Ford Motor Company has announced a major recall of its 2019 Ranger midsize pickup. Over 20,000 have been recalled because the truck’s heating, ventilating and air conditioning blower motor could short out possibly causing it to overheat, smoke, or catch on fire.

From Ford, “The HVAC blower motor may have been built with an improper clearance between an electrical terminal and the conductive base-plate slot that may result in a resistive electrical short.” Ford says it has encountered six incidents with the pickups before delivery to dealerships as well as a single incident of smoking by a customer. It is not sure that the reported incident is directly related to this problem until further investigation. 

There have been no accidents or injuries related to this problem as far as Ford knows. All of the Rangers being recalled originated from the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, between August 1 and the end of September this year. Each Ranger will be tested and if found to have the problem replacement parts will correct the problem.

Yet Another Ford Recall

Unfortunately, Ford has been issuing a gang of recalls for numerous vehicles as of late. Besides the 2020 Escape and 2020 Explorer recalls, over 500,000 F-150 trucks, Explorers, SUVs, and Lincoln Aviators were recalled back in August. 2017 Explorers, 2013-2016 Fusions, and 2019 F-Series Super Duty trucks have all been issued recalls, as well. 

Besides all of that, assembly of 2020 Explorers has been in the news for post-assembly being performed at a separate assembly line at the Flat Rock assembly plant. New Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs have seen multiple issues after assembly at the Chicago factory. The vehicles are then transported by truck to the Flat Rock assembly plant outside of Detroit, where the Mustang is assembled. There they are examined and fixed before delivery to dealers.

Shipments of Explorers and Aviators have been interrupted, causing impatient dealers to complain about the lack of inventory. Being new for 2020 demand is high right now so dealerships normally stock up to satisfy customer demand. Dealers have only been told there are “manufacturing issues” related to the SUVs. 

Own A 2019 Ranger?

Ford has not issued an owner notification schedule for the Ranger recall. Concerned owners should call either Ford’s recall number: 800-392-3673, or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s vehicle-safety hotline at 888-327-4236.