(Trends Wide) — Ford has ordered more than 125,000 Escape SUVs, Maverick trucks and Lincoln Corsair luxury SUVs to be recalled because their engines can leak fluids and catch fire. All vehicles affected by the measure are hybrid or plug-in hybrid versions.
All three models share similar engineering. Due to a manufacturing issue, 2.5-litre gasoline engines may leak engine oil or gasoline vapors that can ignite when in contact with hot vehicle engine parts. Because the vehicles are hybrids and have electric motors in addition to gasoline engines, someone could continue driving even after the engine has failed, exacerbating the problems, according to documentation filed by Ford with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. .
The Escape and Corsair are built at Ford’s Louisville, Kentucky plant, while the Maverick, a small pickup truck, is built at a factory in Hermosillo, Mexico. The recall affects Escapes from 2020 to 2023, Mavericks from 2022 to 2023, and Corsairs from 2021 to 2023.
Most of these vehicles were recalled for the same problem last year. At that time, Ford and Lincoln dealers made modifications to the vehicles, at no cost to owners, to allow for draining of fluid and smoke leaks. However, fires continued to break out in the vehicles on which these modifications were made. Ford is now working on other methods to prevent these fires. According to Ford, there have been a total of 28 fires related to this issue, five of them since last year’s recall.
Once a solution to the problem is found, owners will be advised to visit their Ford or Lincoln dealer to have their vehicles repaired at no cost. In the meantime, owners are advised that if they hear unusual noises under the hood or experience a loss of power or smell smoke, they immediately find a safe place to stop and turn off the vehicle. Users with questions can contact NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 or Ford Customer Service at 866-436-7332. Owners can also contact their Ford or Lincoln dealer.
This recall is unrelated to another recently announced recall of Lincoln MKC SUVs, essentially an earlier version of the Corsair, which could catch fire while parked. Ford also recently had to recall the Bronco SUV because NHTSA deemed the seat belts too hard to reach.
