Ford Recalling Almost 40,000 SUVs For Fire Risk

Last week, Ford issued a recall for several thousand Expedition and Lincoln Navigator models for an increased risk of fires in the engine bay.

A total of 16 incidents have been reported where one of Ford’s full-size SUVs caught fire, and the scary part is that it seems more likely to happen when the vehicle is parked and turned off. Both SUVs use Ford’s twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 and 10-speed automatic transmission. They also share a platform and have the same wheelbase.

Ford started investigating the issue in late March and says the problem is believed to begin in the rear of the engine bay on the vehicle’s passenger side. Most of the cars involved belonged to rental fleets, while two were customer cars. Of the 16 reported fires, 12 occurred while the SUV was parked and off. Frighteningly, three fires happened while the vehicle was in motion.

Affected vehicles were built between December 1, 2020, and April 30, 2021. The NHTSA says 39,013 cars are affected, most of which are Fords. The Expedition accounts for 32,711 of the recall totals, and it’s the second recall for the SUV in a month, and some units may be affected by both. Owners will be notified soon, but in the meantime, they are being instructed to park their vehicles outside and away from structures and other vehicles.

Ford says it’s still investigating the cause of the fires and notes that it will contact owners when more information is available. The good news is that owners can continue driving their vehicles for the time being, although parking away from everything will become a pain after a while.

Assuming Ford doesn’t issue any more recalls this month, this recall caps off a turbulent month for the automaker. Just this week, the Mustang Mach-E received a recall for unintended acceleration, and earlier this year, Ford recalled 281,000 Navigators and Expeditions for a leaking brake master cylinder. While the number of vehicles recalled pales in comparison to the number of vehicles Ford sold, recalls cost money and negatively impact brand perception.

Though fires are a severe issue, Ford is hardly the only automaker with a recent recall for the problem. In March, BMW recalled 1.6 million vehicles for a potential fire issue, and in January, Nissan did the same for almost 800,000 Rogue SUVs. Both BMW and Nissan had the problem figured out by the time the recalls were issued, so Ford’s got some catching up to do.