Ford, Jaguar recall vehicles over possible battery-fire concerns

Article content

Ford and Jaguar both announced vehicle recalls at the end of May tied to potential fire risks that may be posed by batteries. The Jaguar campaign covers roughly 6,400 Jaguar I-Pace electric SUVs in the U.S.; while the Ford recall is for about 142,000 Lincoln MKC SUVs in the U.S. The number of vehicles affected in Canada, in both cases, was not readily available.

Article content

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Ford, Jaguar recall vehicles over possible battery-fire concerns Back to video

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play Video

The Jaguar recall specifically covers 6,367 fully-electric I-Pace SUVs from model years 2019 through 2024. In affected vehicles, an issue with the battery energy control module software could cause the high-voltage batteries to overheat, which poses the risk of a fire. The company is aware of at least eight U.S. fires tied to the defect, though none have led to accident or injury.

The Tata-owned British automaker says its engineers haven’t figured out whether the battery-pack assembly itself is defective or if the issue lies elsewhere, reports Reuters, but its current fix is to update the battery energy control software (either via a remote over-the-air [OTA] update or at a dealership) so that it “provides an enhanced level of driver warnings,” monitoring heat and limiting charging to 75-per-cent capacity if it thinks there is a risk of fire risk; and instructing drivers who receive these high-heat warnings to report to a dealer, who will examine and, if necessary, replace the battery modules.

Article content

Meanwhile, Ford’s recall is for gas-powered Lincoln MKC sport-utilities from model years 2015 through 2019. In affected vehicles, an issue the automaker believes “originate[s] near the 12-volt batteries” may cause a fire, although it’s not yet sure exactly what the issue is yet and is investigating. Ford is aware of 19 reports of under-hood fires that may be tied to the problem, including seven since December. In these cases, the vehicle was parked and turned off.

Ford is asking owners of these vehicles to park outdoors and away from other cars while it continues its investigation and devises a fix.