Roughly 74,000 of the two models from those years will be recalled in both Canada and the United States over concerns that the vehicle could potentially stall for no reason due to an electrical problem.
The report detailing the recall was made public on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Ford’s coolant pump to blame
At issue is the coolant pump, which is electric, and that over time wear and tear could cause “a high-temperature condition within the motor electronics system” that could cause “a sudden stall-like condition while driving.” Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) said that the car should restart once it had cooled down an that it was unaware of any accidents or injuries caused by the problem.
Kelli Felker, a Ford spokeswoman said by email that Ford began looking at the problem in April when it began receiving both warranty claims and complaints from owners of the vehicles in question. However, the company sent a service bulletin to dealers way back in December of 2008 explaining that dealers should test the pump if owners complained of “reduced power as the system activates fail-safe operation.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it has received over 50 complaints about the cars and the New York Times printed one such letter where a stall occurred at interstate speed today.
Frightening complaint letter
“I was traveling through New York City Route 95 during rush hour, bumper-to-bumper traffic,” one Escape owner wrote in 2011 (according to The Times). “The car for no apparent reason displayed the ‘Stop Safely Now’ message and the engine died. By some miracle, the Jersey barriers blocking the breakdown lane opened up for about 100 feet and I was able to pull over. Had the breakdown lane not been available there would have been a multiple car crash with potential deaths. This car is unsafe to drive because you have no idea when the engine will shut down.”
