According to reports, Ford Motor Co. is withdrawing 100,000 vehicles, some SUV Escape and Lincoln Corsair and some small Maverick vans, due to the risk of fire under the hood. It is also expanding an earlier withdrawal of the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs due to a different issue that can cause fires under the hood, even when these vehicles are parked and turned off.
Some models from 2020 to 2022 Escapes, Lincoln Corsair and Mavericks with 2.5-liter hybrid engines or plug-in hybrids are affected by the withdrawal. If the engine fails in these cars, fuel and oil vapor can seep into the hot parts and catch fire, according to press reports Friday.
Ford is reported to notify affected Escape, Lincoln Corsairs and Mavericks owners from August 8, and Ford dealers will address the issue by making modifications that reduce temperatures under the hood to a safe level. Worldwide, there were 23 reports of fires while engines were running, but none injured, the company said of the new withdrawal.
Ford also extended an earlier withdrawal of the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs, saying owners should park them outside and away from the structures in a statement Friday. The company said it has received 21 reports of fires under the hood, including five since the previous withdrawal. He said he was aware of an injury.
Both Ford and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have pages where you can check if your vehicle is affected by a recall.
The expansion of the previous withdrawal covers just over 66,000 SUV Expedition and Lincoln Navigator manufactured in the United States between July 27, 2020 and August 31, 2021. The previous withdrawal of Ford SUV, in May, was apply to just over 39,000 SUVs from Expedition and Lincoln. Browsers with a model year 2021 and construction dates between December 1, 2020 and April 30, 2021.
Ford said it believes it has identified the source of the problem with the Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators.
The company “believes that the cause of these vehicle fires can be attributed to a change in the manufacturing location by a supplier during the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said in a statement. “The printed circuit boards produced at this facility are especially susceptible to high current short circuit and were supplied to Ford and installed on the Expedition and Navigator SUVs produced during the recall window.”
The company said it expects the parts to be available for repair in early September. He said he began contacting customers Friday about the repair.
Ford could not be contacted immediately for further comments.