U.S. Expands Probe Into Ford Explorers Over Carbon Monoxide Concerns

[Sixonemale]

"The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is upgrading and expanding a probe into 1.33 million Ford Explorer SUVs over reports of exhaust odors in vehicle compartments and exposure to carbon monoxide that may be linked to crashes and injuries."

For the full news story click the hyperlink below:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...arbon-monoxide-concerns/ar-AAoX4J4?li=BBnbfcN

 

[blwnsmoke]

Finally!!

 

[613GT500]

Let's see if Canada follows suit!

 

[Simon Stillwater]

Wow! I just got the chills after reading about this. I'm going to put a carbon monoxide detector in my car. A few weeks back I was running errands and I got incredibly sleepy (to the point I pulled over and rolled the windows down for about 10 minutes) in the middle of the day while driving. It's not normal for me to nap during the day.

I thought it was very odd but I didn't put two and two together until I saw the this on the morning news.

I don't like this one bit. I'm hoping it's conclusively proven and they do something to fix this.

 

[613GT500]

Wow! I just got the chills after reading about this. I'm going to put a carbon monoxide detector in my car. A few weeks back I was running errands and I got incredibly sleepy (to the point I pulled over and rolled the windows down for about 10 minutes) in the middle of the day while driving. It's not normal for me to nap during the day.

I thought it was very odd but I didn't put two and two together until I saw the this on the morning news.

I don't like this one bit. I'm hoping it's conclusively proven and they do something to fix this.

I suggest a detector with a PPM readout.
I'm going to plug mine back in again (tested it for two weeks, early on when I first got my ex in Nov of 2015).
Keep in mind that the Interceptors are never shutoff, thus likely being the reason for "over exposure".

 

[Floatman]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...arbon-monoxide-concerns/ar-AAoX4J4?li=BBnbfcN

Following this announcement will Ford keep producing the Explorer with this problem now acknowledged? Or will they keep on building and then recall when parts for the fix are available?
Is it probable since they have known about it for a long time, that they already have a solution, but did not want to fix it because of the cost?
I can only imagine how the many owners who have raised concerns about smelling exhaust for years only to be told "We cannot duplicate the issue, so nothing we can do for you" must feel. Frustration and anger is an understatement.

 

[613GT500]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...arbon-monoxide-concerns/ar-AAoX4J4?li=BBnbfcN

Following this announcement will Ford keep producing the Explorer with this problem now acknowledged? Or will they keep on building and then recall when parts for the fix are available?
Is it probable since they have known about it for a long time, that they already have a solution, but did not want to fix it because of the cost?
I can only imagine how the many owners who have raised concerns about smelling exhaust for years only to be told "We cannot duplicate the issue, so nothing we can do for you" must feel. Frustration and anger is an understatement.

Because we as sheeps, keep buying!
I knew about this potential problem, but I still bought mine.

 

[Jon M]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...arbon-monoxide-concerns/ar-AAoX4J4?li=BBnbfcN

Following this announcement will Ford keep producing the Explorer with this problem now acknowledged? Or will they keep on building and then recall when parts for the fix are available?
Is it probable since they have known about it for a long time, that they already have a solution, but did not want to fix it because of the cost?
I can only imagine how the many owners who have raised concerns about smelling exhaust for years only to be told "We cannot duplicate the issue, so nothing we can do for you" must feel. Frustration and anger is an understatement.

They'll keep building the most popular SUV, especially since it doesn't happen on all of them.


This doesn't surprise me, since it's exactly what I said in the large thread on the subject.

"NHTSA also said it recently learned that the Police Interceptor version of the Ford Explorer was experiencing exhaust manifold cracks, “which appear to present a low level of detectability, and may explain the exhaust odor.”

 

[blwnsmoke]

The problem with this issue is it isn't VIN related or Build Date range related. This has been happening since 2011 so if they are going to do a recall, I'd imagine it would be a recall on every one of them.

 

[613GT500]

The problem with this issue is it isn't VIN related or Build Date range related. This has been happening since 2011 so if they are going to do a recall, I'd imagine it would be a recall on every one of them.

