Ford to Offer Warranty to Drivers Impacted by Faulty Engine Intake Valves

Following the close of a probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on over 411,000 vehicles with EcoBoost engines, Ford will be offering impacted drivers a 10-year warranty, according to Digital Trends.

NHTSA first began investigating the vehicles in July 2022 after receiving reports of engine failures in 2021 Bronco SUVs. This evolved into a two-year probe on all vehicles containing EcoBoost engine, covering the Ford F-150 Bronco, Edge, Explorer, and the Lincoln Aviator and Nautilus.

Inspectors with Ford and NHTSA cited a faulty intake valve as the root of the problem, which could drop inside the EcoBoost engine and cause it to lose power and shut down. NHTSA’s forensic analysis also discovered the intake valves would fracture during regular engine use when exposed to high temperatures.

The defective valves were produced between May and October 2021, with a change in their manufacturing process implemented after. Ford has claimed that not all the valves produced during that timeframe were defective, though, and that half of the failures occurred prior to being driven 5,000 miles.

Though Ford issued a recall in August, most of the faulty-valve engines it sold had already failed. As such, the company instead will be offering an extended powertrain warranty covering up to either 10 years or 150,000 miles for drivers.