The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has started an investigation into more than 700,000 vehicles made by Ford that may experience a catastrophic engine failure because of a faulty valve.
Reuters reported that the cars can have a loss of power without warning while they are being driven.
The engine failure is linked to a valve in 2.7L and 3.0L EcoBoost engines.
The following vehicles are under investigation:
- Ford Bronco
- Ford Edge
- Ford Explorer
- Ford F-150
- Lincoln Aviator
- Lincoln Nautilus
All are from the 2021 and 2022 model years.
This is a continuation of an investigation of 25,000 vehicles that was opened in July 2022. It is now considered an engineering analysis, a step before the vehicles could be recalled.
Ford said it is working with the NHTSA on the investigation, Reuters reported. The company gave the agency data, which, according to the NHTSA, “revealed that the alleged defect is present across the ‘Nano’ engine family, which includes both the 2.7L and 3.0L EcoBoost engine variants.”
The defects were linked to an alloy called “Silchrome Lite” that, according to Ford, can become “excessively hard and brittle if an over-temperature condition occurs during machining of the component.”
The company changed the material in October 2021 and believes that the valves fail early in a vehicle’s life, adding that most failures have already happened.
A total of 708,837 vehicles are being investigated, but no deaths or injuries have been reported due to the issue, CBS News reported.
The company, however, did have 328 complaints, 487 warranty claims and 809 engine exchanges related to the defect, according to CBS News.
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