Ford slams on brakes, recalls hundreds of thousands of vehicles because of fire risk

Ford is in panic mode after discovering a design flaw that increases the risk of an under-hood fire, and has issued a massive recall of approximately 119,000 vehicles. The recall covers 2016-2018 Focus, 2019 Explorer, and 2024 Explorer vehicles, and some 2013-2018 Focus, 2013-2019 Escape, and 2015-2016 MKC vehicles equipped with a 2.0L engine.

The defect relates to the vehicles’ engine block heaters, which have been discovered to crack and cause coolant leaks, resulting in short circuits when plugged in. As Ford explains in their statement:

“This increases the risk of an under-hood fire when the vehicle is parked and the engine block heater is plugged into a 110-volt electrical supply.”

This is confirmed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, who say in its recall statement that:

“The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in… An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.”

Indications that your vehicle is experiencing the issue include coolant spots on the ground (indicating a leak), unexplained loss of cabin heat, low coolant level warnings, the powertrain unit overheating, and a sudden smell of smoke.

Do NOT plug in the block heater

Ford Motor recalling 2016-2018 Focus, 2019 Explorer, and 2024 Explorers. The engine block heater may crack and develop coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when block heater plugged in.#Ford #recall #NHTSA pic.twitter.com/MXxqLFKydt

— CHW (@cwest0583) January 21, 2026

Ford underlines that those affected shouldn’t plug in the block heater until further notice, and says they’re “currently developing a newly designed engine block heater element” that they will provide to customers for free once its available.

Alternatively, they are offering the option to disable the heater altogether:

“For those customers that choose this option, a Ford dealer will remove the block heater element and install a threaded plug free of charge. The heater cord will be stowed for the customer until the redesigned element is available for installation.”

Affected customers will be contacted by mail in early February, with the final repair expected to be available by April. It’s worth underlining that, so far, there have been no accidents or injuries relating to this defect, but Ford has confirmed there are 12 Ford Escape 2.0L owners alleging that their vehicles burst into flames.

If you suspect your vehicle is affected, you can enter your Vehicle Identification Number on the NHTSA website to check. In the meantime, Ford can only underline that this is only dangerous when the heater is plugged in, so do not do that until the repair is complete.