WASHINGTON — The Obama administration's pay czar has asked American International Group to withhold some of the millions in bonuses promised to its employees.

Kenneth Feinberg, the special master for executive compensation, "has informally advised AIG not to pay the full $198 million" employees expect to receive, according to a report Tuesday from the special inspector general overseeing the $700 billion financial bailout.

Feinberg is locked in negotiations with the seven companies that received the most expensive taxpayer bailouts. AIG's was by far the largest. The government committed more than $180 billion to wind down the New York-based insurance and financial services conglomerate. Treasury now owns about 80 percent of AIG.

The bonuses will go to employees of AIG's financial products division. Their bad bets on complex financial derivatives helped sink the company. To secure its bailouts, AIG argued to Treasury that its failure would doom the broader financial system.

News about the bonuses in February sparked public and congressional backlash. At the time, Treasury officials said there was no legal way to break the contracts guaranteeing bonus payments, but Feinberg's move appears to undermine those claims.

The company has asked employees to return some of the money voluntarily.

The report from special inspector general Neil Barofsky also says Treasury did not fully analyze AIG's compensation before bailing it out. The government focused instead on compensation for a smaller group of executives.

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it will add 4.5 million older-model vehicles to the long list of those recalled because a defective cruise control switch could cause a fire.Ford advised owners of all vehicles covered by the recall to park them outside until they are mailed instructions by the end of the month on how to get repairs.The recall covers the following model years: 1995-2003 Ford Windstar; 2000-2003 Ford Excursion diesel; 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 Ford F-Super Duty diesel; 1992-2003 Ford Econoline; 1995-2002 Ford Explorer; 1995-2002 Mercury Mountaineer; 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 Ford Ranger; and 1994 Ford F35 Motorhome vehicles.