Ford can’t stop recalling its cars

Ford’s 2016 Police Interceptor Utility vehicle.

Ford recalled over 85,000 police vehicles due to potential engine fires in its latest manufacturing headache.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the recall in a memo this month. It affects 2020-2022 Ford Explorers with the Police Interceptor Utility Package.

“In the event of an engine failure, engine oil and fuel vapor may be released into the engine compartment and accumulate near ignition sources such as hot engine or exhaust components, possibly resulting in an engine compartment fire,” the memo said.

A safety recall report said as of July 9, there were 13 reports of “under hood fires in North America resulting from engine block breaches on Explorer PIU vehicles built with 3.3L engines manufactured before June 2, 2022.”

Ford is not aware of any accident or injury reports related to the issue, according to the safety report.

“Our goal is to prevent quality issues from happening in the first place,”a statement from Ford representative said. “When they do occur, our focus is on responding quickly with a recall or service action to prevent our customers from experiencing issues with the least inconvenience possible. We are committed to improving our launch quality and long-term quality and are already starting to see improvements in both.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did not immediately respond to B-17’s request for comment.

Ford has been bogged down by quality issues affecting its vehicles this year. 

The recall is the latest misstep for Ford.

Although Ford earned $1.8 billion in net income during the second fiscal quarter, the company acknowledged in a July earnings press release that its warranty reserve increase impacted its profits. The company racked up $2.3 billion in warranty and recall costs during the second quarter alone, according to The Associated Press.

Ford began recalling vehicles at the beginning of the year, including more than 2 million Explorer SUVs in January because of trim-retention clips.

In June, Ford recalled over half a million 2014 Model F-150 pickup trucks because of sudden gear shifts. The company then issued another recall for 2024 Ford Mustang over concerns that the steering wheel could turn unintentionally.

This month, Ford recalled almost 5,000 2024 Mustang vehicles over concerns the rear suspension knuckles could fail.

Ford also provided an update to a recall first issued in 2015 this month by issuing a “Do Not Drive” warning for more than 300,000 vehicles “equipped with recalled, unrepaired Takata airbags.”

Ford Chief Operating Officer Kumar Galhotra said in a February press release that the company has taken steps to improve its quality and, in turn, its profits.

“We’re seeing green shoots of quality improvement, including in our new-product launches — with several important ones coming up this year,” Galhotra said. “Across our global industrial system we’ve identified and will land $2 billion in cost reductions, in areas like material, freight and manufacturing — and we’re just getting started.”