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The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents
posted Monday on its website that its analysis traced the
problem to intake valves that can fracture inside some 2.7-liter
and 3-liter turbocharged engines.
Documents say the probe opened in May of 2022 ended up covering
more than 411,000 vehicles from the 2021 and 2022 model years
including the Ford F-150 Bronco, Edge and Explorer as well as
the Lincoln Aviator and Nautilus.
The agency was looking into catastrophic engine failures caused
by intake valves fracturing, dropping into the cylinder and
hitting the piston.
The documents say a forensic analysis of fractured valves found
that when the they were made by a parts supplier, the
temperature got too high, making them brittle and likely to
fracture during normal engine use.
An analysis of failure report data found that the faulty valves
were made from May through October of 2021, the agency said.
Ford contended that not all valves produced during this period
were faulty and that a vast majority of the failures happened
before the vehicles were driven 20,000 miles.
An agency statistical analysis to predict the number of
failures, and an analysis of failure reports “are generally
consistent” with Ford's determination that the valves would fail
at low mileage, and the majority of vehicles with the faulty
valves “have already experienced a failure,” the agency said.
Earlier this year Ford recalled about 91,000 vehicles with
valves made during the suspect period. They'll be tested and get
a new engine if necessary. The company also extended the
warranty on vehicles with valves made during the period to 10
years or 150,000 miles, the documents said.
During the investigation, the agency said it found 396 customer
complaints, 825 warranty claims and 936 engine replacements.
There were no reported crashes or injuries.
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