Not to be confused with the Ranger-twinned Bronco, the Bronco Sport is more Escape than Bronco. It comes with a 1.5L three-cylinder turbo as standard, an EcoBoost engine shared with the more affordable Escape. As per documents published on the NHTSA's website, Ford Motor Company is recalling both the Bronco Sport and Escape with said powerplant for fuel injectors that may crack and leak fuel inside the engine bay.
FoMoCo reported the defect to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in early March 2024, but for some reason or another, the federal watchdog pressed the publish button more than a month later. In any case, Ford claims that fuel injectors may crack due to a bad combination of engine control software and fuel injector design.
Said combination was taken out of production on December 15, 2022. Given the aforementioned, the cut-off date for the affected population is December 15, 2022 as well. No fewer than 42,652 crossovers are included in recall number 24V-187, split between 22,270 units of the Bronco Sport and 20,382 units of the Escape. Said vehicles were produced for the 2022 through 2023 model year.
The chronology filed with the NHTSA reveals that Ford is aware of underhood fires. Prior to reporting the recall to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, records indicated five underhood fires for vehicles built during the suspect window. In addition, Ford is aware of 14 warranty replacements of fuel injectors due to cracking.
Rather than replacing the injectors, Ford's remedy is a fuel injector leak detection software update and a drain tube. The software detects a pressure drop in the fuel rail and informs the driver of the condition via the instrument cluster. The tube, as implied, allows gasoline to drain from the cylinder head drain hole to the ground rather than on hot engine bay components that may initiate combustion.
Photo: Ford
It should be noted that Vitesco Technologies of Fauglia, Italy is the supplier of the crack-prone injectors. The Italian subsidiary is controlled by Vitesco Technologies Group AG of Regensburg, Germany. The mothership is split into two economically independent divisions: one for electrification solutions and one for powertrains.
In the meantime, owners can easily determine whether their vehicles have been recalled or not by entering the 17-character VIN on the Dearborn-based automaker's website or on the federal agency's website. Alternatively, owners can either contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 or the preferred/nearest dealer for more information.
Bronco Sport moved 127,476 units in the United States last year compared to 99,547 in 2022, representing an improvement in deliveries of 28.1 percent. As for the Escape, that's 140,968 deliveries as opposed to 137,370 in 2022 (2.6 percent more).
Both the Bronco Sport and Escape can be had with other engines, of course! In the Bronco Sport's case, the range-topping Badlands comes with a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder. Known as the Kuga in Europe, the Escape levels up to the 2.0-liter EcoBoost from the ST-Line Select upward. The hybrid and plug-in hybrid, on the other hand, use the same 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle motor as the Maverick Hybrid.
⚠️ Recall Alert
Certain 2022-2023 Ford Bronco Sport and 2022 Escape vehicles equipped with 1.5L engines.
Recalled for cracked fuel injector that may leak and cause a fire.https://t.co/wxT1xZ9aJL
— NHTSA Recalls & Ratings (@NHTSArecalls) April 10, 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
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News