Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is recalling more than 420,00 2022-2023 Bronco Sport and 2022 Escape vehicles because of engine fires. Affected SUVs are equipped with 1.5-liter engines where a fuel injector may crack and leak fuel inside the engine compartment, Ford said in the required filing that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made public this morning. This is an expansion of a previous fire recall since the original remedy was inadequate on what was then called the Dragon engine. (AutoInformed.com on Ford Expands Escape, Bronco Sport Engine-Fire Recalls)
In the recalled Bronco and Escape SUVS there is a possibility that a high-pressure fuel injector may crack, which may result in fuel accumulating on the top of the engine. A cracked fuel injector allows fuel to leak at a high rate – 19 liters per hour – into the cylinder head. The fuel can then travel out via a drain hole and down onto hot surfaces of the exhaust/turbo system. Liquid fuel and/or fuel vapor that accumulates near a sufficiently hot surface may ignite resulting in an underhood fire. The SUVs therefore are a risk to public health and safety.
Dealers will update the engine control software to include fuel injector leak detection and install a drain tube. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed in April 2024. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford’s number for this recall is 24S16. This recall is an expansion of previous recall number 22V859 or 22V-859. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov. about NHTSA recall 24V187.
*Chronology
On February 6, 2024, a problem pertaining to under-hood fires on Bronco Sport and Escape vehicles produced after Safety Recall 22S73 (NHTSA Recall No. 22V859) was brought to Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group (CCRG) for review. Ford’s Internal Combustion Engines Propulsion Thermal Systems Engineering (IPTSE) team had identified leaks during component-level injector flow testing on fuel injectors recovered from two Bronco Sport vehicles that had experienced under-hood fires.
Ford determined that the two vehicles were produced on 23 November, 2022, and 13 December 2022, with HX7G-9F597-BC fuel injectors. These injectors have a reduced knurl diameter relative to the HX7G-9F597-BB injector that the Ford Recall 22S73 population of vehicles was originally produced with. This change was introduced to provide improved robustness against stresses leading to cracking. Ford did not include the updated engine control software developed as part of the Recall 22S73 remedy for Escape vehicles produced from 17 October 2022 to 15 December 2022, and Bronco Sport vehicles produced from 17 October 2022 to 13 January 2023 at the Hermosillo Assembly Plant. This software will detect a pressure drop in the fuel rail, provide instrument cluster messaging to the customer to seek service, invoke a strategy to disable the high-pressure fuel pump, de-rate engine power output and reduce temperatures of possible ignition sources in the engine compartment. “Ford’s decision not to include the updated engine control software on these vehicles was based on Ford’s assessment of the new injectors’ improved robustness,” Ford claimed in the NHTSA filing.
Ford said that is aware of five under-hood fires on 1.5-liter Escape and Bronco Sport vehicles built during this window of production. Ford is aware of 2 related VOQs [vehicle owner questionnaire that owners use to complain directly to NHTSA. It prompts many in not most safety defect investigations.] during this production window, describing two of the five under-hood fires. Ford is also aware of 14 warranty replacements of BC-level injectors on 1.5-liter vehicles due to suspected cracking during this production window.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Ford Again Recalls Bronco Sport and Escape SUVs for Fires
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is recalling more than 420,00 2022-2023 Bronco Sport and 2022 Escape vehicles because of engine fires. Affected SUVs are equipped with 1.5-liter engines where a fuel injector may crack and leak fuel inside the engine compartment, Ford said in the required filing that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made public this morning. This is an expansion of a previous fire recall since the original remedy was inadequate on what was then called the Dragon engine. (AutoInformed.com on Ford Expands Escape, Bronco Sport Engine-Fire Recalls)
In the recalled Bronco and Escape SUVS there is a possibility that a high-pressure fuel injector may crack, which may result in fuel accumulating on the top of the engine. A cracked fuel injector allows fuel to leak at a high rate – 19 liters per hour – into the cylinder head. The fuel can then travel out via a drain hole and down onto hot surfaces of the exhaust/turbo system. Liquid fuel and/or fuel vapor that accumulates near a sufficiently hot surface may ignite resulting in an underhood fire. The SUVs therefore are a risk to public health and safety.
Dealers will update the engine control software to include fuel injector leak detection and install a drain tube. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed in April 2024. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford’s number for this recall is 24S16. This recall is an expansion of previous recall number 22V859 or 22V-859. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov. about NHTSA recall 24V187.
*Chronology
On February 6, 2024, a problem pertaining to under-hood fires on Bronco Sport and Escape vehicles produced after Safety Recall 22S73 (NHTSA Recall No. 22V859) was brought to Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group (CCRG) for review. Ford’s Internal Combustion Engines Propulsion Thermal Systems Engineering (IPTSE) team had identified leaks during component-level injector flow testing on fuel injectors recovered from two Bronco Sport vehicles that had experienced under-hood fires.
Ford determined that the two vehicles were produced on 23 November, 2022, and 13 December 2022, with HX7G-9F597-BC fuel injectors. These injectors have a reduced knurl diameter relative to the HX7G-9F597-BB injector that the Ford Recall 22S73 population of vehicles was originally produced with. This change was introduced to provide improved robustness against stresses leading to cracking. Ford did not include the updated engine control software developed as part of the Recall 22S73 remedy for Escape vehicles produced from 17 October 2022 to 15 December 2022, and Bronco Sport vehicles produced from 17 October 2022 to 13 January 2023 at the Hermosillo Assembly Plant. This software will detect a pressure drop in the fuel rail, provide instrument cluster messaging to the customer to seek service, invoke a strategy to disable the high-pressure fuel pump, de-rate engine power output and reduce temperatures of possible ignition sources in the engine compartment. “Ford’s decision not to include the updated engine control software on these vehicles was based on Ford’s assessment of the new injectors’ improved robustness,” Ford claimed in the NHTSA filing.
Ford said that is aware of five under-hood fires on 1.5-liter Escape and Bronco Sport vehicles built during this window of production. Ford is aware of 2 related VOQs [vehicle owner questionnaire that owners use to complain directly to NHTSA. It prompts many in not most safety defect investigations.] during this production window, describing two of the five under-hood fires. Ford is also aware of 14 warranty replacements of BC-level injectors on 1.5-liter vehicles due to suspected cracking during this production window.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.