Ford to Recall 694,271 Vehicles in the U.S. Over Fuel Leak Risk

On July 16, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that Ford will recall 694,271 vehicles in the United States due to a fuel leak issue that may increase the risk of fire. This follows a year-long investigation by the agency. According to the NHTSA report, the fuel injectors in potentially affected vehicles may rupture, causing fuel to leak into the engine compartment, which could lead to a fire. The latest recall involves certain 2021-2024 Bronco Sport and 2020-2022 Escape models, with an estimated 0.3% of the recalled vehicles having this defect. An internal Ford committee first assessed the issue in March 2024 and recommended resolving it by updating the engine control software and installing a diversion device. Ford stated that the affected vehicles are all equipped with a 1.5-liter engine and did not recommend replacing the potentially defective fuel injectors at that time. Initially, the recall affected about 42,000 vehicles. A month later, the NHTSA launched a recall investigation to evaluate the adequacy of Ford's recall measures. The agency found that Ford's proposed solutions did not address the root cause of the problem. Earlier this month, Ford re-evaluated the issue and discovered that eight vehicles, despite undergoing repairs, still experienced engine compartment fires, and the fuel injectors in these vehicles were found to be ruptured. Six of these vehicles had not installed the updated engine software previously recommended by the company. Subsequently, Ford expanded the safety recall to include all vehicles equipped with a 1.5-liter engine and related engine control software, in addition to the previously affected models. However, the company is still developing a final solution for this safety issue. Ford plans to begin mailing initial recall notifications to affected owners starting July 14, with follow-up letters to be sent once the engineering team has established appropriate remedial measures.