Ford recalls nearly 200,000 SUVs because they could catch fire.

[wemay]

Not condemning Ford or any other mfr. Just posted to show this stuff happens to every brand. 25, 75, 100 fires - recall 200k, 300k, 1mil vehicles. And yes, I would still own a Ford, Chrysler, GM, Tesla etc.

NBC News: Ford recalls nearly 200,000 SUVs because they could catch fire.

Ford is recalling almost 200,000 SUVs because they could catch fire

The recall affects Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators from 2015 to 2017 model years. At least 12 extensive fires have been reported.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[aquariuscsm]

Exploder part 2

 

[bdcardinal]

Parts are estimated to be readily available 1st quarter of 2023.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Front blower fan can catch fire. Blower motor is most likely not made by Ford. Should have used a better supplier, but to your point it can happen to all of them. Still I stopped buying anything Ford years ago after I changed EVERY sensor on my 2002 Grand Marquis. Design was fine, quality was very poor.

 

[92saturnsl2]

I had a 1985 F-250 nearly go up in flames due to the resistor unit (nothing but a crude coil of wire) that controlled blower speed, which was located in the air intake of the blower motor, which draws air from the windshield cowl. After buying the truck and trying out the A/C I was greeted with clouds of billowing smoke to the point I had to exit the vehicle and nearly called the fire department. It took a good 30 minutes for the smoke to dissipate, it was still smoking when I got to work-- I went in for my shift thinking that if I heard sirens outside, I'd know what happened.

After, when I opened up the air intake tract, the resistor (the coil of wire that probably gets quite hot, which is why they put it the air intake) was stuffed with charred pine needles, leaves, and anything else that dropped through the windshield cowl. No recall for that model.

Something has to be seriously amiss or just the right circumstance for the actual blower motors in the subject vehicles to catch on fire, maybe a wiring issue? I bet the supplier uses that same blower model in different manufacturers / models.

 

[bullwinkle]

Big difference between a smoking blower and a huge lithium battery fire! Just saying…

 

[meep]

I grabbed on with my hands as it was being tested as a kid. It burned the coil marks into my fingers. Didn’t do that twice.

 

[meep]

The MFRs provide the specifications and price points to the 3rd party suppliers. Trade-offs and compromises can be negotiated. Sometimes, the supplier will refuse if they feel the part will be too shoddy for them to put their name too. Remember the chrysler steering racks in the LH cars? According to an old allpar article years ago, chrysler forced such a low price point for their steering rack at some point that the supplier (trw?) backed out and wouldn’t build it. Idk the details or legitimacy, but the point being that it may not be a clear “who’s at fault” thing.

 

[brianl703]

After, when I opened up the air intake tract, the resistor (the coil of wire that probably gets quite hot, which is why they put it the air intake) was stuffed with charred pine needles, leaves, and anything else that dropped through the windshield cowl. No recall for that model.

Is the resistor on that model on the upstream side of the AC evaporator and heater core?

I took the cowl grille off of my 2004 Crown Victoria to clean out the junk (leaves, etc) that accumulated in there, and there's no way any of that stuff could have gotten near the resistor, it would had to pass through the AC evaporator and the heater core first.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Is the resistor on that model on the upstream side of the AC evaporator and heater core?

I took the cowl grille off of my 2004 Crown Victoria to clean out the junk (leaves, etc) that accumulated in there, and there's no way any of that stuff could have gotten near the resistor, it would had to pass through the AC evaporator and the heater core first.

Yep, right in the path between cowl and blower motor. The blower motor then pushed air through evaporator or heater core depending on blend door position. That was a 1985 truck though, they've probably improved the design many times since then.

But an actual blower motor catching on fire in 2015-2017 Fords, I find hard to believe-- I suspect it's something ancillary like wiring or resistor placement (though most mfgs are probably using solid state motor control these days) or something to that effect.

 

[SC Maintenance]

But an actual blower motor catching on fire in 2015-2017 Fords, I find hard to believe-- I suspect it's something ancillary like wiring or resistor placement (though most mfgs are probably using solid state motor control these days) or something to that effect.

If they used too small a motor for the application, it can pull too much current for its design, run hot, degrade the insulation between windings over time, and catch fire or heat enough to catch what's around it on fire. I would say a modern "value engineered" motor is far more likely to do this than a motor made 30 years ago.

 

[walterjay]

If this were about Hyundai/Kia fires there would already be 46 posts bashing them.

 

[CKN]

If this were about Hyundai/Kia fires there would already be 46 posts bashing them.

Yea-Ford-has terrible quality control as well. Just terrible and there is no defending them.

 

[wpod]

Front blower fan can catch fire. Blower motor is most likely not made by Ford. Should have used a better supplier, but to your point it can happen to all of them. Still I stopped buying anything Ford years ago after I changed EVERY sensor on my 2002 Grand Marquis. Design was fine, quality was very poor.

The price was right but what is the actual cost to Ford? Deja vu all over again.

 

[wemay]

If this were about Hyundai/Kia fires there would already be 46 posts bashing them.

Hyundai and/or Dodge, VW, Tesla...agreed

 

[PWMDMD]

Here is a recall for another 277,000 Ford vehicles...

When it rains, it pours? They are really a mess...

Ford recalls pickups, cars to fix cloudy rear camera lens

Ford is recalling more than 277,000 pickup trucks and cars in the U.S. because the rear view camera lens can get cloudy and reduce visibility for the driver. The recall covers certain F-250, 350 and 450 trucks as well as the Lincoln Continental, all from the 2017 through 2020 model years. The...

kstp.com

 

[demarpaint]

I'm glad I wrote them off a few years ago. I love my old 88 E-150, but that's the last Ford for me.

 

[Quantico]

My 01 f350 is my last ford I will ever own .

 

[walterjay]

My F-150 has been through 3 transmissions. First one went out just after warranty period. Sorry...no warranty or loaner. Walk home.

 

[Barkleymut]

Front blower fan can catch fire. Blower motor is most likely not made by Ford. Should have used a better supplier, but to your point it can happen to all of them. Still I stopped buying anything Ford years ago after I changed EVERY sensor on my 2002 Grand Marquis. Design was fine, quality was very poor.

I am not doubting your experience and I have never owned a Panther....but I've owned 6 Fords and replaced 1 sensor - Fuel Pressure Sensor on my 07 Mustang.