Ford Motor Company is recalling F-250 pickup trucks sold in North America due to the potential for roll-aways after the vehicle’s automatic transmission is placed in park. This is the third major recall announced by Ford in the last few days. The other two were due to engine fires in 1.6-liter Ecoboost models and faulty door latches on Fiestas, Fusions, and Lincoln MKZs.
The at-risk trucks include 52,600 2017 model year F-250 trucks equipped with 6.2-liter gasoline engines produced at its Louisville, Kentucky assembly plant. So far, Ford has said it is unaware of any injuries or accidents caused by the roll-away issue, though it urges owners to visit their dealer at the earliest opportunity.
It’s important to note this isn’t a matter of driver error, like FCA’s massive recall of confusing electronic gear selectors in 2016. Instead, the F-Series Super Duty has a plain-Jane column-mounted shifter suffering from a mechanical issue.
Last Wednesday, Ford recalled 231,000 vehicles due to a potential fire hazard. The affected models all possess the company’s turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-four engine. Recalled models include the 2013-2014 Fusion, 2014-2015 Fiesta ST, 2013-2015 Transit Connect, and 2014 Escape.
The fire risk comes as a result of poor coolant circulation. Overheating could lead to a cracked block and subsequent oil leak that could ignite. Ford has received reports of 29 fires in North America thus far, but none have resulted in injuries or death.
While no specific reason was given as to why coolant might not be circulating, it might be because you don’t have any. A notification sent out to owners mentioned a replacement coolant level sensor and urged customers to check fluid levels and refill if necessary. Once the replacement part is widely available, Ford says it will notify owners to bring in their vehicles.
[Source: Reuters] [Image: Ford Motor Co.]
Those turbo engines run very hot and aluminum is weak when it comes to high heat, bad combination.
Better write those Ford engineers and let them know! P.S. Most engines are aluminum block. P.S.S. Aluminum dissipates heat better than iron.
“P.S.” stands for “postscript,” so the next one after that would be P.P.S.
Good catch, typed too fast.
That is why when my car overheated, the heat dissipating aluminum block engine went kaputz. Someone should have told the Toyota engineers about this as well.
So….If A=B and B=C, does A=C?
If the car overheated it’s usually due to negligence, e.g. water pump failure, radiator failure, etc. And even then you would still have to drive awhile to cause serious damage. That being said, are you implying manufacturers would be better off going back to iron blocks?
Toyota engine’s don’t die! You’re just insane!
/S
Information from another site said to check the return hose from the turbocharger to the radiator. Possibly a faulty clamp or a hose that’s too short ?
The temperature guage will show impending doom but what new car owner ever checks that ? Look at all the abandoned vehicles on the side of a highway on a really hot day.
BTW, a turbo engine will run slower than a NA one at the same power output and speed.
“BTW, a turbo engine will run slower than a NA one at the same power output and speed.”
A turbo engine will run slower than a NA one of the same displacement at the same power output and speed, but the CAFE special turbos are far smaller in displacement than the superior NA engines they are replacing.
Quality is Job 1
Wonder what the recall sticker for the dash is going to say this time..
That made me laugh and I was thinking about the same thing.
LOL
Yup!
The more things change…!
“Ford recalled 231,000 vehicles due to a potential fire hazard. The affected models all possess the company’s turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-four engine”
I think I’ll end the day on that note…
Your work here is done.
The carbon footprint of these small turbocharged engines is pretty amazing, right up to but not including the explosive fireball and 90-foot smoke plume.
Will they issue fire extinguishers as an emergency, temporary fix?
231,000 fire extinguishers = too much cost and not pro-active enough.
Software upgrade will not make up for engineering flaws in the head design.
The solution is 2 zip ties and a metal catch basin that will divert oil away from the glowing turbocharger when your head decides to fail (ghetto rigged).
Damnit Ford, I really liked the FiST!
Rollaway problems? Again?
