Ford Issues Another Recall for Fire Risk
Ford has acknowledged its recent struggles with quality, with CEO Jim Farley vowing to halt the brand’s backward slide. It will take some time for turnaround efforts to take hold, and in the meantime, we’ve got more Ford recalls to discuss. This time, the recall involves 125,000 trucks and crossovers for fire risk, including the ultra-popular Maverick.
This recent recall action builds on a similar action from last year. Certain Maverick, Escape, and Lincoln Corsair models are included from model years 2020 through 2023. The problem involves an engine failure issue that can cause oil and fuel vapor accumulation near hot engine components. In the right conditions, the accumulation can cause an engine fire. Affected vehicles come with the hybrid 2.5-liter powertrain option.
Ford is aware of at least three incidents relating to the problem and is advising owners to park the vehicle and shut off the engine if there are odd sounds while driving or if there’s a drop in power or smoke. The automaker is working on a fix for the problem
Ford’s recall joins another action from last week, in which the automaker recalled 142,000 Lincoln MKCs for fire risk, but it’s worth noting that the number of actual fires is tiny compared to the recall population.
[Image: Ford]
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At the heart of GM’s resistance to improving the safety of its fuel systems was a cost benefit analysis done by Edward Ivey which concluded that it was not cost effective for GM to spend more than $2.20 per vehicle to prevent a fire death. When deposed about his cost benefit analysis, Mr. Ivey was asked whether he could identify a more hazardous location for the fuel tank on a GM pickup than outside the frame. Mr. Ivey responded, “Well yes…You could put in on the front bumper.”
Yikes - reading the recall info from NHTSA, this sounds like the Hyundai/Kia 2.4l Theta II "engine fire" recall, since it involves an engine block or oil pan "breach", so basically, throwing a rod:
"Description of the Safety Risk :
Engine oil and/or fuel vapor that accumulates near a sufficiently hot surface, below the combustion initiation flame speed, may ignite resulting in an under hood fire, and increasing the risk of injury.
Description of the Cause :
Isolated engine manufacturing issues have resulted in 2.5L HEV/PHEV engine failures involving engine block or oil pan breach. In the event of an engine block or oil pan breach, the HEV/PHEV system continues to propel the vehicle allowing the customer to continue to drive the vehicle. As the customer continues to drive after a block breach, oil and/or fuel vapor continues to be expelled and accumulates near ignition sources, primarily expected to be the exhaust system.
Identification of Any Warning that can Occur :
Engine failure is expected to produce loud noises (example: metal-to-metal clank) audible to the vehicle’s occupants. An engine failure will also result in a reduction in engine torque. In Owner Letters mailed to customers, Ford will advise customers to safely park and shut off the engine as promptly as possible upon hearing unexpected engine noises, after experiencing an unexpected torque reduction, or if smoke is observed emanating from the engine compartment."
Well, I had a suburban auto repair shop in those days.
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