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A passing car carrier can be seen on the grille of a 2017 Ford Motor Co. F-150 pickup truck on display at the Sutton Ford Lincoln car dealership in Matteson, Illinois.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Ford is expanding the recall of SUVs and telling owners to park them outside after a series of engine fires that can occur even with the ignition switches off.
The company also announced Friday that it is recalling another 100,000 SUVs in the US for a different problem that also causes engine fires.
In May, Ford recalled about 39,000 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator large SUVs in the US and told owners to park them outside and away from buildings. On Friday, the company expanded that recall to cover more than 66,000 vehicles from the 2021 model year after getting reports of five more fires.
At the time of the initial recall, Ford did not know what caused the fires. But on Friday the company said it traced the cause to printed circuit boards that are susceptible to electrical short. The company said it had reports of 21 fires and one damage, but no reports of fires reaching buildings.
Circuit boards are part of the battery junction box. Dealers will inspect the box for melting damage and replace it if necessary. They will also remove or repair the ground wire of the cooling fan that connects to the junction box. Parts are expected to be available in early September.
About one-third of the recalled SUVs can be fixed immediately by removing the ground wire, Ford said.
Other recalls cover some 2020 to 2022 Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair SUVs as well as some Ford Maverick small pickups. All have a 2.5-liter hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrain.
Ford says if the engine fails, large amounts of oil and fuel vapor can leak into hot parts, causing a fire. The company said it had 23 reports worldwide of fires while the engines were on, but no injuries.
Engines can fail due to a crankshaft machining problem. That problem has been fixed in production, but recalled vehicles may have it.
The recall fix does not address engine failures. Ford said in a statement that engine failures are rare with 0.17 repairs per 1,000 vehicles.
Dealers will add drain holes in the under-hood shield and replace the active grille shutters to allow more air flow and reduce the under-hood temperature below the ignition point of fuel vapor or engine oil.
Owners will be notified starting August 8.
Owners can check if their vehicles are affected by going to https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls and typing in their 17-digit number vehicle identification.
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