Ford Engine and Engine Cooling

Ford is recalling about 80,057 vehicles over a problem with the engine and engine cooling. If flammable engine fluids come in contact with the vehicle’s hot exhaust system, a vehicle fire could occur.

Campaign
12V551000
Manufacturer
Ford Motor Company
Reported
3 December 2012
Vehicles
80,057
Built between
Oct 2011 – Nov 2012
Models
2
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
Manufacturer
Owners notified
7 December 2012
Repaired
Not reported
Unrepaired
Not reported

Does this affect my vehicle?

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

  • 2013 Ford EscapeBuilt October 2011 to November 2012
  • 2013 Ford FusionBuilt February 2012 to November 2012

What the defect is

This is an update to a recently announced recall. Ford is recalling certain model year 2013 Escape vehicles manufactured from October 5, 2011, through November 26, 2012, equipped with 1.6L engines, as well as certain model year 2013 Fusion vehicles manufactured from February 3, 2012, through November 29, 2012, equipped with 1.6L engines. Coolant system leaks may cause the engines to overheat and leak flammable engine fluids.

What could happen

If flammable engine fluids come in contact with the vehicle’s hot exhaust system, a vehicle fire could occur.

What gets fixed

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the engine for coolant system leaks and reprogram the vehicle’s powertrain control module and instrument cluster with an updated calibration and overheat strategy software. There will be no charge to owners for this service. Owners were recently notified to contact dealers to arrange for alternative transportation as Ford developed a remedy. Owners will be shortly receiving notifications to contact Ford dealers to schedule the free remedy repair.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtOctober 2011 to November 2012
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA3 December 2012
  3. Owners notified7 December 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 3 December 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 Motor Company Customer Relationship Center at 1-866-436-7332.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
12S41
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 12S41.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