Photo: Ford
On Wednesday, American manufacturer Ford announced a recall for select electric vehicles, including the Ford Focus, marking a premiere for EV-owners now faced with this type of procedure.
The recall involves over 50,000 Ford Focus Electric, Ford Fusion Energi, and Ford C-MAX Energi cars manufactured over the span of four years. The problem discovered by Ford does not have anything to do with the vehicles themselves, but with the charging cords they use on a daily basis.
According to the report, the cords originally provided with the cars mentioned above should not be used with an AC outlet that is not on a dedicated circuit, if it's damaged, or with extension cords. When used like this, the car's cord could cause increased temperature at the wall outlet and potentially lead to a fire.
As per Ford’s admission, the company is aware of some fire reports caused by this issue, but no other details were provided.
The affected modes are Focus Electric vehicles built at Michigan Assembly Plant from 2011 to 2015, Fusion Energi built at Hermosillo Assembly Plant from 2012 to 2015, and C-MAX Energi vehicles assembled at Michigan Assembly Plant manufactured between 2012 and 2015.
“There are approximately 50,524 vehicles in North America with accompanying charge cords relating to this concern, with 49,197 vehicles in the United States and its federalized territories and 1,327 in Canada. The Ford reference number for this recall is 18S24,” says the carmaker in a statement.
To fix the issue, Ford will be issuing notifications to the affected owners, also telling them about “the requirements for adequate wall outlets.” Ford also warns its customers never to use extension cords to charge their vehicles.
Ford dealers will be replacing the factory-equipped 120-volt charge cord with the latest version of it, that includes a thermistor.
In the document attached below you can find the full recall notice as issued by Ford.
According to the report, the cords originally provided with the cars mentioned above should not be used with an AC outlet that is not on a dedicated circuit, if it's damaged, or with extension cords. When used like this, the car's cord could cause increased temperature at the wall outlet and potentially lead to a fire.
As per Ford’s admission, the company is aware of some fire reports caused by this issue, but no other details were provided.
The affected modes are Focus Electric vehicles built at Michigan Assembly Plant from 2011 to 2015, Fusion Energi built at Hermosillo Assembly Plant from 2012 to 2015, and C-MAX Energi vehicles assembled at Michigan Assembly Plant manufactured between 2012 and 2015.
“There are approximately 50,524 vehicles in North America with accompanying charge cords relating to this concern, with 49,197 vehicles in the United States and its federalized territories and 1,327 in Canada. The Ford reference number for this recall is 18S24,” says the carmaker in a statement.
To fix the issue, Ford will be issuing notifications to the affected owners, also telling them about “the requirements for adequate wall outlets.” Ford also warns its customers never to use extension cords to charge their vehicles.
Ford dealers will be replacing the factory-equipped 120-volt charge cord with the latest version of it, that includes a thermistor.
In the document attached below you can find the full recall notice as issued by Ford.
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