Ford Recalls 2013 Ford Escape SUV, Cites Improperly Installed Part, Third Recall On Redesigned Escape [PHOTO]
Ford Motor Co. has issued the third recall for its redesigned 2013 Ford Escape SUV on Wednesday. The Michigan based company cited an improperly installed part that could lead to a risk of fire on the SUV that went on sale in June.
The third Escape recall covers a reported 7,600 2013 models built with 1.6-liter engines, including 6,150 in the United States and 1,300 in Canada.
This is the second recall for fire risks issued since July. The vehicles being called back were built between Oct. 5, 2011, and Aug. 31. 2012.
Ford said on Wednesday that the recall is to prevent a dislodged cup plug in the engine cylinder head, which potentially result in an immediate discharge of engine coolant. Rapid loss of coolant could result in a combustible glycol concentration near hot engine components and create a risk of fire, according to the car maker.
The ford recall is specifically for manually installed cup plugs; Ford expects just 0.4 percent of vehicles recalled will have faulty parts.
While the car manufacturer has no reports of fires from customers, one fire in an Escape SUV on a dealer lot was reported in Tennessee. The fire took place during a pre-delivery drive. Ford said a dealer employee was taking the vehicle on a test drive before it was to be delivered to a customer and noticed steam. He quickly returned to the dealership, and that's when the vehicle caught fire. The fire was quickly extinguished at the dealership and no one was injured.
According to Detroit News, Ford learned of the fire on Aug. 8 and decided to recall the vehicles after a 19-day investigation.
In an effort to fix the problem, Dealers will install an additional plug sealant, and a secondary cap will be installed over the original plug. The repair will reportedly take 31/2 hours and parts are in stock.
In July, Ford recalled 11,500 new 2013 Ford Escape SUVs with 1.6-liter engines and urged them to stop driving immediately because of fire dangers.
Ford said its investigation in August leading to Wednesday's new recall found that one of the fires reported in the fuel leak investigation in July had a missing cylinder head cup plug, which is the issue to blame for the new recall.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.