A handful of Maverick pickup trucks produced by FoMoCo for model year 2024 have been recalled due to an increased risk of fire. As it happens, the fuel tank supplier's mold shuttle experienced a temporary stoppage, resulting in a misalignment between the mold and extruded sheets. The misalignment caused an open pitch joint, as in a shift of wall thickness between the two molds.
The supplier is Plastic Omnium Clean Energy Systems, and not surprising in the least, said fuel tank supplier is located in Mexico. The Maverick also comes from the United Mexican States, with Ford's Hermosillo facility producing the Maverick and Bronco Sport at the moment of reporting.
Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly opened in 1968. It currently employs just under 2,900 souls, of which approximately 300 are hourly employees. Prior to the Maverick and Bronco Sport, which are based on the Escape's C2 platform, the facility produced the Fusion and Lincoln MKZ sedans.
Ford became aware of the described condition on February 6 after the safety boffins at Hermosillo identified a leak coming from the fuel tank of a brand-new Maverick. The Dearborn-based automaker immediately ordered an in-transit stop ship of vehicles equipped with suspect fuel tanks.
Thankfully, the second-largest automaker of the Detroit Big Three isn't aware of any field reports of leakage or fire. The part number of the fuel tank is NZ68-9002-B, although Ford somehow forgot to mention whether this model corresponds to the 2.0-liter EcoBoost or the 2.5-liter hybrid powertrain. A previous recall affecting the fuel tank of the Maverick lists NZ68-9P860-BH as being a 2.5-exclusive tank, while EcoBoost trucks use the NZ61-9P860-AJ and NZ61-9P860-CG versions.
Photo: Ford
Ford's and the supplier's production records indicate that 217 trucks may have been produced with iffy tanks, with said Mavericks assembled in the period between January 19, 2024 and January 26, 2024. Dealers have been instructed to replace the fuel tanks with properly manufactured assemblies bearing the very same part number as the suspect fuel tanks. In the event of a MIL lamp or leakage symptoms, owners are urged to park in a safe place and shut off the powertrain as soon as possible.
Owner notifications will be mailed between March 18 and March 22. In the meantime, owners can easily determine whether their 2024 model year Mavericks are included in this recall or not by entering the VIN on the NHTSA's recall portal.
Still the most affordable new truck in the United States of America, the Maverick sold 94,058 units last year in this part of the world. Of those, 52,361 accounted for the hybrid, which puts the Maverick Hybrid ahead of the F-150 PowerBoost in terms of commercial success. More specifically, the F-150 PowerBoost moved 50,103 examples in 2023.
The bad news? 2024 marks a switcheroo in the sense that the previously standard 2.5-liter hybrid became optional. As of March 2024, the Maverick XL EcoBoost starts at $23,815 before destination as opposed to $25,315 for the Maverick XL Hybrid.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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