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This has been a tough week if you own a Ford or Lincoln SUV. The automaker has recalled nearly 200,000 SUVs that may catch fire because of a blower motor problem.
Ford Identifies Affected SUVs
The affected vehicles are the 2015-2017 Ford Expeditions and its corporate twin, the Lincoln Navigators.
The paperwork filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) identifies the troublesome part as a front blower motor "located behind the glovebox may fail" and catch fire.
According to Yahoo Auto News, more than 24 fires have been reported, blamed on the motor. There has also been one injury.
Ford will notify owners of the affected SUVs on Sept. 12. At that time, owners can bring their vehicles to their dealers for the free repair. The automaker will replace the front blower motor.
Ford Dealing With Multiple Issues
Ford has been dealing with fire-related recalls recently. In May, said Yahoo Auto News, the carmaker recalled some 2021 Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators for underhood fires. Ford investigated this problem and found the problem.
In July, the fire recall was expanded to include Ford Escapes, Mavericks, and Lincoln Corsairs.
In a second major recall, Ford has recalled more than 277,000 Super Duty trucks and the Lincoln Continental luxury sedans due to a camera problem. A coating on the camera lens can become foggy, obscuring the image.
Camera Recall Affects Pickups, Luxury Model
The recall affects F-250, F-350, and F-450 Super Duty trucks, as well as the Continental. Yahoo's Auto News says the camera problem affects their 360-degree camera systems.
An investigation by Ford, launched after the automaker noticed a sharp increase in warranty claims, found that a camera lens coating can degrade over time and result in cloudy images. The camera lens coating degrades as more UV radiation hits it.
Ford began its probe a year ago with reports of poor camera performance. Looking closely at the problem, the automaker found that a thorough lens cleaning didn't fix the issue. Ford looked closely at data from vehicles in service. Specifically, the automaker looked at camera weathering. The problem found that an inner lens could experience cracking of the anti-reflective coating. A couple of weeks ago, Ford okayed the fix for the problem.
Ford says it isn't aware of any crashes or injuries related to this problem. The recall affects 100 percent of the vehicles named because they all have a faulty coating.
Cameras Have Faulty Lens Coating
The recall covers Super Duty pickups built between 2017 and 2020. It includes the Continental. The pickups are equipped with the Ultimate Trailer Tow Camera system.
For more information, owners can contact Ford customer service at 866-436-7332. Or they can contact NHTSA's Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236. Owners can also contact the agency's website at www.nhtsa.gov.
Marc Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971 when an otherwise normal news editor said, "You're our new car editor," and dumped about 27 pounds of auto stuff on my desk. I was in heaven as I have been a gearhead from my early days. As a teen, I spent the usual number of misspent hours hanging out at gas stations Shell and Texaco (a big thing in my youth) and working on cars. From there on, it was a straight line to my first column for the paper, "You Auto Know," an enterprise I handled faithfully for 32 years. Not many people know that I also handled computer documentation for a good part of my living while writing YAN. My best writing, though, was always in cars. My work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, etc. You can follow me on: Twitter or Facebook.
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