2021-2022 Ford Bronco, Ford Edge, Ford Explorer, Ford F-150, Lincoln Aviator and Lincoln Nautilus vehicles have been recalled by Ford due to the risk of engine intake valves having “a propensity to crack and break.” The engines in question are either a 2.7-liter or a 3-liter Nano EcoBoost Engine, built in 2021, reports Fox News.
Ford described an engine intake valve breaking as “catastrophic engine damage” and stated that the vehicle would be unable to move if the valve breaks.
The engine intake valve is the part of the car that injects a mixture of air and gasoline into the combustion chambers, providing the power the vehicle needs to operate. A cracked intake valve would not be able to inject the air and gas, causing the engine to shut down.
Due to the risk of this happening while the car is already in motion, it’s considered a serious risk for causing car accidents.
The issue is most likely to appear when the vehicle is still fairly new. If an individual vehicle happened to be outfitted with one of the faulty valves, then it would most likely have cracked after relatively little time. However, this is not a guarantee, and vehicle owners are advised to return their vehicles if they have been affected by the recall – even if it’s been operating fine so far.
Owners of affected vehicles will receive letters notifying them of the problem sometime in early October.
While filing for a recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Ford provided documents indicating that so far, nobody has been hurt or killed by this engine failure.
“Our goal is to prevent quality issues from happening in the first place,” said a Ford representative to FOX Business.
Earlier this year, nearly two million Ford Explorers were also recalled due to a risk of parts of the car falling off during normal operation. Like the engine intake valve, however, there were no known reports of accidents or injuries caused by the faulty car parts.
If a vehicle has been affected by the recall, Ford dealers will install a new engine for free after testing it to see if it had a faulty valve. Ford is also offering pick-up, delivery and rental services while the owner waits on the engine replacement.
Additionally, if the owner noticed the problem and had it repaired on their own dime before the recall, then Ford will reimburse them for the cost of repair.
