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

[pigsareus]

He was already up front with his insurance about what happened. It's in a previous post.

thanks...I didn't see that...hope the ins co comes thru...

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[MaverickMom]

Who here has ever carried a dead battery and a toasted alternator 6 miles to a town where there should be a parts store after dark? This Maverickman has!

I remember when Sav-On or another chain similar used to carry car parts. We were driving on the freeway on a long road trip in the middle of the night when the alternator went out. The other car with us drove to one of those 24 hours stores and picked up an alternator. Got back, alternator installed, except no one had jumper cables to jump the dead battery. So we removed battery from running car while it was running and put dead battery in it and put good battery on fixed alternator car... Dangerous, would never advise anyone doing that. But we were young and dumb and wanted to get to the Dunes before light.

 

[Maverickman74]

I remember when Sav-On or another chain similar used to carry car parts. We were driving on the freeway on a long road trip in the middle of the night when the alternator went out. The other car with us drove to one of those 24 hours stores and picked up an alternator. Got back, alternator installed, except no one had jumper cables to jump the dead battery. So we removed battery from running car while it was running and put dead battery in it and put good battery on fixed alternator car... Dangerous, would never advise anyone doing that. But we were young and dumb and wanted to get to the Dunes before light.

I did the battery pull trick last year when my sister in law broke down with a faulted battery and bad alt. I pulled up yanked my battery slapped it in hers and she drove on home.

 

[Maverickman74]

The bolded item is only for Hybrids, not EB.

I still dont have mine yet, but thats not what I read on this forum back then.

 

[Sykotyk]

I remember when Sav-On or another chain similar used to carry car parts. We were driving on the freeway on a long road trip in the middle of the night when the alternator went out. The other car with us drove to one of those 24 hours stores and picked up an alternator. Got back, alternator installed, except no one had jumper cables to jump the dead battery. So we removed battery from running car while it was running and put dead battery in it and put good battery on fixed alternator car... Dangerous, would never advise anyone doing that. But we were young and dumb and wanted to get to the Dunes before light.

If you're familiar with working on vehicles, this isn't that dangerous. The alternator will keep enough power going to the vehicles, that you really just need to be quick with removing the positive cable, keeping the cable from touching anything, AND making sure your wrench/ratchet doesn't contact the negative or any ground while getting it off.

It's honestly 'forgetfulness' and 'tunnel vision' that cause problems. Too focused on getting the new car going to not realize you didn't keep the positive cable from contacting the frame and frying god knows what in the running vehicle, for example.

 

[James K]

On May 24 around 2pm on a sunny day at San Bernardino my Maverick truck unexpectedly caught on fire and explodes after it was leaking oil in the engine area. My family and I narrowly escaped the smoked filled cabin. Being a 2021 build and one of the few first owner of my wonderful truck, I’m still is a dazed on why my truck did this. I never had any issues and my truck build and was very reliable.

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 made it to a gas station and the smoke was minimal so I purchase a couple quarts and filled one quart in. I keep a funnel in the cubbies space of the engine bay . (In the fender wall) . Drove the Maverick to an empty parking lot so I can get it towed due to the smoke was getting heavy. As I parked the Maverick the cabin was filled with smoke and that’s when we decided to bail out of the Maverick and that when we saw fire erupting out of the outside of the windshield . As we ran away from the burning Maverick it exploded 3 times.

Oddly after the event I found my funnel about 15 ft away of My Maverick , my prize and joy never had an issue. Why did this happened??? We would almost became the few first fatality of Ford Maverick wonder but unpredictable 2.0 eco boost truck. I’m lost in words regarding of the incident. Is this a serious issue that will soon follow for future Maverick owners ?!?

Glad the family and you are okay. I hate to say it but the comment about driving a vehicle blowing oil is correct. Hard to say what went wrong, it could have even been something simple and inexpensive to fix. In the North east some folks heat their garage with used motor oil. Once heated it becomes very flammable.

 

[James K]

i don’t know if it’s an isolated incident but being the few first owner, I hope this will open Ford eyes and do a safety recall due to being a new class of vehicle. A new truck shouldn’t catch on fire. Being 50 years old I had many vehicles and I thought I’ve seen it all

It may well be an engineering issue but we'll never know. However, it's net advisable to drive a vehicle with oil on the underside of the hood. I've known cars to catch fire from oil pan seepage.

 

[Timothyd]

i don’t know if it’s an isolated incident but being the few first owner, I hope this will open Ford eyes and do a safety recall due to being a new class of vehicle. A new truck shouldn’t catch on fire. Being 50 years old I had many vehicles and I thought I’ve seen it all

I think the first thing would be to find the actual cause. Be nice to know that no matter what. The only time I had a bad oil leak was when I accidentally installed an oil filter with two quad rings (didn't notice the old one stayed on) and they twisted and caused a gap.
Anyhow, bad situation. I hope you get a new Maverick soon. I've had zero issues with mine.

 

[Timothyd]

Let's be real here..

1. You ignored warnings of problems.
2. You kept driving it, despite #1
3. You placed your family at risk because you ignored #1

With that all said, glad your family is safe.

I understand though. When I had my oil leak I raced home to fix it.

 

[Maverickent]

The OP never said how many miles he drove before pulling the vehicle over; was there a shoulder in the mountains to pull onto, etc?

I wouldn't have done what the OP did, but at the same time, I wasn't in his shoes, and I think a few of the replies are worded strongly.

I agree. We should all make every effort to craft our comments tactfully.

 

[al4tay]

Sorry to hear of this but glad you & family are OK
Please post on this thread when you find out the cause

 

[MankDeems]

Can the mods change title to "Idiot with new truck and FREE ford roadside assistance burns truck and endangers family"

 

[TE37Mav]

I think a lot of people are being critical of your decisions and not everybody is mechanically inclined. To a lot of people, if they see oil leaking they would think oh I need to add oil. The people with more automotive knowledge know that oil should not be on the hood or that much oil is not normal. This is also not a normal situation. Most people have probably never even had an oil leak of any type unless they drive a Subaru. So they see oil and think it needs oil.

I would bet, all of us have made stupid mistakes at some time in our lives that the outcome could have turned out a lot worse. But we did something not having the knowledge to handle the situation properly. Give the guy a break.

I'm sorry you lost your Maverick and grateful it wasn't worse. I am glad everyone is okay and that is the most important part!

Stupidity is stupidity no matter what. I agree most won’t know what to do when they see oil in the engine bay. But common sense to stop driving when the check engine light is flashing and truck is smoking like it’s about to catch fire.

 

[Maverickblues]

I am a resident of San Bernardino. I recognize what looks like University Avenue or perhaps Northpark Blvd. I heard about you from a guy at work who knew I also have a Maverick ecoboost. I got mine at Fairview last October after a 9 month wait. So sorry for your experience. I hope it all goes well with your insurance and Ford if it comes to that. Sounds like a real nightmare for sure.

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