Internal Ford Motor Co. documents reveal the U. S. automaker was aware of Explorer rollover problems a decade ago, before it became a public controversy.

It has been reported that Ford fought allegations that rollovers that included 100 fatalities were the fault of the Explorer.

"It bears repeating: This is a tire issue and only a tire issue," Ford Chief Executive Officer Jacques Nasser said in a congressional hearing in 2001, referring to Firestone tires, which Ford said was the cause of the crashes.

The Washington Post reported on Friday that papers that have emerged in various lawsuits show another story.

Ford engineer Edivia Caballero in 1999 wrote "the truck tends to roll over," referring to Explorers in Venezuela, where, after 50 crashes, engineers said they would upgrade shock absorbers to "save lives."

It was also noted by the reports that in the United States, Ford engineers twice asked for "deviations" in Explorer roof structures that brought the strength down to a roof that could withstand 1.52 times the weight of the car, just marginally above the federal guideline of 1.5. (With Inputs from Agencies)