NHTSA Complaint #11522001 — 2013 FORD ESCAPE

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, both a check engine light and a warning message instructing her to pull over immediately appeared on the instrument panel. The contact pulled into a parking lot as white smoke began to fill the engine cabin. The contact opened the hood and saw that a flame had ignited inside the engine. The occupants inside the vehicle exited as the police officers who happened to be on scene were able to suppress the fire with fire extinguishers. The fire department later arrived and managed to fully extinguish the fire. No injuries were reported and a police report was filed. The vehicle remained at the scene and had yet to be towed. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The contact stated that those same warning lights had flashed two months prior to the failure. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where an unknown hose had burst which led to the overheating failure. The contact was informed that the hose was replaced and that the failure was remedied. The vehicle had yet to be deemed a total loss. The failure mileage was approximately 92,000.