Producing vehicles is an expensive business that doesn’t leave any room for mistakes. Any problem with a new model — especially a life-threatening one — could have catastrophic consequences for the model itself, as well as for the automaker that produced it, even if it is a major company known throughout the world. This is the situation that Ford is facing right now, after discovering that some of its sport utility vehicles (SUVs) have been made and sold with cracked fuel injectors.

Ford urges car owners to have their vehicles checked out

America’s second-largest carmaker by sales had to recall as many as 634,000 vehicles from all corners of the world due to fire risks. Furthermore, it urged owners of the vehicles to immediately have their cars inspected, according to the recent announcement. The recall covers around 520,000 vehicles in the US, and another 114,000 from other nations.

The models in question include 2020-2023 model years Bronco Sport and Escape SUVs,s, with 1.5-liter engines with 3 cylinders. Many of the vehicles were recalled previously in April of this year, due to an oil separator housing could crack. This would lead to a leak that could result in an engine fire, thus endangering everyone, including the driver and the passengers, as well as other traffic participants.

While the vehicles were repaired during the April recall, they still need the new recall fix, as it is not the same issue, although the consequences are, according to the NHTSA statement.

So far, the company said it had 54 reports of fires under the hood, with cracked fuel injectors in four cases.  Around 13 other reports had a case of leaking fuel injectors. However, the company stressed that there were no deaths linked to the incidents or the recall in general. It also noted that it is not telling owners to stop driving, as the failure rate is fairly low. Even so, it is important to address the situation as soon as possible.

How are the fires starting?

Ford itself said that when engines in the vehicles included in the new recall are in the operating state, the cracked fuel injector could result in the fuel vapor, or even fuel itself, accumulating near hot surfaces. Being highly flammable, surfaces that reach high enough temperatures could catch on fire.

The company added that dealers would update vehicle software as soon as the repairs are available. The software will be able to detect whether the fuel injector is working properly or if there is a crack, which will cause it to warn the driver through a dashboard message. According to Ford, the software will be able to detect the crack by keeping an eye on the pressure in the fuel rail. Any drop would indicate that something is not right, and the vehicle will warn the user immediately.

One more precaution that the company is arranging is a tube meant to drain the fuel from the cylinder head, and away from any hot surfaces. Dealers will be able to install this as well.