The 2013 Ford Escape had only just entered the market and it already announced its first recall notice earlier this week. On July 16, Ford initiated a full recall on all initiated 2013 Ford Escape models built from March 8, 2012 through June 7, 2012. Discovered by a Ford factory employee, the 2013 Escape was prone to a brake pedal interference hazard when the center console carpet padding shifted out of place. A relatively manageable defect, Ford promises to solve the issue be replacing revised carpet padding.
Today, a new and much more serious recall has been announced. Ford is recalling 11,500 examples of its 1.6 liter Ecoboost equipped 2013 Ford Escape crossovers built through July 11,2012 due to a potential leaking fuel line. 2.0-liter Ecoboost and 2.5-liter inline-four equipped Escapes are not affected by the recall.
According to Ford, the 1.6 liter four-cylinder Ecoboost equipped Escapes possess a faulty fuel line in the engine compartment which may crack, leak fuel, and cause a fire.
Given the stakes, Ford advises 1.6 liter Ecoboost Escape owners to avoid operating their vehicles. Instead, a local Ford dealership will provide loaner vehicles to customers while their Escape gets transported back to the dealer for repairs. Ford also states that the duration of the repair process should take only about an hour to complete. The recall related repairs will be free-of-charge.
Roughly 11,500 models in North America will be recalled due to this issue, most of which are in the United States.
With two recall notices within a week, the debut of the new 2013 Ford Escape is off to a rocky start. Contributing to more negative attention to Ford is the heightening scrutiny towards the last generation 2002-2004 Ford Escape as well. Seven years ago, Ford recalled Escape crossover models to address an accelerator cable defect. Now, according to the Center for Auto Safety, repairs made during the recall may have caused new damages to the cruise control cables. The cruise control cable investigation affects 470,000 Ford Escape vehicles.
For more information on Ford recalls, contact Ford's customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332.
