The social media accounts of both Ford and General Motors were relatively quiet yesterday and did not participate in any peak April Fools’ Day events. This could be because these two famous American automakers are on the petty jokes (unlike Dodge), or are both automakers trying to stay in the spotlight after recalling 1.4 million vehicles? I lean towards the second line of thought.
General Motors is recalling 681,509 of its compact SUVs Built on the Theta platform. Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain versions 2014 and 2015 have a fault that causes the ball joint in the wipers to rust. Wipers can fail if their ball joints become rusty, an obvious safety issue for owners.
Ford’s recall is a bit more serious. Ford Motor Company is recalling a total of 737,000 vehicles in two separate recalls. First, its 345,451 compact SUVs, namely the 2020-2022 Ford Escape and 2021-2022 Ford Bronco Sport with a 1.5-liter engine. The turbocharged 1.5-liter in-line three-cylinder EcoBoost engine in those models has a fault that causes the oil separator housing to crack, leak oil, and cause an engine fire. According to Ford, this defect has caused at least eight fires.
Ford’s second recall affects 391,836 vehicles over the past two model years. The F-150 is only the 2021 model year in the recall. As of the 2022 model year, the F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Maverick, Expedition as well as Lincoln Navigator have all been recalled. Every model listed has a fault in which trailers equipped with electro-hydraulic braking systems may fail to brake.
For all three recalls, dealers will be able to make the necessary repairs or update software to address recall issues for each model, if necessary.
