NHTSA Complaint #11550390 — 2022 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID

We were driving on the interstate and the car began to make a metallic clicking/ticking sound. We started to move to the shoulder as we thought it might be a tire issue when we saw an orange glow reflected on the concrete. As soon as we reached the shoulder the engine started pouring out smoke and we immediately left the car. We opened the hood and saw fire inside the engine compartment. We left the hood up and moved away from the car and called 911. It appears this issue is tied to a known, open recall for which Ford has not released any information on how to fix with no specific timeline in place to release the fix. Our safety was at risk as the car was on fire and we were standing on the side of an interstate at midnight not knowing if the fire was going to go out or the car was going to explode; luckily for us it went out. The vehicle is currently at a Ford dealership for inspection. There was an engine service warning immediately before we heard the clicking noise but that is the first notification of any issue.