It’s not even March yet, and the company has already recalled more vehicles than Hyundai and General Motors combined. Ford is expanding its recall campaign to cover 24,690 crossovers, including hybrid versions of the 2023-2025 Escape and 2023-2026 Lincoln Corsair. Carscoops reports this.
“According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), crossovers may have a manufacturing defect in one or more high-voltage battery cells. This may cause an internal short circuit and battery failure. In this case, the car may lose drive or catch fire,” the publication says.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ford’s problem itself is well known – the company has already recalled cars twice for the same reason. The current campaign expands on previous ones and brings the total number of recalled vehicles to 61,526.
The reason is said to be the instability of the production process at the supplier of the elements – it can lead to microdefects and local stresses in the separator layer of the cathode. The recall report clarifies that such defects can damage the separator. The batteries are manufactured by Samsung SDI, although only 1% of the recalled batteries are believed to be affected by the defect.
Although the defect is rare, Ford does not yet have a ready solution. The company recommends that owners only drive in automatic EV mode and not charge the battery above 80%. At the beginning of March, preliminary notifications will begin to be sent out, and later they will inform about the timing of troubleshooting. It is not yet known when the final decision will appear. In addition, there is a ban on the sale of new cars that are in stock – they cannot be delivered or displayed in showrooms.
It was previously reported that Mustang Mach-E buyers will be forced to pay for the front trunk.