The first time I heard of such problems was when I was learning to drive, 40 years ago.
I guess Fords rolling away when in park is like Ferraris bursting into flames.
Oh, wait–Ford’s trying that one, too. I guess the original GT40 feud is still going on, with Ford still trying to one-up Ferrari.
yes, because something happening 40 years ago and something happening today are clearly related.
“yes, because something happening 40 years ago and something happening today are clearly related.”
Ford not being able to make a transmission that stays in park is like Chrysler not being able to make a transmission…at all. If they keep doing it over and over…
Yes, “something” happening 40 years ago and something happening today ARE related–by Ford’s DNA if nothing else.
tl;dr–“typical Ford, rolls away after being put into park”
>> is like Chrysler not being able to make a transmission<<
Really. The Chrysler Torqueflite was – for decades – the best US automatic and therefore for some time considered the best in the world.
"Introduced in 1956, the Torqueflite was quite simply the best automatic transmission ever produced. It was simple, reliable, dependable, quiet, efficient, economical, and gave Chrysler cars a performance advantage."
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/torqueflite.html
Well if a Mopar enthusiast site like Allpar say this, it’s got to be true.
Allpar – home of some of the best comedy writing on the internet:
” The 2015 Chrysler 200 will do the same thing – offering real competition for the likes of Lincoln, Lexus and Audi at the price of the Ford Fusion or Toyota Camry.”
http://www.allpar.com/reviews/15/200-vs-world.html
Since they both involve mechanical shift levers, it could be related.
If an F-250 towing a Fusion 1.6T is left unattended, it could become a rolling fireball.
And have its butt flame sculpted.
Remember when we were told the switch to turbocharged engines as a result of draconian CAFE laws were not going to bring any additional service issues or effect the reliability of the powertrain?
And that anybody who thought that way were a bunch of Luddites?
Good times.
The non-turbocharged engines on the same vehicles are not under the “fireball” recall.
They lied! Who didn’t see this coming?
I’m shocked, I tell ya..just SHOCKED!!!
And people wonder why I don’t like Ford.
Because Fiat is the paragon of quality and reliability.
A broken clock is correct twice a day.
I suggest you check out that quote. A stopped clock is right twice a day, a broken one will be lucky to be right once a day or could be right hundreds of times–but you wouldn’t know when because you don’t have a reference.
Thanks for pointing out the difference. Are you broken or just stopped?
Neither. I’m wired in to the Atomic clock in Denver.
Makes sense since the “I hate big trucks” routine goes on and on like the 1/2 life of plutonium.
Nope… try, ‘On and on like the life cycle of the Sun’. I won’t stop until I see the size truck I want and can buy it brand-new.
“And people wonder why I don’t like Ford.”
Yeah, I get that all the time, too. Perfect strangers coming up to me… piano recital.. garden store, whatever… and saying:
“Hey! Look here, man… why you don’t like Ford?!”
““Hey! Look here, man… why you don’t like Ford?!””
You *know* you’re wearing a “Calvin peeing on Ford logo” hat, right? :-)
Oh, hell… I thought the logo got so crusty it didn’t show no more… me so chagrin!
Heh – Can’t wash hats, they shrink too much.
That all FCA driveway is another dead give away.
Oh and having the FCA service department and towing company programmed into your cell phone ;)
It’s not an all-FCA driveway. I currently own a Jeep Renegade and a Ford Ranger. Traded Jeep for Jeep and sold the Fiat because the Renegade replaced both it an the Wrangler. Didn’t need three vehicles any more and am now looking for a true compact pickup to replace the 20-year-old Ranger.
Good luck with finding something smaller than a 20 year old ranger. Maybe a 40 year old Datsun?
Yeah. Despite the fact that the Ranger was given to me at just under 20,000 miles (certified), I still had to pay $5k to repair and rebuild the hydraulic clutch, replace shocks and a number of other things because it just sat for 11 years. The clutch should not have died the way it did.
