Ford Fuel Injector Recall Inadequate, Alleges Class Action Lawsuit

February 22, 2023 — A Ford fuel injector recall allegedly won't fix the 2020-2023 Ford Escapes and 2021-2023 Ford Bronco Sports equipped with 1.5L engines.

That's what three Ford customers claim in a cracked fuel class action lawsuit filed after Ford announced a recall for the problem.

The plaintiffs claim Ford could have told them about the cracked injectors and fire risk when they purchased their vehicles.

The Ford fuel injector recall was issued because the injectors can crack and leak fuel at a high rate into the cylinder head. The gas can go through a drain hole and and onto the exhaust and turbo systems. The leaking fuel can hit a hot ignition source and cause a fire under the hood.

Ford originally recalled the Bronco Sports and Escapes in March 2022 when engineers believed fires occurred from the fuel leaks from the engine oil separator housings.

Ford said the Escapes and Bronco Sports could develop cracks at the edges of the oil separator housings. Then the seals could fail and allow oil to leak between the oil separators and engine camshaft covers.

Ford continued to investigate the cause of the fires when the original recall was ordered and engineers determined the oil separators were not the problem.

Ford Cracked Fuel Injector Recall

In November 2022, Ford announced the fuel injector recall for more than 520,000 Bronco Sports and Escapes, but the lawsuit alleges the fuel injector recall isn't good enough.

The Ford cracked fuel injector recall includes 2020-2023 Ford Escapes built between November 19, 2018, and October 17, 2022, and 2021-2023 Ford Bronco Sports built between November 19, 2018, and October 17, 2022.

The plaintiffs assert Ford knows of at least 17 confirmed fires and two injuries from cracked fuel injectors out of 521,778 vehicles. But the lawsuit alleges Ford is aware of a total of 54 underhood fires, so there may be more than 17 fires that began from cracked fuel injectors.

According to documents related to the Ford fuel injector recall, the automaker estimates one percent of the 521,000 vehicles may be affected by the fuel injector problem.

But the class action lawsuit alleges this means more than 5,000 Escapes and Bronco Sports are at risk of fires from the cracked fuel injectors.

The plaintiffs say about 19 liters of fuel may leak per hour, but the Ford fuel injector recall allegedly won't protect the Bronco and Escape vehicles from the risk of fires.

According to documents filed with the government about the Ford fuel injector recall, dealerships will update engine control software to detect a drop in pressure in the fuel rail. A driver will also receive a warning message with directions to have the vehicle serviced.

A pressure drop will also cause decreased engine power and reduced temperatures to help prevent a fire.

In addition, a dealer will install a drain tube so that fuel drains from the cylinder head drain hole. The fuel will allegedly leak into the ground and not hot ignition sources.

The class action lawsuit alleges Ford has not even tried to fix the underlying fuel injector problem and admits as much by saying, “the root cause is still under investigation.”

The automaker allegedly knew about the fire risk in September 2020 but concealed it from the public.

The Ford cracked fuel injector class action lawsuit was filed by these three customers, none of who allege their fuel injectors cracked. However, the three plaintiffs claim Ford's recall repairs will not fix the problems.