Ford Motors is recalling nearly 85,000 Explorer Police Interceptor Utility SUVs due to concerns about faulty engines that could catch fire or cause other significant life-threatening issues.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the recalled vehicles are from the 2020 to 2022 models and are equipped with gas or 3.3L hybrid engines.
Reportedly, the built-in engine faults in the recalled cars can result in the accumulation of flammable engine oil or gaseous components under the hoods of the cars, which can catch fires due to the presence of ignition sources within the system. Furthermore, this dangerous leakage could also melt down different components of the car and even push hazardous gasses within the car.
The NHTSA noted that at least 13 incidents of underhood fires have been reported in these cars in North America only. The fire-catching episodes were limited to the police vehicles only as the non-police cars of the same models remained safe from these dangerous incidents. Reportedly, no troubled car ended up in any severe accident, and no life was lost during the engine failures. Ford announced that it would contact vehicle owners to tell them about the ongoing investigation and update them whenever they reach any conclusions.
The car manufacturing giant will also advise car owners to immediately shut down engines whenever they hear unwanted noise from the engines or observe gasses or flames emerging from the underhood components.
This is the third time in August that the company has issued a recall due to severe and often life-threatening quality glitches.
The company is also recalling over 370,000 other cars due to problematic airbags that can explode and cause severe damage to the passengers.
Included in these cars are 2004-2006 Ford Ranger trucks, 2007-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles, 2006-2012 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Lincoln MKZ / Zephyr vehicles, 2007-2011 Ford Ranger trucks, and 2005-2014 Ford Mustang vehicles.
Ford has advised the existing users of these cars not to drive their vehicles until the problem is fixed. Reportedly, airbags in these models can explode and throw sharp, solid particles like shrapnel into the air, resulting in possible harm to the passengers.
Recent rises in recalls and warranty costs, driven by ongoing quality concerns, have impacted the company’s profits and contributed to an 11% drop in its stock in a single day late last month.
