— Ford Explorer police SUVs are suffering from engine failures that release engine oil and fuel vapors into the engine compartments which result in engine fires.
Ford is warning Explorer Police Interceptor owners to be aware of abnormal engine noise, unexpected loss of engine power or of course smoke coming from the engine compartment.
Any of these signs means quickly park the Explorer and shut it down.
A recall of about 85,000 Explorers does not include consumer vehicles, only 2020-2022 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor vehicles.
"The root cause of the fire is that engine oil and/or fuel vapor become uncontained when the cylinder block breaches and ignite on hot surfaces. The block is breached after a piston and rod failure which is collateral damage after the high load event of a bearing seizure. Bearings seize for reasons that are difficult to identify after the catastrophic failure." — Ford
Ford opened an investigation in July 2023 following three reports of engine fires on 3.3-liter Explorer Police Interceptor Utility vehicles.
Explorer engines were tore down at the engine plant where engineers discovered engine block breaches possibly caused by fractured connecting rods. But Ford didn't find a single root cause of connecting rod fractures.
The engine plant did make changes in June 2022 to the connecting rod bearing material to improve durability in response to 3.3L engine replacements on Explorer police SUVs.
By July 9, 2024, Ford knew of 13 engine compartment fires in North America caused by 3.3L engine block breaches on Explorer Police Interceptors built before June 2, 2022.
Ford dealers will update the powertrain control module software and inspect for connecting rod bearing failure. It's possible the dealer will need to replace the Explorer engine long block.
Interim Ford Explorer police vehicle recall letters explaining the safety risk are expected to be mailed August 19, 2024.
Second engine recall letters will be sent once dealerships are ready to perform repairs. Ford says this will likely be between April and June 2025.
Ford Explorer Police Interceptor owners with questions or concerns should call Ford at 866-436-7332.
The Ford Explorer police engine failure recall number is 24S52.