Ford recalls 18 electric F-150 Lightning pickups after fire
- Ford is recalling 18 electric F-150 Lightning pickups that the company has identified as potentially having a battery cell defect that caused a truck to catch fire last month.
- The Detroit automaker said Friday that the small recall is for vehicles already delivered to customers and dealers.
- The automaker reiterated Friday that production of the F-150 Lightning is set to resume Monday at one of its plants in Michigan.
Ford CEO Jim Farley announces at a press conference that Ford Motor Company will partner with the world’s largest battery company, a China-based company called Contemporary Amperex Technology, to create an electric vehicle battery facility in Marshall, Michigan, on February 13. 2023 in Romulus, Michigan.
Bill Pugliano | Getty Images News | Getty Images
DETROIT – Ford Motor is recalling 18 electric F-150 Lightning pickups that the company has identified as potentially having a battery cell defect that caused a truck to catch fire last month.
The Detroit automaker said Friday that the small recall is for vehicles already delivered to customers and dealers. They were assembled with faulty battery cells that were built over a four-week period at a Georgia facility from supplier SK On.
A Ford spokeswoman declined to say how many trucks Ford has in storage that may have the problem. She said the company is “using quality actions on already manufactured vehicles with batteries built in this four-week window that we’ve held.”
The fire occurred on February 4 in a storage area during a pre-delivery quality check while the vehicle was being loaded. Ford halted production of the vehicles and issued a stop shipment to dealers.
Ford has previously refused to disclose details about the problem that caused the vehicle to catch fire or about the solution implemented. Additional details should be available when the National Highway Transportation Administration officially issues the recall notice.
Ford said it is not aware of any reports of accidents or injuries related to the battery issue or recall.
The automaker reiterated Friday that production of the F-150 Lightning is set to resume Monday at one of its plants in Michigan.
The F-150 Lightning is being closely watched by investors, as it is the first mainstream electric pickup on the market and a big launch for Ford.
Ford first opened customer reservations for the F-150 Lightning when it was revealed in May 2021. More than 200,000 reservations were made before Ford temporarily ended the process to try to adjust production to expected demand.
Ford has sold fewer than 20,000 of the all-electric trucks so far.
