In 2012, the third-generation Ford Escape's first year on the market, the crossover had five separate recalls , with two of them warning owners to either stop driving or get alternative transportation .
After the nightmare debut year, things were a lot quieter in 2013. Until now, that is, as Ford is issuing two new recalls for fire risks in some 2013 Ford Escape SUVs, after receiving new reports of engine fires.
The automaker is recalling nearly 140,000 2013 Ford Escape with 1.6-liter engines in the U.S. and 161,333 worldwide because of fires caused by overheating of the engine cylinder head, which can crack and leak oil. Ford received reports of 13 fires caused by this problem, including one in Canada.
The second recall involves 9,649 2013 Ford Escape SUVs in the U.S. and 11,821 worldwide that will be inspected to prevent a fuel leak. If the problem is not solved, the leak could also result in an engine compartment fire. No fires have been reported in regard to this issue, however.
Ford will notify owners by late January to take their vehicles to a dealer where fixes will be made to the engine shielding, cooling and control systems. The carmaker said owners don’t have to stop driving their vehicles or look for alternative transportation ahead of the fixes. That’s because Ford has introduced an improved control system to detect engine overheating and warn the drivers.
On 2014 models, Ford has also added a new temperature sensor that is more capable of detecting overheating in the engine cylinder. There are no reports of such issues in the 2014 Escape.
By Dan Mihalascu
