Ford has come a very long way in reinventing itself as a brand, making its products a lot more credible and competitive. Now it seems one of their suppliers has thrown a broom in their spokes.
The newly redesigned Ford Escape (which I can attest to as being much improved – stay tuned for a Car Driven review), has been hit with a massive recall affecting thousands of new Escapes in both the United States and Canada. The problem? Well apparently there’s a risk that the engine may catch fire.
Not only is this a huge blow to Ford as the Escape is one of its most important models in our market, but it’s also going to be quite costly. Each recall is expected to cost around $660 plus Ford has agreed to shell out for a rental for each customer affected. On top of that they’ve promised to fill each Escape with gas and detail it for free before returning them to their owners. This is quite a good step towards customer service, but quite costly to the brand as mentioned.
As it turns out Ford’s supplier is to blame for the risky engines. Some of the fuel lines were “mechanically scored” at TI Automotive’s plant in Indiana. TI Automotive is assuring that the problem was fixed as soon as it was detected. Still, given the hassle it has casued Ford and more importantly the people who shelled out hard earned cash for an Escape, TI Automotive should consider themselves lucky that Ford is still contracting them to supply for Ford vehicles.
In total, 11,5000 Escapes in the U.S and Canada are affected in the recall, however only 4,800 have actuually been sold.
[Autoguide.com]