Ford has stopped sales of new hybrids due to the threat of fire. The issuance of Maverick pickups, Ford Escape, and Lincoln Corsair crossovers with gasoline-electric power plants based on a 2.5-liter “atmospheric” has been temporarily discontinued; more than 100 thousand cars have been placed in the United States under a recall campaign. While Ford advises dealers to solve the problem radically — by drilling additional holes in the lower part of the engine shield.
The recall campaign concerns completely new cars produced between January 19, 2019, and June 13, 2022. There are 100,689 Ford and Lincoln crossovers and pickups at risk. Nine cars caught fire, and 13 more cars did not reach an open fire, but the defect led to smoke or melting of the engine compartment.
According to unofficial data, the problem is caused by a breakdown of the cylinder block or oil pan. After that, flammable liquids (gasoline or oil) get on hot surfaces and can ignite. So far there have been no accidents, but Ford had to stop selling all 2.5-liter hybrids until the malfunction was fixed.
For preventive purposes, Ford advises dealers to remove the active blinds from the radiator grille and drill additional holes in the lower part of the engine shield.
Two months ago, Ford already recalled tens of thousands of cars due to the threat of fire. Then we were talking about large SUVs Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, so we are talking about different issues. It seems that the engineers of the “blue oval” have not yet managed to deal with the defect.
Source: CarScoops.com