Ford Engine and Engine Cooling

Ford is recalling about 6,146 vehicles over a problem with the engine and engine cooling. As leaking engine coolant evaporates on the hot engine, the glycol may ignite causing an engine compartment fire.

Campaign
12V431000
Manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Reported
4 September 2012
Vehicles
6,146
Built between
Oct 2011 – Aug 2012
Models
1
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
11 September 2012
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between October 2011 and August 2012. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2013 Ford EscapeBuilt October 2011 to August 2012

What the defect is

Ford is recalling certain model year 2013 Escape vehicles manufactured from October 5, 2011, through August 31, 2012, equipped with 1.6L engines. The cylinder head cup plug (freeze plug) may become dislodged resulting in significant loss of engine coolant.

What could happen

As leaking engine coolant evaporates on the hot engine, the glycol may ignite causing an engine compartment fire.

What gets fixed

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will seal the existing plug and add a secondary plug cover, free of charge. The safety recall began on September 11, 2012.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtOctober 2011 to August 2012
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA4 September 2012
  3. Owners notified11 September 2012

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 4 September 2012.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
12S39
Recalling manufacturer
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
Recall initiated by
MFR

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Ford's recall campaign number is 12S39.Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand