Gas Up That Focus, Ford Says, As Automaker Launches Recall of 1.5 Million Cars

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

While Ford unceremoniously ended Focus production in the U.S. earlier this year, the model is trying its best to stay in the public eye. The automaker has announced a recall of nearly 1.5 million Focus vehicles in North America to prevent a stuck purge valve from vacuuming up the 2.0-liter engine’s performance.

As owners await notification, Ford implores them to head to their local gas station and fill’er up.

The recall impacts 1,282,596 2012-2018 Ford Focus vehicles in the United States outfitted with the 2.0-liter GDI or GTDI four-cylinder engine. In these vehicles, the canister purge valve could stick open, leading to excessive vacuum in the fuel vapor management system and the potential for sudden engine stalls or an inability to start the car. Ford also warns of potential deformation of the car’s plastic fuel tank.

For some owners, a wonky CPV could leave them unknowingly running on empty.

“Affected vehicles may illuminate a Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) or customers may observe inaccurate fuel gauge indication, inaccurate distance to empty indication and/or have driveability concerns,” the automaker stated in its safety report.

Recalled vehicles will see their powertrain control modules reprogrammed to identify a malfunctioning CPV. If necessary, dealers will replace the CPV, as well as the charcoal canister, fuel delivery module, and possibly even the fuel tank. Owner notification begins December 10th.

Until these Focuses get their day in the service bay, Ford cautions all owners to drive with at least a half tank of fuel. There are no crashes associated with the recall.

[Image: Ford Motor Company]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Redapple Redapple on Oct 25, 2018

    Get my Ryobi cordless drill. Lock in 1/4 inch drill bit. Drill hole. Problem solved 2 minutes max.

    • See 1 previous
    • Deanst Deanst on Oct 25, 2018

      I just replace a purge valve on one of my cars. 5 minutes ordering on rock auto, 10 minutes to install.

  • Stuntmonkey Stuntmonkey on Oct 25, 2018

    And with that recall, the Focus ends life the same way it began with the gen-1's.

  • Dukeisduke Dukeisduke on Oct 25, 2018

    Potentially very expensive repairs for Ford (especially the charcoal canister, the FDM, and the fuel tank). I can see where the gauge might read incorrect - the fuel tank starts to collapse from the bottom up, pushing up on the sender arm and float, causing the the gauge to read higher than the amount of fuel in the tank.

  • Gasser Gasser on Oct 25, 2018

    Another month, another recall. Glad I sold my stock. I have lost faith in Ford to provide RELIABLE vehicles.

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