Ford issues three recalls, including one that led to two fires

DETROIT, March 31 (Reuters) - Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Co F.N said on
Thursday it will conduct three separate safety recalls including
one of sport-utility vehicles with a defective engine heater
that led to two fires in Canada, in which no one was injured.
About 48,000 vehicles are affected by the three recalls,
Ford said.
Two under-the-hood fires in Lincoln MKCs caused by
overheating block heaters were reported to Ford in Canada
leading to the recall of 5,536 SUVs in that country and in the
United States. Affected are 2016 model year Ford Explorers and
Lincoln MKCs from the 2015 and 2016 model years.
"The engine block design, coupled with the particular block
heater installed in these vehicles, causes the unit to be
susceptible to overheating when the vehicle is parked and the
block heater is plugged in -increasing the risk of an underhood
fire," Ford said.
Ford said it will replace heaters in the affected vehicles
with an updated version.
Heating blocks are standard equipment only in cold-weather
areas, which means most of the affected vehicles are in Canada,
where 3,993 vehicles will be recalled. Another 1,543 will be
recalled in the United States and its territories, Ford said.
Ford said it was not aware how significant the damage was to
the two MKCs involved in the fires.
Separately, Ford will recall 38,000 model year 2015 and 2016
low-roof Ford Transit vans to inspect and adjust side-curtain
air bags that may be incorrectly positioned in some vehicles.
The lion's share of those vehicles, 98 percent, are in the
United States.
Ford said it is not aware of any crashes or injuries linked
to this recall.
Thirdly, Ford said it would recall about 4,800 heavy trucks
F-650 and F-750 to replace parking brake connector clips. Ford
said it is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to
this defect that affects certain 2015 and 2016 model year big
trucks.