In two separate recalls issued at the same time, Ford has recalled over 50,000 electric and plug in hybrid vehicles over the risk of faulty components that may cause a fire. The first recall, affecting select 2012-15 Ford Focus Electric, 2013-15 Ford Fusion Energi and 2013-15 Ford C-MAX Energi vehicles is for 120-volt convenience charge cords. A total of 50,524 vehicles will be recalled due to a faulty 120-volt charge cable. The cable, when charging from a non-standard plug that has been installed specifically to charge an electric car can lead to overheating and can cause the plug area to go up in flames. The new cable will be equipped with a thermistor that can identify over-temperature conditions at the plug or outlet interface and will discontinue charging the car until the temperature stabilises again.
The second recall is for select 2018 Ford Edge, 2019 Ford Flex, 2018 Lincoln MKX and 2019 Lincoln MKT vehicles and is for improperly secured power supply cable fasteners. In this case, some vehicles might not have the main power supply cable fastened properly to the starter motor and the alternator. This can cause the nut to be cross-threaded and can in turn cause a surge, which can lead to a fire.
Ford has also stated that it is not aware of any fires and/or deaths and injuries that have been caused by these defects. The owners of these cars, as is always the case, will be contacted via phones or emails and the repairs / replacement will be done free of cost. The recall only affects cars in North America and not in other geographical areas of the world where these cars are sold.
