Ford SUV recall issued for potential fire risk for cracked fuel injectors

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FOX 2 (WJBK) - Ford Motor Company has issued a recall urging owners of 2020-2023 MY Bronco Sport and Escapes with 3-cylinder, 1.5L engines to visit their dealership to inspect for potential cracked fuel injectors.

When the engine is running, a cracked fuel injector could cause fuel and/or fuel vapor to accumulate near hot surfaces, resulting in a potential fire under the hood.

"If your SUV has a cracked fuel injector, a strong smell of gasoline is one of the first signs," said a release. "If you smell gas or smoke, or see smoke, park your SUV and contact your Ford Dealer to have your vehicle inspected. When service is available, a Ford Technician will perform a Software Update that will detect a drop in fuel pressure and automatically reduce engine power. A tube will also be installed to drain fuel away from hot surfaces."

Ford said it is working to arrange for free pick-up, repair, and delivery, in addition to owners taking vehicles themselves to Ford dealers.

Ford plans to update the engine control software to detect whether the fuel injector is cracked and, if so, provide a dashboard message to customers to seek service.

If a pressure drop in the fuel rail is detected, engine power will automatically be reduced to minimize any risk, while also allowing customers to drive to a safe location, and stop the vehicle and arrange for service.

It would install a tube that drains fuel from the cylinder head and away from hot surfaces, and check for excessive fuel odor near the top of the engine, another indicator of a possible issue.

Ford has not issued instructions to stop driving vehicles under this recall.

"Taking care of our customers who are affected by this potential issue is our utmost priority," said Jim Azzouz, Executive Director, Global CX Products & Customer Relations. "Once the repair is available, we will ask customers to schedule service with their preferred dealer. They can then take advantage of our complimentary pickup and delivery or a loaner to make sure the repair is completed at their earliest convenience."

This recall affects 518,993 vehicles in the United States, the release said. Ford says it projects a low failure rate for fuel injectors experiencing external leak(s) at 15 years/150,000 miles (approximately 0.38% for 2020MY vehicles and 0.22% for 2021-2022MY vehicles.

For questions or concerns about the 2021-2023 Bronco Sport and 2020-2023 Escape SUV safety recall 22S73, please call 1-866-436-7332. A Ford Recall team member will be happy to assist you.