22S36/22S48: Expedition (2021) Battery Junction Box Recall

We’ve discovered a vehicle safety issue in some 2021 model-year Ford Expedition vehicles built from July 28, 2020 to August 31, 2021. Some of these vehicles have experienced an under-hood fire, even while parked and off.

We believe these vehicle fires can be traced to a circuit board supplier that changed manufacturing locations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The printed circuit boards produced there are sometimes susceptible to a high-current short. They were supplied to us and installed in our Ford Expedition^® and Lincoln Navigator^® SUVs produced during the recall window. We haven’t seen this issue on printed circuit boards produced at other locations by this or any other suppliers we use. While this seems to be a supplier’s error, the problem is ours to fix.

Here’s what we know today. These incidents began in the rear of the engine compartment near the passenger side where the battery junction box is packaged. Of the 21 reported instances, 18 occurred in vehicles owned by rental companies at multiple locations and three were retail customer vehicles. In all, 15 happened while the vehicle was parked and off, one while the vehicle was parked and on, and five while the vehicle was moving.

As of now, we know of one injury and no accidents.

Unfortunately, we’ve learned that someone was injured with a burn. To protect our owners’ safety, we’re moving quickly to set this recall in motion and get the word out.

We have a team called the Ford Critical Concern Review Group (CCRG) that began investigating on March 24, 2022, when eight under-hood fires and one melted battery junction box were reported. Since then, we’ve moved quickly to remedy this situation.

We’ve gathered our management, engineers, technical teams, communications teams and suppliers to get answers and solutions. Our Critical Concern Review Group (CCRG) team also continued reviewing the issue and conducted vehicle inspections, site visits with rental company personnel, supplier reviews, product design reviews, field and connected data analyses and more. We want to protect our customers and service these impacted vehicles as quickly as possible.

Our dealers will first inspect the battery junction box. If there’s melting damage, they will replace the entire component. If there’s no damage, next steps depend on whether vehicles are equipped with an 800-watt heavy-duty engine radiator fan motor or a 700-watt standard-duty engine radiator fan motor.

If you have an 800-watt system, the engine fan ground wire from the battery junction box will be removed because the ground circuit could overheat the printed circuit board and cause a fire.

If your vehicle has a 700-watt system, dealers will follow the same 800-watt recall steps along with adding an auxiliary box with a wire jumper.

They’re engineered slightly differently. For the 700-watt repair, adding the auxiliary box removes the relay, which contains the potentially troubling ground wire from the vehicle. In the 800-watt system, the relay isn’t a potential problem. It’s there but it’s not functional.

Our priority is protecting our customers quickly. Anyone with an 800-watt heavy-duty engine radiator fan motor should be able to make a dealer appointment for repairs starting in August. Parts should be available for anyone with a 700-watt standard-duty engine radiator fan motor beginning in September. We’ll notify you as soon as they are available so that you can schedule service with your dealer immediately.

We’re advising customers with certain 2021 Ford Expedition^® and Lincoln Navigator^® vehicles to park them outside and away from structures. You can still choose to drive your vehicle under this safety recall.

You can still choose to drive your vehicle under this safety recall. The issue appears to be progressive, meaning that you will likely first notice a smell for a period of time before smoke appears. It’s important to contact your dealer if you notice anything unusual.

If you’ve been affected, please call your local dealer, or (833) 807-3673.

In the U.S., 66,221 vehicles are affected. Globally, 77,891 vehicles are affected, including 4,802 in Canada. The rest are in Asia, South America and the Middle East.

There are 56,241 Expedition^® SUVs affected: 38,926 with standard-duty radiator fan motor (700W) and 17,315 with heavy-duty radiator fan motor (800W). For the Navigator^®, 9,980 SUVs are affected: 5,917 with standard-duty radiator fan motor (700W) and 4,063 with heavy-duty radiator fan motor (800W).

We don’t have the data to make an accurate estimate right now.

These vehicles were assembled at a Kentucky Truck Plant from July 28, 2020 to August 31, 2021.

We’re being cautious because we want to protect your safety. Of the five new incidents since we filed our recall with National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) in May, two happened outside the original build window. This and a suspect supplier manufacturing timeframe led us to expand the recall through August 2021.

No, the only vehicles affected by this battery junction box issue are certain 2021 model-year Ford Expedition vehicles built from July 28, 2020 to August 31, 2021. Customers who are affected have been notified.

We want to reassure you that no other models or model years are affected. Continue driving as usual without worry.

It seems to be progressive. Customers have reported first noticing a burning smell. This could then be followed by smoke while you’re stopped or smoke from the front passenger engine compartment while you’re driving.

We told our global network of dealers about the remedies and affected vehicles on July 8, 2022 and they are standing by to help.

We’re treating this recall with a high sense of urgency. We reached out to customers via the Ford app and Lincoln app on July 8, 2022. We’re also following up by mail after finalizing the addresses of affected owners during the week of July 18, 2022.