NHTSA Probing Whether Ford Fire Recall is Adequate

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said just days after this recall was posted by AutoInformed that The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) reviewed Ford Motor Company’s proposed remedy for recall 24V-187 and started an investigation to evaluate the adequacy and safety consequences of the remedy described in recall 24V-187 (AutoInformed: Ford Again Recalls Bronco Sport and Escape SUVs for Fires)

“ODI evaluated information from Ford concerning the recall remedy for the involved vehicles. Ford issued recall 24V-187 on March 8, 2024, which concerns certain model year (MY) 2022-2023 Ford Bronco Sport and MY 2022 Ford Escape vehicles equipped with 1.5L engines. Recall 24V-187 states that a fuel injector may crack resulting in liquid fuel and/or fuel vapor migration to, and accumulation near, ignition sources that may cause an under hood fire, fuel odor both outside and inside of the vehicle, and increase the risk of injury. Recall 24V-187 further states that a cracked fuel injector in the engine allows for fuel to leak at a high rate into the cylinder head, which can travel out via a drain hole and down onto hot surfaces on the exhaust and/or turbo system.

“The recall remedy for 24V-187 involves 1) an engine control software update and 2) installation of a drain tube. The engine control software update will detect a pressure drop in the fuel rail providing a ‘seek service’ message within the vehicle’s instrument cluster, as well as 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. The drain tube will allow fuel to drain from the cylinder head hole to the ground below the vehicle away from surfaces which may initiate combustion. The recall remedy does not include replacement of the cracked fuel injector,” NHTSA said.

“On November 18, 2022, recall 22V-859 was issued involving MY 2020-2023 Ford Escape and MY 2021-2023Ford Bronco Sport vehicles. Stated with recall 22V-859, the Description of the Defect, Description of the Safety Risk, Description of the Cause, Identification of Any Warning that can Occur, and Description of Remedy Program are the same as stated in recall 24V-187.ODI is opening this Recall Query (RQ) to evaluate the adequacy and safety consequences of the remedy described in recall 24V-187,” NHTSA said.