My Ford Maverick EcoBoost caught on fire and exploded!!! 🔥

[EIlig]

Are you lame or some thing ? My point is that it wasn’t the first time Ford made a mistake and the Pinto was designed 70 years after Ford created it first vehicle. Now it’s over hundred years since ford first design and it’s still not perfect

Tell us what was the mistake was that Ford made on your car? How do you know it was a mistake?

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[Redneck Garage]

Many Thanks to my fellow Maverick

Coming from a mountain pass I had no signal for cellular is the reason to turn around and drive to an area to get cellular service .

Ok that explaination makes it more reasonable,
Somewhat

Exactly, because before there was cell phones we ALL drove until the vehicle burst into flames. Thank the Good Lord for Verizon.....

I remember hitting a horse out in the middle of nowhere years ago. I asked someone that drove by to call the police who responded and got me a wrecker. To say there was no other options .... that isnt true.

 

[Barracuda340]

Im gonna skip the 3 pages of interogating this guy.

I offer my condolenses for your beautiful truck. Sorry it happened. I know this stuff gets scary. I had a vehicle flame up when I was in it aswell. Mine was 40 years old and leaked a tranny line onto the exhaust. Glad you are safe.

Now I do believe you may have missed a recall notice. There were multiple early Maverick oil related recalls. Drilling drain holes, removing grill shutters, and even a O-ring replacement were some of the points of interest. I would contact your dealer and ask them about this. It could have a effect on your insurance claims, if they missed it, you could be entitled to compensation of some sort.

As for the issue of driving with the oil leaking that much. Im an old school guy and have a very mechanical and dynamic analytic mind. I tend to think through risks and assess them pretty accurately. On an older car, non turbo, that much oil leakage would be a concern and alot of rag dabbing would be in order. Of course I would check the exhaust to make sure the oil isnt soaking it. On a turbo car, exhaust temperatures are much hotter aswell as other areas of the engine bay. Also turbos may or may not be plumbed into the oiling system. If the system is low on oil at all the turbo and exhaust will get even hotter. This can cause a catastrophic fire, as soon as that fire breaches the fuel system its game over. This is your explosions. This is where people die.

If there was enough oil to reach the underside of the hood at that point it was soaked around the engine. I understand the need to get somewhere safe etc. but really if you absolutely had to drive somewhere I would have waited atleast 20 min for the exhaust and turbo to cool a little, then drove at very conservative speeds to the nearest safe area. At that point a further inspection of the oil situation would have prompted your tow truck call.

This is all hindsight of course, and the odds of this ever happening to you again are very slim. But I just want to encourage every one in this age of ever increasing brain strain, to think things through. If you try to analyze something and reach a point of confusion, SEEK HELP! Call a car buddy, call a parent, call any expert for any situation. No shame in asking for help.

Turbos ARE plumbed in with the oiling system. Some have water cooled bearing housings. (Chrysler pioneered water cooled housings in the 1980s with Garrett) but all are lubricated with pressurized engine oil. This is why running synthetic oil, frequent changes, and letting the vehicle idle for 30 seconds to a minute when you pull into your driveway or any other parking spot before turning the engine off is essential. Dealing with a pinhole leak spraying oil everywhere where its hitting the underside of the hood along with hot exhaust manifold and turbo exhaust housing is a recipe for disaster.

 

[crgator]

Until the reason for the oil leak is determined- if it can be- there is no reason for anyone to jump to any conclusions. Parts do fail or someone may have done some kind of service to the motor that was not right. I had a fuel line burst on our 1968 Galaxie and had to put the fire out with a watering can but Ford did not do a recall. Glad you and your family are okay.

You put out a gas fire with a watering can?

 

[PlantMan]

I'm sorry that you lost your Maverick. Glad everyone is OK.
I'm also sorry that some posters here can't keep a civil thought in their messages.

 

[93nighthawk]

On May 24 my truck started to smoke on a mountain pass and I pulled over and popped the hood open. Oil was dripping off the ceiling of the hood but it was a small amount. So I turned around and that’s when the check engine light started to blink. No warning of the truck dashboard was advertised but only the change oil soon did since it was due for an oil change.

I am sorry for what happened, but the truck DID try to warn you that there was a major issue. Page 162 of the owners manual tells you what to do for a blinking check engine light.

You might not take heed of the warnings given to you (oil splatter, flashing check engine light, smoke,) and that it is all the trucks fault that it did not give you more info, I don't know what else would have worked. Heeding those warning might have meant being down a couple days waiting on repair, instead now you have to wait for a new vehicle.

Also, Just because it is a new vehicle, doesn't mean parts can't fail. That is why there is a warranty.

 

[EIlig]

Turbos ARE plumbed in with the oiling system. Some have water cooled bearing housings. (Chrysler pioneered water cooled housings in the 1980s with Garrett) but all are lubricated with pressurized engine oil. This is why running synthetic oil, frequent changes, and letting the vehicle idle for 30 seconds to a minute when you pull into your driveway or any other parking spot before turning the engine off is essential. Dealing with a pinhole leak spraying oil everywhere where its hitting the underside of the hood along with hot exhaust manifold and turbo exhaust housing is a recipe for disaster.

We have a winner...

I'm wondering how many miles total were on the vehicle at the time of its death considering its early build date the OP posted....

 

[pa-outdoorsman]

But the Ford Maverick hasn’t. The platform have matured but somewhere in the Maverick design is different. Does anyone recalled the Ford Pinto fire incident.

You sir are an alarmist. One engine fire does not mean the Maverick is the Pinto.