I will give it credit though… after running it for a year with mid-grade gas to help clean out fuel lines and deposits inside the engine, it seems to be back up to original power, or close to it, while running regular.
1.6L Ford Turbo engines are designed, engineered, and tested by engineers who don’t always have an engineering degree. What could possibly go wrong?
I say this because an acquaintance of mine works as a automotive engineer even though he never finished his two year associate degree. He always brags to me about how he makes as much money as his peers who went to decent engineering schools. There are many others just like him who work at suppliers that have their fingers in nearly every auto nameplate.
the 1.6 came out of Europe.
but please, keep pretending you know what you’re talking about.
My son is a biotech engineer and co-founded a successful company right out of college. He managed to finish all of his college math requirements through advanced placement courses in high school. He also overloaded in semesters that he had a lot of easy courses. He could have probably finished in two years without the physical education requirements, art courses, advanced math courses he didn’t need, and second major. Instead, I had to shell out a couple of extra years at $65k a year at a well known East coast technical institute. One of his classmates finished out his 4 years playing golf and softball for a semester. That must have been painful for his parents.
At one point, he was considering becoming a physician and there were some accelerated MD/PhD programs that started with two years undergrad, then the third and fourth years of undergrad were combined with the first two years of med school and summer courses.
College is incredibly expensive and we really need to take another look at the traditional 4-year degree. Wait until it hits the $100k a year mark. I’d have no problems with an engineer completing their work in a 2-year no-bs intense program. Sure, they might be lacking a cultural education and might be a little on the fat side, but who cares. Zuckerberg and Gates have done well as dropouts.
The vast, vast majority of college dropouts (even from Ivies) are not billionaires.
And no one is going to accredit a degree that is just “pound out a bunch of technical classes” without a major philosophical shift in what the West views as the purpose of an education. Not that I want that, but that is what it would take.
Yeah, I agree but that was still a pretty nice progeny-brag.
There’s a problem with some engineers; they get so focused on what they want the thing to do (whatever it may be) and lose sight of other factors like repairability, access or, in this case, proper thermal management.
I wouldn’t necessarily blame the trade-school engineers. It seems to me they would offer a more open outlook and catch some of the things the college-educated idiots would miss. I, as an Engineering Technician, did this a lot during my career in electronics. I picked up on things the full-blown engineers kept getting buffaloed on when their designs weren’t working as expected.
Hmmm.. I thought the exploding, overworked turbo engines of the ’80s in some of the vehicles would have been a reason for caution.
All the drivability issues, and increased maintenance cost for a couple extra MPGs, if you’re lucky!
Haven’t these already been recalled for this before?
I remember when the then-new 2013 Escape was under a stop-sale for fire risks when we were CUV shopping in late 2012. I was wanting to look at the CX-5, and the salesman of the Ford-Mazda dealer kept showing us an Escape. I finally said “No, these like to catch on fire, or so I’ve read.” He looked at me wide-eyed as if to say “How did you know that?” Thankfully, the next time we returned, we had a different salesman which was happy to show us the CX-5. Which we bought.
Maybe they’re like those trick birthday candles that keep relighting after you blow them out.
Yes, but that was due to fuel lines that were not properly assembled so they could leak fuel onto hot engine parts.
So there are multiple engine recalls for fires caused by multiple different things. I’m even more glad we didn’t get a ’13 Escape. Last I checked, it was at around 15 recalls.
Well, since the the fix seems to involve a replacement coolant level sensor, it may just be that the faulty one used on turbo engines is different than the ones used on non-turbo engines (which seems like that might be the case, since the non-turbo version of this engine used in the mainstream Fiesta is not mentioned in the recall), and that if the NA versions of the engine (or any NA engine) would crack their blocks also if run with no coolant. Maybe – ?
No. Because turbocharger = bad. Apparently reading comprehension = bad also.