Cracked Fuel Injectors Can Cause Ford Escape, Bronco Sport Models to Suddenly Catch Fire, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action alleges Ford has knowingly sold model year 2020-2023 Escape and 2021-2023 Bronco Sport vehicles with 1.5-liter engines with fuel injectors prone to cracking, which poses a serious fire risk. 

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The 74-page lawsuit says that although Ford knew or should have known of the Escape and Bronco Sport fuel injector problem and fire risk prior to releasing the vehicles to market, it did nothing to warn owners and lessees, and waited over a year before announcing a safety recall in March 2022. Ford’s current “fix” to prevent affected vehicles from catching fire fails to address the underlying manufacturing problem that causes the faulty fuel injectors to crack and leak fuel into the cylinder head, the filing claims. 

“Instead, Ford has focused only on mitigating the risk that fuel that leaks from a cracked fuel injector will accumulate near the exhaust and turbo system where it may combust, while leaving the fuel itself to run onto the roadways, or onto vehicle owners’ driveways and garages,” the complaint says, warning that Ford’s perfunctory “fix” sparks new safety and environmental concerns the automaker has not addressed. 

Overall, Ford has misrepresented by omission the safety, reliability, functionality and quality of affected Escapes and Bronco Sports, the case says, noting that a vehicle that could spontaneously catch fire during use is “not fit for its ordinary purpose.” 

The automaker itself has all but admitted that its recall last March was insufficient, the lawsuit alleges, as the measure dealt with damaged oil separators only and did not address any problems with fuel injectors prone to cracking. After 10 more fires occurred in Escape and Bronco Sport models, the suit says, Ford finally examined the vehicles’ fuel injectors and concluded that cracks in those injectors were the culprit, prompting the automaker to expand its initial recall in November of last year. 

The expanded recall (22V-859) includes all 2020-2023 Ford Escapes and all 2021-2023 Ford Bronco Sports built between November 19, 2018 and October 17, 2022, the suit relays. 

According to the lawsuit, the cracked fuel injectors allow for fuel to leak into an engine at a rate as high as 19 liters per hour into the cylinder head. From there, fuel can travel out via a drain hole and down into a vehicle’s exhaust and turbo system, causing an under-the-hood fire, the suit relays. 

To date, more than 521,000 Escape and Bronco Sport models with 1.5-liter or 1.5-liter turbo3 engines have been recalled by Ford due to the cracked fuel injector issue, and at least 54 reports of under-hood fires have been made, the lawsuit states. 

“Of these fires, 17 have been confirmed as likely the result of a cracked fuel injector, and at least two of these fires resulted in injuries,” the suit reads. 

According to the case, Ford estimates that one percent of all affected Escapes and Bronco Sports have the fuel injector defect, meaning, out of more than 521,000 cars, “over 5,000 vehicles may experience a catastrophic fire.” 

“Given the severe damage and injury a vehicle fire can cause, the rates of a defect leading to a fire must be near zero to be tolerable,” the filing asserts. 

The complaint says Ford’s “fix” for the fuel injector problem is to update engine control software to “detect a pressure drop in the fuel rail” and message the driver to seek service, and to “derate engine power output and reduce temperatures of possible ignition sources.” The apparent fix also involves installing a drain tube to allow fuel to drain from the cylinder head to the ground below a vehicle and onto a driver’s property, the filing states. 

“Ford has not even attempted to resolve the underlying issue with the fuel injectors, noting that ‘the root cause is still under investigation,’” the case stresses. 

Ford’s purported remedies to the cracked fuel injector issue place an undue burden onto drivers, who have been offered no reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, loss of use or loss of value, the suit rails. 

“To add further insult to injury,” the case goes on, “rather than do the right thing and globally offer to provide consumers with a comparable loaner vehicle while Ford fully resolves the issue, Ford has done nothing of the sort.” 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons or entities nationwide who bought or leased a model year 2020-2023 Ford Escape or 2021-2023 Ford Bronco Sport. 

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