 

[Old Man]

I've seen several vehicles catch on fire, while they were driving and parked. Nothing mechanical is perfect 100% of the time. Things break. Doesn't mean everyone like it will break. You can't do a recall without other comparable incidents or an investigation of the cause although in this case much of the evidence was destroyed. At this point it doesn't seem Ford could be held liable without a known cause. Insurance is going to have to cover the costs.

 

[FischAutoTechGarten]

A 2022 XL with Ecoboost, AWD, 4K Tow, Sunroof and Rear Sliding Window... a truly affordable capable truck you can't even get anymore. bummer. glad your family got out.

 

[RDRahn]

I believe the hole drilling recall was only for the Hybrid.

That’s my understanding too. I have hybrid and got that recall completed.

 

[Barracuda340]

You sir are an alarmist. One engine fire does not mean the Maverick is the Pinto.

I agree. Before the whole pinto debacle ford had nothing but "drop in" gas tanks in their passenger cars with a rear gas cap between the taillights. "Drop in" gas tank essentially WAS the trunk floor between the framerails. It had a lip on it all the way around with holes in the lip all the way around to screw it in. These installed into the car from the top through the trunk. The filler neck between the taillights was exposed inside the trunk along with the gas tank covered only with a trunk mat. The falcon from 1960 thru 1969 was built that way. The mustang from 1964 thru 1969 was built that way, along with fords midsize offerings such as the torino, and full size cars such as the galaxie, along with the mercury versions of the same cars. The cougar, comet etc.

Bad design? You bet it was! Did people get hurt or dead from rear end collisions forcing the filler necks on these cars into the gas tank rupturing it, and fuel spraying everywhere inside the trunk and igniting from a spark. You bet!! The pinto for some reason was the one that got the negativity even though its filler neck was on the side of the vehicle, and the tank was mounted from underneath and not a "drop in" tank. Probably from the gas tank being so close to the rear bumper and rear axle. In a collision there was no crush space.

Again this incident you are reaching. Apples and oranges.

 

[RCollins]

I am a retired aircraft mechanic/inspector. I worked on many turbocharged planes. On some of them, if you watched through the cowling vent slots at night, you could see the exhaust system glowing red hot. Any flammable put on that surface would result in tragedy. Turbos spin at ungodly RPM and require a healthy oil supply on the main bearing between the inlet and (hot) outlet side. We are talking about 15oo degrees at 70 or 80 thousand RPM. These systems require special attention.
I have avoided any purchase of a turbo charged vehicle and was lucky to get the last version of the Honda CR-V without a turbo, that being the 2017 2.4L LX model. Last Friday my Maverick Hybrid arrived and I considered mounting a dry chemical fire extinguisher on it somewhere. Lithium Ion batteries look like the Fourth of July when they cook off and can light off when least expected, with no warning. Any physical damage to the metal casing or water intrusion due to sealing failure and you are possibly in for an adventure.
All the manufacturers are involved in "saving the planet" so a couple life threatening fires are just one little bump in the road towards that goal.
To the original poster, thank you for sharing your experience, we will all learn from it. And remember, flamers will be flamers, whether under the hood, or on a keyboard somewhere, in a far away place.

 

[Barracuda340]

I am a retired aircraft mechanic/inspector. I worked on many turbocharged planes. On some of them, if you watched through the cowling vent slots at night, you could see the exhaust system glowing red hot. Any flammable put on that surface would result in tragedy. Turbos spin at ungodly RPM and require a healthy oil supply on the main bearing between the inlet and (hot) outlet side. We are talking about 15oo degrees at 70 or 80 thousand RPM. These systems require special attention.
I have avoided any purchase of a turbo charged vehicle and was lucky to get the last version of the Honda CR-V without a turbo, that being the 2017 2.4L LX model. Last Friday my Maverick Hybrid arrived and I considered mounting a dry chemical fire extinguisher on it somewhere. Lithium Ion batteries look like the Fourth of July when they cook off and can light off when least expected, with no warning. Any physical damage to the metal casing or water intrusion due to sealing failure and you are possibly in for an adventure.
All the manufacturers are involved in "saving the planet" so a couple life threatening fires are just one little bump in the road towards that goal.
To the original poster, thank you for sharing your experience, we will all learn from it. And remember, flamers will be flamers, whether under the hood, or on a keyboard somewhere, in a far away place.

28 years as an AMT myself, before that i was a Chrysler Mastertech. I worked on turbos at the automotive level from 1986 until I got into aviation maintenance. Most people do not understand that they are precision instruments. These things hate dirty oil. And lack of PM or preventative maintenance will kill one in short order. When the bearings coke up with dirty oil andt the compressor stops spinning I bet it's a gutless turd. I know the Chryslers 2.2L and 2.5L turbo engines were 8.0 to 1 static compression dished pistons. When you had a failed turbo they were gutless wonders. The factory recommended oil change service Interval on the ecoboost is a joke. Never in a million years will I try to stretch 10,000 miles out of engine oil in a turbocharged engine. 3k oil and filter is the maximum I go.

I don't know if i got a good one or what, but when I purchased my 1988 Dodge Daytona Shelby new, I proceeded to put 100K plus on the odometer, before selling it when going to school for my aviation mechanics licence. Never had a turbo failure, head gasket failure, or anything. Normal mtx. Tires, brakes, tuneups, oil changes, etc. I ran the living snot out of that thing. Intercooled 5 speed car. But I maintained it, and ran nothing but synthetic oil in it, changed frequently.

I am guessing by using the same metrics on my ecoboost, and the fact that I don't have a lead foot anymore, it should last me a long time. And you are right things do fail. Anything made by human hands is imperfect. It is subject to failure. Seeing oil sprayed everywhere I would have shut it down where I was at providing there was a shoulder to get it off the road. Then I would have figured out what to do after that.

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