[RECALL] 25V46 (NHTSA) / 25S76 (Ford) - Fuel Injectors MY21-24 1.5L I3 Engine

[llinthicum2]

One would assume that a revised fuel injector part where the fuel injectors don't crack would be the final remedy, but it's possible that a defect in some other part could be causing the fuel injectors to crack, and I don't work for FoMoCo so I'm not going to pretend to have any inside knowledge as to what it actually ends up being.

I would suspect the injectors on the basis of the recall letter to NHTSA saying the affected components are fuel injectors parts HX7G-9F597-B and HX7G-9F597-C.

NHTSA made Ford investigate the adequacy of prior fuel injector recalls opening an investigation April 2024.

July 2024 Ford gets a report of a vehicle that caught fire that had already received 22S73/22V859. Ford buys the vehicle, investigates it - cracked fuel injector.

Ford spends a little under the next year (Aug 2024-May 2025) investigating underhood fires. Only one shows signs of a fuel injector "weeping" and not the cause of the fire. It lacked the software update. They also look at warranty replaced injectors to understand what's going on better.

April 2025-May 2025 Ford understands corrosion to lead to fuel injector cracking and how the size of the crack impacts vehicles with and without either the drain tube remedy or software remedy.

Late May/Early June, Ford meets with NHTSA to discuss findings. Early July, Ford elects on a recall.

The recall letter with NHTSA is very clear that there's some sort of update to the software beyond any prior software update, probably to use new parameters or stricter ones to put the vehicle into limp mode.

The rest Ford is saying a remedy is being developed. I suspect Ford is probably considering multiple remedies. Prior recalls have generally focused on mitigating the harm of a cracked fuel injector (via the drain tube and/or software) with the cracked injectors themselves being addressed under a customer satisfaction program.

I'm not sure if Ford will be able to satisfy the NHTSA with that this time as the current expanded recall covers 694,271 vehicles (Bronco Sport and Escape). With an estimated rate of 0.3% vehicles defective, that's an estimated 20,828 vehicles on the road that Ford is estimating have cracked fuel injectors - including those that already both have the drain tube and the software fixes. I think if you have several gos at it with software and you have to initiate yet another recall I think the NHTSA confidence in any recall that doesn't result in replacement of either the fuel injectors themselves, or a related part that is somehow causing corrosion in the fuel injector is going to be low.

I did argue in another thread here that I thought it was negligent that Ford did not install the software remedy and drain tube in all subsequent 1.5L Bronco sports, but minimally the software remedy as this is a free operation from a parts perspective and miminal for a labor one, particularly if done as the vehicle is manufactured. I feel vindicated on my belief by this furthest recall.

I also believe that any subsequent recall (including this one) should include the drain tube for all vehicles. If fuel leaks in that area without it, it's known to be hot enough to cause underhood fires. Ford has had three prior tries to fix this and hasn't nailed it down yet. The drain tube acts as another layer of safety if somehow there is a fuel leak and it's not caught by the software to put the vehicle into limp mode on suspected fuel leak, or if a vehicle still experiences substantial fuel leakage despite limp mode trying to reduce it.

"With an estimated rate of 0.3% vehicles defective, that's an estimated 20,828 vehicles on the road that Ford is estimating have cracked fuel injectors". News release said .3% of vehicles are affected, not 3% (how they determine percentage, release did not say), .3% would only be about 2,083 vehicles.

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[TEdison]

Stock

Ford was already #1 in '25 recalls. Now Ford aims to extend that margin to make sure no one else can take the lead.

Meanwhile Ford stock hasn't done [redacted] in over 2 decades.

https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/f/charts?mod=mw_quote_advanced

Stock hasn't done &%$#, but it has paid dividends. Fine with me.

 

[llinthicum2]

The recall notice on FordPass now says there is a remedy but parts are not available right now. Does anyone know what the remedy is? Are they actually going to replace the injectors?

 

[elvisimprsntr]

Short term remedy is a drain line, and software update to detect leaking
injectors and either put vehicle in limp mode or disable to fuel pump.

Who knows when or even if they come up with a more permanent solution.

Perhaps they will offer a gasoline vapor detector.

https://www.wholesalemarine.com/safe-t-alert-marine-gas-propane-vapor-detector/?msclkid=e44e58f1461211427501308eb055aba6

 

[thomasm23]

More information regarding the recall.

https://www.autobodynews.com/news/ford-recalls-694k-suvs-for-fuel-injector-fix-that-will-cost-570m

 

[SnoopyBroncoSport]

Recall in Canada information.

2025-376

 

[John J]

Sometimes the best "remedy" is a car fire on the side of the highway.

 

[hellb0y]

It’s interesting these are corroding so new, they shouldn’t….I do wonder if gas quality makes a big impact here.

