Photo: Ford
Back in October 2021, a Ford Motor Company retailer in Germany was informed of an issue pertaining to a Kuga PHEV. As it happens, the busbar of the high-voltage battery was overheating, prompting the Dearborn-based automaker to start searching through its warranty reports.
FoMoCo identified another Kuga PHEV that reported a loss of function due to an overheated busbar, which is why the safety boffins contacted Samsung SDI for additional information. Come November 2021, an Escape PHEV was called back in the United States over the same condition. Fast forward to February 2022, and that’s when South Korea’s Samsung SDI recalled 1,163 lithium-ion packs that equip 1,139 Ford vehicles and 24 Stellantis vehicles.
According to the supplier, the problem boils down to welding issues in the manufacturing process of the cell module. The busbar pad wasn’t seated properly, or the power of the welding between the cell terminal and busbar was insufficient, thus increasing the risk of a sudden loss of drive power.
Mere days ago, the Ford Motor Company has revised the number of potentially affected vehicles according to the latest data from Samsung SDI and subcontractor Nex+. Dearborn says that one unit of the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring and two units of the Escape PHEV have to be fixed. These utility vehicles were produced on August 5th, 2021 and January 10th, 2022.
The high-voltage battery is referred to as part number LX68-10B759-R by Samsung SDI. Owners will be notified of this callback on March 28th, and obviously enough, the lithium-ion pack will be replaced at no charge. The replacement pack, which bears the very same part number as the faulty one, will have a properly seated and welded busbar as per the Blue Oval.
Over at Samsung SDI, the battery specialist has modified welding width and the area limits in order to detect non-conforming batteries in their assembly plant. As for the Dearborn-based manufacturer, the Escape PHEV is currently listed from a rather expensive $33,940, while the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring levels up to an even more expensive $51,595 sans freight.
According to the supplier, the problem boils down to welding issues in the manufacturing process of the cell module. The busbar pad wasn’t seated properly, or the power of the welding between the cell terminal and busbar was insufficient, thus increasing the risk of a sudden loss of drive power.
Mere days ago, the Ford Motor Company has revised the number of potentially affected vehicles according to the latest data from Samsung SDI and subcontractor Nex+. Dearborn says that one unit of the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring and two units of the Escape PHEV have to be fixed. These utility vehicles were produced on August 5th, 2021 and January 10th, 2022.
The high-voltage battery is referred to as part number LX68-10B759-R by Samsung SDI. Owners will be notified of this callback on March 28th, and obviously enough, the lithium-ion pack will be replaced at no charge. The replacement pack, which bears the very same part number as the faulty one, will have a properly seated and welded busbar as per the Blue Oval.
Over at Samsung SDI, the battery specialist has modified welding width and the area limits in order to detect non-conforming batteries in their assembly plant. As for the Dearborn-based manufacturer, the Escape PHEV is currently listed from a rather expensive $33,940, while the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring levels up to an even more expensive $51,595 sans freight.
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