- Ford recalled 407 vehicles over engine oil leaks and missing brake caliper bolts in two actions.
- Most affected vehicles will receive full cylinder head replacements to prevent engine failure.
- Separately, three SUVs had loose or missing caliper bolts that will be tightened or replaced.
Ford has issued so many recalls this year that it’s somewhat hard to keep up. The company has been pumping out so many notices that you might think it’s trying to win an award. While some of these recalls affect only a handful of vehicles and showcase just how precise modern production tracking has become, others hit hundreds of cars.
Today’s batch includes a bit of both: one recall involving a mere three vehicles, and another involving a more substantial 404 units – yes, 404, the same number as the infamous internet error.
Oil Leak Leads to Engine Failure and a Recall
In the larger of the two recalls, Ford flagged 404 Escape and Bronco Sport vehicles because of an oil leak that could lead to a fire. In mid-March of this year, it repaired a 2025 Model Year Escape with a missing cylinder head ball plug. Those plugs fill holes that occur as part of the casting process. If they come out, they lead to oil leaks, and that’s what happened in March.
More: Something Might Be Missing From Your Ford And It’s Not Just The Fix
The leak wasn’t just a drip, either. It was bad enough to destroy the engine. On April 1, Ford began reviewing the case to figure out what happened. Two weeks later, Ford found another Escape, this one with ZERO (0) miles on the odometer that also had an oil leak. Once again, a cylinder ball plug was missing. The automaker did a lab analysis of the cylinder head and found a clue.
The metal that makes up the head wasn’t hard enough, which allows the ball plug to work its way out. Ford decided to get the supplier involved and found the root cause. On the day of heat treating for the heads in question, the supplier had a major power outage.
They even found a second day, apparently from over a year ago, when the same problem cropped up. As such, every head made on those two days is getting replaced via this recall. The action, dubbed recall number 25V372, includes Escapes from 2023 through 2025 and Bronco Sports from the 2025 model year.
Only Three Explorers, But Still a Safety Issue
The second recall is significantly smaller, targeting just three 2025 Explorer SUVs. According to Ford’s filing for recall 25V371, the issue involves loose or missing caliper bracket bolts. All three vehicles had previously undergone unrelated repairs before delivery, and Ford suspects the technicians may not have torqued the bolts correctly.
It found the issue after an Explorer owner complained of a clunking noise to their dealer. Sure enough, when the dealer inspected the car, they found the front driver’s side caliper missing two bolts that hold it onto the knuckle.
While it never looks great to issue a recall, at least these are solid examples of just how much tracking goes on at the production level and how that tracking increases safety over time.
