RIYADH – The Ministry of Commerce and Investment has disclosed that manufacturing defects have been discovered in 16,000 "Expedition and Navigator" SUVs that can lead to the breakout of a fire while driving in harsh conditions. The ministry has specified the vehicles as Ford Expedition 2015–2017 models; and Lincoln Navigator 2015-2106 models in the Kingdom and the defective vehicles as totaling 16,556. The ministry investigation indicated the existence of a manufacturing defect that could lead to the leakage of fuel vapors from the engine. In turn, this can lead to the breakout of a fire in the vehicle in harsh climatic conditions. The problem starts after operating the engine for over three hours while ascending high mountains and steep slopes. In such cases, the gas pedal might stop responding. Then the engine stops completely. On attempting to switch the engine on, a fire will breakout in the vehicle. On the basis of the results of these investigations, the Ministry of Commerce corresponded with the manufacturing company asking it to open an official investigation and recall 16,556 vehicles in the Kingdom via its local authorized agents — Al-Jazirah Agents and Al-Naghi Ford. The ministry called on all owners to stop using the vehicles included in the recall campaign. It asked them to visit the car agents and carry out the necessary repairs. The ministry said that it has received seven reports on cases of fires breaking out in the mentioned models, especially in the southern and western regions. Of these, five cases were in Asir Province and two others in Madinah. On checking the damaged vehicles, it turned out that the locations where the fires started were the same, in similar circumstances and for the same engine capacity and its mechanical parts. The ministry confirmed the commitment of the manufacturing company and its agents to stick to a schedule to deal with the manufacturing defects and provide alternative vehicles to the victims until the defect in their vehicles is repaired. The ministry added that the manufacturing company and its agents have issued circulars to all their branches on the probability of the appearance of similar cases, which must undergo the necessary repairs.
