What started as a probe into complaints relating to a handful of Broncos equipped with Ford’s 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine, is now expanding into an Engineering Analysis of 708,837 trucks and SUVs equipped with either the 2.7-liter or the 3.0-liter EcoBoost engines.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) announced that it is launching an “Engineering Analysis” into these vehicles as a result of data provided by Ford.
Still not a recall, the ODI says that it asked the automaker for information from all vehicles equipped with the 2.7-liter engine, including the model year 2022 Bronco, 2021-2022 F-150, 2021-2022 Edge, and the 2021-2022 Lincoln Nautilus.
Read: Feds Open Investigation Into Ford Bronco 2.7L V6 Over Catastrophic Engine Failures
In that information, Ford provided evidence of 328 customer complaints, 487 warranty claims, and 809 engine exchanges. The data listed a number of consequences for these failures, but the most common was the loss of power.
Based on the information it received, the ODI also believes that the problem may affect vehicles equipped with Ford’s 3.0-liter EcoBoost, since it is part of the same “Nano” family of engines. That means that certain 2021-2022 Ford Explorers and Lincoln Aviators are also within the scope of this investigation.
Ultimately, the ODI believes that, due to a number of factors including the type of alloy used, the intake valves in these engines can fracture. That can, in turn, lead to catastrophic engine failure, which could cause the occupants of a vehicle to become sitting ducks on a highway or other road, putting them in danger.
As part of its Engineering Analysis, the ODI wants to evaluate the scope of this problem, determine how many parts were returned, analyze the effect of this flaw on the amount of time an engine can last, and gather information about how effective Ford’s response to the issue (it changed the alloy used in the valves in 2021) has been.
Despite the scale of the investigation expanding, Ford is still not being forced to initiate a recall campaign for these vehicles. However, based on the results of the Engineering Analysis, one may be required.
