WASHINGTON — Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it would recall nearly 150,000 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner sport-utility vehicles after the government and the automaker reached different conclusions in safety tests measuring the driver's head protection in a crash.

The recall affects some SUVs from the 2005 model year without side air curtains or moonroofs. Ford told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it did not know of any reported injuries linked to the recalled vehicles.

In government testing, NHTSA found that the SUVs had a head injury score along the driver's side roofline near the front pillar that was marginally above the maximum allowed under federal regulations.

Ford conducted its own testing and found "a significant compliance margin."