Grenading Ford 1.0-Liter Engines Pose ‘Unreasonable Risk To Motor Vehicle Safety,’ NHTSA Probe Finds

Ford is the undisputed recall king within the automotive industry straight away. It broke its own record for probably the most recalls ever issued in a single 12 months last 12 months, and it has recalled several million of its vehicles to date this 12 months, too. On Monday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) upgraded a defect investigation into 135,551 2014-to-2021 model 12 months Ford Fiestas, Focuses, and EcoSports powered by the brand’s famously small 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine because of an “unreasonable risk to motorcar safety.”

Because it seems, the three-cylinder engine, commonly often known as the Fox, has proven in NHTSA testing to make use of a timing belt which will degrade and create debris that clogs the mesh oil pump pick-up screen and starve the engine of oil. The first concerns are that the difficulty appears with little-to-no warning, and that the difficulty is understood to occur despite proper and routine oil maintenance.

To be clear, this is just not a recall yet. NHTSA launched an investigatory probe into this Ford powertrain late last 12 months because of owner complaints, and decided to escalate the priority to an Engineering Evaluation upon finding that 98% of the engine failures occur prior to the 150,000-mile timing belt alternative interval per the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule. The Engineering Evaluation is a required step before NHTSA can seek to compel a Ford recall.

Based on The Detroit News, “A driver on a significant highway in Wilmington, Delaware reported the oil pressure light illuminated and inside 1/eighth of a mile the 2017 Ford Focus ‘lost all power and the engine began to sound like a tank.'”

NHTSA’s investigation includes data that shows a mean failure mileage of roughly 70,000 miles. In June, Ford reduced the upkeep interval for models with the Fox three-cylinder to 100,000 miles, or six years. Ford told NHTSA it can also offer reimbursement to eligible consumers who previously paid to have their engine repaired or replaced because of a timing belt related issue.