Ford Recalls 1.5 Million Focus Hatchbacks for Risk of Stalling
A bad valve in the fuel evaporative system could cause your Ford Focus to stall, and it may not restart.
Ford announced Thursday that it is recalling almost 1.5 million of its Focus hatchback for a problem that could cause the car to stall and then fail to restart.
Effected vehicles are thought to number 1,463,389 sold across North America, with 1,282,596 in the United States, 136,272 in Canada, and 44,521 in Mexico. These numbers include those with 2.0-liter direct injection engines (both diesel and gasoline), whose model years span 2012 through 2018.
Ford states that a malfunction in the vehicles' fuel evaporative system—a charcoal canister purge valve that could stick open—may build vacuum in the car's fuel tank. If enough vacuum builds, the tank could deform and shrink, causing inaccurate fuel readings. Ford states that the vehicle's malfunction indicator light could also activate. The Drive would like to add that excess vacuum in the tank could cause accelerated wear on the fuel pump. If uncorrected, low fuel pressure could eventually result, which is problematic for direct fuel injection engines.
Ford says it is unaware of any crashes, injuries, fires, or other issues caused by this malfunction, but urges customers to maintain at least a half-full tank of gasoline until repairs can be completed. Recall service will be free of charge, and includes a software update to prevent excess vacuum or pressure buildup as well as replacement of any damaged components caused by this problem.
This recall is Ford's second of the month. Earlier in October, the automaker recalled its GT supercar for hydraulic leaks that pose a fire risk. The Focus recall is far from being Ford's largest of the year. It recalled almost two million F-series pickups in September for bad seatbelt pre-tensioners that also could cause a fire.