 

[petegee77]

Ford was already #1 in '25 recalls. Now Ford aims to extend that margin to make sure no one else can take the lead.

Meanwhile Ford stock hasn't done [redacted] in over 2 decades.

https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/f/charts?mod=mw_quote_advanced

We're #1 We're #1 We're #1

A nice healthy lead

 

[thomasm23]

This recall has now been renamed.

Powertrain control module pcm software update

This seems to hint at what the immediate fix will be.

I found this in the v5.26.0 of Ford Pass today.

 

[Me3]

Powertrain control module pcm
software update

“Parts are not currently available”
I guess that means “Ford engineer brain cells not currently available “

Safety is job one here at Ford

 

[coopny]

This recall has now been renamed.

Powertrain control module pcm software update

This seems to hint at what the immediate fix will be.

The dealer notification letter confirms that the immediate fix is just a software update to the PCM...

This safety recall supersedes the prior recalls and will include a remedy for this issue, which is currently under development. The recall will include a software update, which will help detect cracked injectors and mitigate fire risk.

The dealer notification letter also has talking points for the dealers. Ford is effectively saying that the reason that there's more recalls isn't that the vehicles are of lower quality, but that Ford is investing more effort into finding safety issues to recall:

The increase in recalls reflects our intensive strategy to quickly find and fix any hardware and software issues and go the extra mile to protect customers. Ford has more than doubled its team of safety and technical experts in the past two years and significantly increased testing to failure on critical systems such as powertrains, steering and braking.

(Of course, this ignores that Ford is investing more effort because of an $165M consent decree with the US Government [NHTSA] in 2021... and that this software fix is because NHTSA opened an investigation to the prior fuel injector leak recalls because they believed a fix that did not fix the problem of the fuel injectors actually cracking was insufficient.)

At least in the current dealer notification letter, the new software update is not eligible for mobile service, which is puzzling because the 25S21 recall (correctly PCM patching vehicles that were not patched properly under 22V-859 and 24V-187) was eligible for mobile service. Ford doesn't spell out why. Maybe it's so if the PCM flash goes wrong it's already at a dealer rather than an dead vehicle somewhere random requiring towing.

Page 6/6 of the NHTSA PDF for the Dealer Notification letter (page 4 of the FAQ section) seems to indicate that the recall may be open on your vehicle even if it already has the software update. It states that if you have 22S73 or 24S16 open, you don't have the software patch. If you have 25S21 open on your VIHN, you need to have your dealer verify the software patch to the PCM is applied correctly. If none of those recalls are open on your vehicle (from those recalls being completed, or the vehicle being built with the PCM software), your vehicle already has the software.

So you should check with your dealer to be safe, but the short version seems to be:

1. If you own a 1.5L Bronco Sport and you had recalls 22S27 or 24S16 applied, you already have the software fix that detects the fuel pressure drop from cracked injectors - unless you have 25S21 open, in which case you may or may not have correctly applied software patch.
2. Ford references that there are vehicles included in this recall that were not included in any prior recall. This may include vehicles in the 2021-2023 model years, but it definitely includes 2024 models with build dates through Feb 8th, 2024. The reason for the cutoff is not known - Ford built 2024 models after that date - and the recall letter acknowledges that there are vehicles with this recall open that don't require the software patch (no immediate action) because they were built with them.

For many of you, this recall will not have any immediate action... it will just be an open recall on your vehicle until Ford figures out the permanent fix for the fuel injectors themselves cracking.

Last but not least, I would note that Ford says "A remedy for this issue is currently under development. Ford is currently evaluating options in developing a new remedy and expects to finalize this in the near future. We hope to share more information soon." and:

Following two earlier recalls to address the risk of underhood fire due to fuel leaks from cracked fuel injectors in Escape and Bronco Sport with 1.5-liter gasoline turbocharged direct injection four-cylinder engines, an ongoing investigation into the root cause of the issue has determined the need for a new remedy that’s under development to prevent future risk of cracked fuel injectors.

So Ford is essentially saying they have something in mind for a final remedy, but they don't specifically call it replacement of the fuel injectors. It could be fuel injectors themselves, it could be other related parts, could be both... only time will tell.

 

[wireman]

So, Ford is saying that we don't do a good job engineering our vehicles but at least we are recalling the issues we shouldn't have had in the 1st place.

 

[rocks]

Unfortunately, the 1.5L has had too many problems.

 

[MJS54]

It never ends...I've owned many Ford Vehicles (Mustangs mainly), but this Bronco Sport takes the cake. Let's see I've had some software patches done, wiper motor checked out, etc., etc.,I guess we will just have to wait and see how this pans out.

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