Ford recalls 440,000 vehicles for engine fire risk and door latch trouble.

The first recall of the company covers over 230,000 vehicles, including the Ford Escape SUVs from 2014 model, the compact Fiesta from 2014 to 2015, the 2013 and 2014 Fusion mid-size car and the Transit Connect vans from 2013 through 2015. All recalled vehicles use 1.6-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine.
It is the lack of coolant circulation that causes the engine’s overheating. The overheated engine bay can provoke a crack in the cylinder head causing oil leak. If the leaked oil comes in contact with a hot surface, the engine can easily catch fire. According to Ford, the company has had 29 reports of fires in the U.S. and Canada, luckily, there have been no injuries.

The drivers can keep driving safely by following the company’s instructions on how to check and refill coolant, said Elizabeth Weigandt - Safety Communications Manager at Ford Motor Company. Ford also highly recommends that the owners should take their vehicle to a dealer if the overheating and coolant leaks happen regularly.

Furthermore, Weigandt also stated that the dealers will freely install a coolant level sensor together with a warning light on the dashboard that will warn drivers about the low coolant level. She didn’t confirm that the company would fix coolant leaks but said the company would check.

Apart from the first recall of 230,000 vehicles, Ford Motor Company is also adding 211,000 units to the 2015 recall in order to solve the problem of door latches. That second recall covers the 2014 Fiesta, the 2013 and 2014 Fusion and the Lincoln MKZ.