JonBoy

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/30/f...fir/#continued

Ford is recalling 89K models of the new 2013 Escape and Fusion models over the possibility of the engines overheating and actually catching on fire. There is no fix as of yet. Ford has asked owners to park their vehicles and talk to their dealership about arranging for alternate transportation (free of charge) in the mean time.

For those that are counting, this is the fourth recall for the recently-released Escape model.

s2kpdx01

I haven't heard much on what the failure scenario is for these cars? Is it when idling for a while or something like that? It's bizarre you wouldn't see this in pre-release testing unless it's some kind of longer term part failure they could simulate.

vader1

Eh, does not bother me. I am not shopping for cars right now and pretty much don't buy domestic. But if I were looking Ford has lots going for it right now. They have cars that actually appeal to me.

GM and Chrysler do not. I have bought a two or three new from each of those brands and can probably say never again.

Never bought a Ford, but would not mind a a new Fusion (especially hybrid), Escape, or Mustang. My wife bought a new Focus and it is a neat little car.

Some early Ferari 458 Italia's caught fire and I'd kill for one of those.

I don't like the fact that a manufacturer can miss something that might cause a fire and eventually get red faced and fix it, but I guess I can live with it. What I can't live with are cars that are poorly engineered all around, rattle, clank, break, and nickle and dime you to death. (see my thoughts on GM and Chrysler) At least if it catches fire and burns itself up or my house down I am insured. Then I get all new stuff.

vader1

Don't know the cause either but Subaru had a similar problem and recall for engine fires in their 2.5 turbos around 2007ish. The problem was a metal oil pipe between the turbo and engine that was prone to flexing, metal fatigue, and eventually spraying oil all over the turbo. They did not replace the pipe but added an extra brace for the pipe itself to prvent the flexing.

JonBoy

No idea yet - Ford doesn't have a fix, which usually means they aren't sure of the exact problem yet.

JonBoy

You could say that Ford is on fire these days....

I actually like how their cars look, overall, and the interiors are pretty nice as well. I just don't trust the engineering on the cars yet, plus most of their standard passenger cars/SUVs are significantly overweight compared to the competition.

I think I'd rather some rattles and clanks than a BRAND NEW CAR catching on fire, though I'd prefer that neither of them is present/happens. Ford is starting to sound like Lotus and Morgan with these small EcoBoost engines. That's the third recall for the 1.6L EcoBoost, by the way!

Slithr

It will be interesting to see what the cause is. All the major manufacturers do a ton of hot/cold weather testing in addition to the usual torture track stuff. These days it's pretty surprising when something like this turns up.

The first thing that pops into my mind is too small an oil pan combined with no, or too small an oil cooler.

rockville

Actually this only applies to 1.6L models, not all EB engines. It reminds me of the hot deals you could get on some CRVs not that long ago

JonBoy

Yes, I know. The article specifically states that.

rockville

Yes, but the crazy dude who made the first post didn't.