Last week, Ford Motor Company recalled thousands of its 2013 Escape models for a hazardous risk of fire. Ford recently filed documents with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicating that the cause of the recall was due to defective fuel lines that resulted from a manufacturing defect at a supplier’s plant. Ford’s part maker, TI Automotive, apparently has a flaw in its manufacturing process at its plant in Ashley, Indiana. The fuel lines manufactured by TI Automotive are incorporated into Ford’s Escape models at Ford’s assembly plant. The recall specifically concerns 2013 Ford Escape models with the 1.6-liter engine.
The documents supplied to NHTSA indicate that the fuel lines in the affected models could split open and leak, which poses a high risk of fire. Indeed, Ford went as far as telling vehicle owners to cease driving their 2013 Ford Escapes with the 1.6-liter engine. According to Ford’s spokeswoman, TI Automotive has corrected the manufacturing deficiency and will continue making fuel lines for Ford’s 2013 Escape models. However, dealers are being instructed to transport the defective vehicles to the dealerships for repairs and to provide loaner vehicles for owners affected by this recall.
On the heels of the recall last week, NHTSA posted additional documents on its website regarding the whereabouts of the affected vehicles. Luckily, only about 4,800 of the affected Ford Escape SUVs were sold to purchasers in the U.S. and Canada. The recall stemmed from a June 9th incident where a Ford employee witnessed a fire under the hood while he drove an affected Escape model from Ford’s Louisville plant to its Kentucky Truck Plant. Following that, on June 18th a Canadian Ford Escape owner reported an engine fire and another Ford employee reported a similar engine fire on July 11th.
If you or someone you know has been injured by a recalled vehicle, contact the attorneys at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling (713) 222-7211 or 713-222-7211.