Back in September 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation started looking into 1.0-liter EcoBoost oil pump failures. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was aware of no fewer than 95 complaints from owners of the 2018 to 2021 model year Ford EcoSport, with said complaints alleging loss of oil pressure and reduced or complete loss of motive power.
Headed by NHTSA general engineer Jayson Winick, preliminary evaluation PE23-015 has morphed into a recall. In addition to the subcompact crossover mentioned earlier, the recall population includes the Focus. Both use the 1.0-liter version of the EcoBoost, a three-cylinder mill developed at the Dunton Technical Centre in the United Kingdom. By discontinuing the EcoSport and Focus from the North American lineup, the 1.0-liter EcoBoost is no longer available in any Ford vehicle for the US market.
As of January 2024, the lowest you can go in terms of displacement and cylinder count is 1.5 liters and three pots in the Escape and technically similar Bronco Sport. The 1.5-liter EcoBoost is codenamed Dragon, whereas the 1.0-liter EcoBoost of the EcoSport and Focus is dubbed Fox. Under safety recall 23V-905, the Ford Motor Company intends to inspect no fewer than 139,730 examples of the EcoSport and Focus produced for the 2016 through 2022 model years, namely 1.0-liter EcoBoost vehicles equipped with the 6F15 torque-converter automatic that replaced the substandard DPS6 PowerShift dual-clutch transmission.
Production dates range from April 3, 2017 to October 12, 2021 for the EcoSport and from March 24, 2025 to May 4, 2018 for the Focus. In regard to assembly plants, the EcoSport for North America came from the Chennai plant in India, whereas the Focus was assembled in Michigan. The Focus entered its fourth generation in 2018, but alas, Ford couldn't make a case for it stateside due to rising demand for sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. On the upside, the fourth-generation Focus features the same platform as the Escape, Bronco Sport, and the Maverick.
113,689 examples of the EcoSport are recalled, along with 26,041 examples of the Focus. According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Critical Concern Review Group within FoMoCo started reviewing 1.0-liter EcoBoost oil pump failure allegations in February 2022. The safety boffins determined that an oil pump belt tensioner failure – which results in potentially catastrophic engine failure – doesn't present an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety. The folks at the CCRG might not have entirely honest, though…
Photo: Ford
A loss of motive power at speed on the highway increases the risk of a crash, and the same can be said about the mechanical vacuum pump going kaput. Without said pump, there's no power braking assistance. In addition to the aforementioned investigation, what else prompted FoMoCo to address these concerns? The document below clearly states that "Ford is aware of one allegation of a crash resulting in two injuries potentially related to this concern." Otherwise put, Dearborn's favorite son had to choose between a costly recall or potentially costlier litigations from owners of 1.0-liter EcoBoost vehicles.
The Part 573 safety recall report attached below confirms no fewer than 2,099 warranty claims in the United States market alone, ranging between June 10, 2016 and October 6, 2023. In other words, the Ford Motor Company had likely identified the root cause behind the oil pump failure long before Ford's Critical Concern Review Group pretended to investigate said issue in February 2022.
The second-largest automaker of the Big Three in Detroit ultimately acknowledged that the oil pump drive belt tensioner arm retention caulking joint isn't robust enough to handle vibrations. The tensioner arm is prone to separating, and in case of contact with the engine balancer shaft, the oil pump's drive belt will lose its teeth. Ford's part numbers for the oil pump drive belt and tensioner assembly are F1FZ-6B651-AA and F1FG-6C777-AD.
The belt and tensioner were supplied by Dayco Europe SRL of San Bernardo d'Ivrea, Italy. The remedy belt and tensioner feature different part numbers (F1FG-6C777-BA and F1FZ-6B651-BA) because Ford updated them both to prevent the drive belt from losing teeth and the tensioner arm from contacting the balance shaft. Dealers have already been instructed to replace both at no charge to EcoSport and Focus owners. Owner notifications will be mailed between February 13 and February 20, 2024.
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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