This new recall impacts the Ford Escape and Focus, as well as the Lincoln MKC.
As much of the eastern United States is staring down a potentially historic winter storm with record cold, snow and ice, Ford has a new recall in effect concerning faulty engine block heaters that can short circuit. That timing is unfortunate, to say the least, but if you own one of 116,672 Ford Escapes from 2013-2019, Focuses from 2013-2018 or Lincoln MKCs between 2015 and 2016, you’ll want to pay attention to this recall campaign.
Specifically, Ford tells the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that, “The engine block heater installed in vehicles with a 2.0L engine may experience overheating and develop a coolant leak through its element pins. This could cause a resistive short while the vehicle is parked and the block heater is plugged into an electrical supply.” In other words, the block heater could short circuit and spark a fire when the car is actually plugged in. Ford further elaborates that the risk for a fire is substantially increased when the block heater is plugged into a 110-volt electrical supply without a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlet.
As you’d expect with the Escape being the most popular vehicle on the list, it has the highest number of affected units:
- 2013-2019 Ford Escape: 65,683 vehicles
- Affected models were built between October 7, 2011 and August 2, 2019
- 2013-2018 Ford Focus: 49,080 vehicles
- Affected models were built between February 14, 2012 and May 4, 2018
- 2015-2016 Lincoln MKC: 1,909 vehicles
- Affected models were built between February 25, 2014 and March 19, 2016
What’s the fix and when can I get it?
Ford first became aware of the engine block heater short circuit issue in January 2025, when it was brought to the automaker’s internal Critical Concern Review Group. Through January 8, 2026, Ford claims its aware of 12 Ford Escape vehicle owners alleging fires caused by a defective engine block heater.
There are a couple points to note on this particular recall. The first (and most obvious): This only affects vehicles that have an engine block heater installed. Another point Ford makes in its report to the NHTSA is that the fire potential is only present when the block heater is actually being used, so that risk is abated if it’s not actually plugged into an electrical supply. That said, there is still the problem of the coolant leak regardless, which could also lead to low coolant warnings, a loss of cabin heat or the engine itself overheating.
Ford notified its dealers of the issue over the past week, and has an expectedly straightforward fix. The recalled engine block heater part (CV6T-6A051-AA/BA/CA) will be replaced with a newly designed block heater that shouldn’t leak, with the resulting evaporation and conductive salt deposits risking a short-circuit. This repair will be free to all impacted owners.
While the fix itself is straightforward, it will still be a little while before Ford actually has the remedy prepared for all the affected vehicles. The automaker says interim notifications — in other words, “there’s a fix coming but we’re not ready for you to come in just yet” — will go out between February 9 and 13. The remedy notification, when you’ll actually be able to schedule a repair, won’t roll out until mid-April.
