Ford has issued a massive recall of over 700,000 vehicles involving a huge chunk of its lineup. The two separate voluntary recalls involve fire risks and trailer brake module issues. Several incidents were reported to the Blue Oval over the past months, without related injuries or crashes.
NHTSA Recall No. 22V-191 involves 345,451 units of the Ford Escape and Bronco Sport, though the exact number of units for each vehicle wasn't disclosed.
Of note, 2020-2022 Ford Escape manufactured between November 19, 2018 and March 1, 2022 are affected, while 2021-2022 Ford Bronco Sport made from February 5, 2020 to March 4, 2022 are also part of the recall.
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All Ford Escape and Bronco Sport units involved are equipped with a 1.5-liter engine. According to the NHTSA documents, the defect is pointed at the engine oil separator housing, which could crack and develop an oil leak. The engine oil leaks could accumulate and migrate to an ignition source, increasing the fire risk.
Meanwhile, NHTSA Recall No. 22V-193 involves 391,836 units of Ford F-150, Maverick, Expedition, Super Duty, and Lincoln Navigator for a defective trailer brake controller software. The defect description states "trailer brake controller may not properly apply the trailer brakes when towing a trailer equipped with an electric or electric-over-hydraulic brake system."
The defect may then cause extended stopping distances which could lead to a crash.
Here are the affected vehicles in the NHTSA Recall No. 22V-193: 2021-2022 Ford F-150 manufactured from January 8, 2020 to February 16, 2022; 2022 Ford Maverick built from February 3, 2021 to February 22, 2022; 2022 Ford Expedition made from April 15, 2021 to February 10, 2022; 2022 Ford F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 produced from December 2, 2020 to February 22, 2022; and 2022 Lincoln Navigator manufactured from April 15, 2021 to February 10, 2022.
Ford and Lincoln dealers are instructed to inspect and replace (if necessary) the oil separators and seals. Meanwhile, integrated trailer brake control module software will be updated. Both services are said to be free of charge.
