Ford Warns Nearly Half A Million Drivers To Stop Using Engine Block Heaters Mid-winter

Ford issued a staggering (and record-breaking) 153 recalls last year, and the company didn’t waste any time getting back into the rhythm for 2026. Just three weeks into the new year, we already have Ford’s first major bulletin, this time involving a familiar culprit: the risk of an engine fire.

Multiple models using Ford’s 2.0- and 2.3-liter four-cylinder engines are on the hit list due to a potential problem with their engine block heaters. As their name suggests these heaters can be plugged in to the mains in cold regions when parked during winter to keep the block and oil ready for action, making starting easier and reducing wear.

Related: Ford Recalled More Cars Than The Next 9 Brands Combined In 2025

But some of those heaters have developed cracks, and if that happens they could leak coolant, which runs the risk – albeit a small one – of causing a short circuit and a fire when the heater is next plugged in.

Which Models Are Affected?

Ford has issued three different recalls for this in the US, the first one affecting 116,672 vehicles, the NHTSA says, and covering the 2013-18 Focus, 2013-19 Escape, and 2015-16 Lincoln MKC SUV.

A second recall announced the same day for the same problem affects 2,403 examples of the 2016-18 Focus RS and 2019 and 2024 Explorer, and a third relates to 2,633 block heaters sold as accessories for various 2013-19 Ford and Lincoln models.

But a note to dealers dated the following day suggests the issue could be far more widespread, dragging the 2019-20 Fusion, 2019-24 Ranger, 2021-24 Bronco and Bronco Sport, 2022-24 Maverick, 2020-2022 Escape, 2016-24 Explorer, 2020-22 Lincoln Corsair and 2016-19 Lincoln MKC into the saga.

The paperwork suggests 68,083 vehicles could be affected in addition to the near-120,000 flagged up in the original two recalls.

Canada Joins In

And that’s nothing compared to what’s going on in Canada. Because while much of the US doesn’t experience weather bad enough to make a block heater a necessity, it’s a different story north of the border. So Ford is recalling a total of 332,410 vehicles in Canada, the affected cars being the same models listed in the US recalls.

For those of you counting, that brings the US and Canadian total to 453,828 vehicles invoilved in the recall.

Worst Timing

Ford plans to replace the dodgy block heaters and is advising owners not to plug theirs in until the fix is carried out, which isn’t great news to get in the middle of the winter. And before a dealer can sell any vehicle they have in stock that’s affected by the problem, they have to replace the block heater with a threaded plug and store the power cable in the trunk.

Cruising around in a warm state in a t-shirt and shorts and curious about engine block heaters and how you operate them? Check out the short Bronco video below.

Ford recalled models, US and Canada