Ford Has Multiple Recalls for Engine Fires, Which Isn’t Ideal
That’s what you don’t want.
Ford now has multiple active recalls for problems that could cause engine fires, even in vehicles that aren't running. The issues affect five different models and three different model years, bringing the total number of implicated vehicles to over 100,000.
The most well-understood and potentially farthest-reaching is the recall for the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, which was announced in May, per an ABC affiliate. Ford instructed owners to park the SUVs outdoors and away from buildings, due to a fault in the vehicle's electronics. A Ford release describes the issue as stemming from the engine fan circuit boards in the junction box, which are at risk of an electrical short. This has caused a reported 21 fires and one injury, though no buildings have been damaged.
Initially, Ford recalled 39,013 vehicles for the problem, but on Friday expanded the recall to another 66,221 SUVs, for a total of 105,234. Ford states about one-third of vehicles can be fixed via removal of the engine fan's ground wire, though the majority will require new parts. However, these aren't expected to become available until September.
Ford's other fire concern focuses on its crossovers and trucks equipped with the 2.5-liter, four-cylinder hybrid drivetrain, specifically the 2020 through 2022 Ford Escape, Maverick, and the Lincoln Corsair. These vehicles' crankshafts reportedly may have a machining defect that can cause engine failure, allowing fuel vapor or oil to reach hot components and catch fire. Failures are said to be rare, only occurring in approximately 17 in 100,000 vehicles, for a total of 23 fires with no reported injuries. Ford has reportedly already addressed the issue on production vehicles and will begin issuing recall notices to owners on Aug. 8. Servicing the problem will reportedly not fix the vehicles. However, it will apparently eliminate the chance of an engine fire, with changes to the grille shutters and holes drilled in heat shields to reduce engine bay temperatures.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recall database does not yet show the scale of the 2.5-liter hybrid drivetrain's recall. Expedition and Navigator owners, though, can check if their vehicles are implicated at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls.
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