According to recent reports, nearly 100,000 Ford and Lincoln vehicles have been recalled due to engine problems. The Detroit-based car manufacturer claimed in a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report that the recall was caused by a risk of intake valves cracking in the engines of 2021-2022 model years of Ford Bronco, Ford Edge, Ford Explorer, Ford F-150, Lincoln Aviator and Lincoln Nautilus vehicles.
Reportedly, all 90,700 vehicles recalled, all SUVs or pickup trucks, featured a 2.7-liter or 3-liter EcoBoost Engine. Critics of the EcoBoost engine have long maintained that they are more prone to issues than other engines, such as the 5.0-liter V8.
“An engine intake valve that fails may lead to catastrophic engine damage resulting in a loss of motive power,” Ford said. “A loss of motive power can increase the risk of a crash.” The car company continued, emphasizing its goal to enhance the quality of its vehicles.
“Our goal is to prevent quality issues from happening in the first place. When they do occur, our focus is on responding quickly with a recall or service action to prevent our customers from experiencing issues with the least inconvenience possible. We are proud that our launch quality has reached best-in-class levels, and our long-term quality is showing improvement.”
Ford further noted that it seeks to reimburse owners who have paid the cost of repairs for issues related to the recall. “Owners who have paid to have these repairs completed at their own expense may be eligible for reimbursement, in accordance with the recall reimbursement plan on file with the NHTSA,” the company said.
The YouTube channel “Driven Wild Outdoors” recently posted a video update on the Ford recall, in which the automotive enthusiast offered his expert insight on the issues plaguing the 2.7-liter and 3-liter engines. The automotive enthusiast claimed that the metal around the intake valves had become “more brittle,” resulting in them breaking when force was applied.
“It was a manufacturing process that made the metal more brittle on the intake valves, and where they said it was breaking was kind of interesting. So if you look at the metal being more brittle, and you think it can’t handle a lot of force, it looks like the valves were breaking in the keeper area, which is going to be at the top of the valve stem, at the finger follower, which takes the place of a rocker arm, and that’s what the camshaft presses in press on top of the valve. So there’s a lot of force being applied to that valve stem in that keeper area,” he said.
The YouTuber further opined, “It looks like the valve, which goes through a lot of abuse and beating in the cylinder head, which is where the valve there’s excessive heat there, there’s the opening and closing, and the closing of it, where seats, there’s a lot of impact there. But it looks like the failure happened at the valve keeper area, and they said it was a machining process. So I’m wondering if something that cuts the groove into the valve changed the temperature of the valve to the point that it did harden it or make it more brittle. Maybe that’s what the issue was.”
"*" indicates required fields