— Ford oil pump belt failures caused engine failures in 2018-2021 Ford EcoSport SUVs, something that got the attention of federal safety regulators regarding 241,000 EcoSports.
In September 2023, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a federal investigation into EcoSport engine oil pump belt failures.
EcoSport owners complained their vehicles lost oil pressure which caused the engines to stall and in some cases the engines failed.
Drivers sometimes said the low oil pressure warning lights illuminated before the EcoSports lost power while driving.
NHTSA investigated the oil pump belt failures and learned the pump drive belt tensioner arm could fracture and separate from the tensioner backing plate.
It's also possible the oil pump drive belt may degrade and lose teeth, causing a loss of engine oil pressure.
Ford issued an EcoSport oil pump belt failure recall in December 2023 which included 147,000 vehicles, with 7,000 of those recalled in Canada. However, the oil pump belt recall also included 2016-2018 Ford Focus cars equipped with the same engine oil pumps.
Ford dealers were told to replace the oil pump drive belt tensioner assemblies and oil pump drive belts with improved parts.
The automaker knew of 2,099 oil pump warranty claims between June 10, 2016, and October 6, 2023, along with one crash and two injuries.
According to NHTSA, the EcoSport oil pump belt investigation is closed based on Ford's recall.
