Ford and its Lincoln luxury marque have issued a recall for 20,484 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) SUVs because a battery defect could cause them to lose power.
Affected vehicles include some, but not all, examples of the:
- 2020-2024 Ford Escape PHEV
- 2021-2024 Lincoln Corsair PHEV
The company believes the problem affects only one particular batch of batteries, so it does not affect every Escape PHEV or Corsair PHEV.
Ford tells federal safety officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that some batteries may have been damaged during manufacturing, and can internally short circuit. “In the event of a high voltage battery cell internal short circuit, customers may experience shutdown of the vehicle’s propulsion system,” the company says. A short circuit could trigger a battery fire.
“In the event of a high voltage battery cell internal short circuit, the customer will receive a ‘Stop Safely Now’ message displayed via the instrument cluster,” the company says.
Dealers will update battery software to add “enhanced capability to detect cell anomalies.” If the software triggers a warning, they’ll replace the battery.
By law, dealers never charge for recall repairs.
Manufacturers recall many cars to fix safety defects, sometimes more than once. Automakers try to reach every owner to ask them to bring the vehicle in for repair, but they rarely get them all. Millions of cars on American roads need free recall repairs. Check the easy VIN tool at our recall center to determine if your car is one of them.