+1, similar to that of the Takata airbag recall, which has affected pretty much every make and model; but not even close to being completed.

 

[Odrapnew]

They'll keep building the most popular SUV, especially since it doesn't happen on all of them.


This doesn't surprise me, since it's exactly what I said in the large thread on the subject.

"NHTSA also said it recently learned that the Police Interceptor version of the Ford Explorer was experiencing exhaust manifold cracks, “which appear to present a low level of detectability, and may explain the exhaust odor.”

You know, that has me thinking. Is it possible that it's related to an exhaust leak that is only present during high engine loads. Maybe under hard acceleration, the engine movement opens up an exhaust leak that would otherwise be sealed. Just a theory.

 

[thefranchise713]

Or heat expanding the crack.

It's an engineering challenge for sure, but one that needs to get done.

Come on and impress me, Ford.

 

[thefranchise713]

I can only imagine how the many owners who have raised concerns about smelling exhaust for years only to be told "We cannot duplicate the issue, so nothing we can do for you" must feel. Frustration and anger is an understatement.

Yep. 26,000 miles of reporting exhaust smells to no avail, but hey, at least the CO detector card I got came in the mail.

I'm not even joking about that, either.

 

[reserved50]

funny thing is the cracks that allow water in from the hatch area that soak the headliner can also allow exhaust gas to enter depending on conditions, if theyre worried about the the hatch gutter drain redesign they just got bigger problems. In one of my previous Exploders if you took the area of all the cracks they would equal to about the size of a nickel at minimum. This does not include the poor sealing of the rear windshield wiper grommet, the hatch trim strip retaining tabs, the area around the rear plate lights and two large unsealed areas at the very back corners just under the roof, they are large openings.

 

[blwnsmoke]

http://www.autonews.com/article/201...olice-vehicles-after-carbon-monoxide-concerns

Ford said it will cover the costs of specific repairs in every Police Interceptor Explorer SUVs that may be tied to after-market installation of police equipment. The company said the modifications may have left holes in the underbody of the vehicles.

And I love this tidbit...

Ford said it has not found any elevated levels of carbon monoxide in regular Ford Explorers, but NHTSA is investigating reports of exhaust odors in those vehicles. Ford did not say how much it expected to pay to repair police vehicles and said its investigation is ongoing.

 

[Sixonemale]

"Ford said it will cover the costs of specific repairs in every Police Interceptor Explorer SUVs that may be tied to after-market installation of police equipment. The company said the modifications may have left holes in the underbody of the vehicles."

Holes in the underbody still does not answer the question of where very high concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) are coming from. The CO entering the cabin could be coming from cracks in the exhaust manifold or from other leaks in the exhaust system before treatment by the catalytic converter. This also assumes the catalytic converter is working properly and has not been ruined by hard acceleration when it's cold, or ruined by an improperly tuned engine. If the catalytic converter is not functioning properly, high concentrations of CO could emitted through the exhaust pipes.

"Ford said it has not found any elevated levels of carbon monoxide in regular Ford Explorers, but NHTSA is investigating reports of exhaust odors in those vehicles. Ford did not say how much it expected to pay to repair police vehicles and said its investigation is ongoing."

What does that mean that Ford has not found any elevated CO levels in regular Ford Explorers. Ford has worked like wounded snail on this problem that surfaced in 2011. Is Ford driving regular Explorers like interceptors, lots of wide open throttle (WOT) driving and possibly WOT when the catalytic converter is cold, etc. Ford has generally been very reactive on problems in this past, very similar to this one, and only when huge numbers of complaints and accidents appear do they become "proactive".

In all fairness they have put out a couple of TSB's, but have yet to solve the exhaust issue entering the cabin problem. Either the fix is too expensive or they need to hire more qualified engineers.

 

[Jon M]

You know, that has me thinking. Is it possible that it's related to an exhaust leak that is only present during high engine loads. Maybe under hard acceleration, the engine movement opens up an exhaust leak that would otherwise be sealed. Just a theory.

Or heat expanding the crack.

It's an engineering challenge for sure, but one that needs to get done.

Come on and impress me, Ford.

Those are exactly what I was thinking. I've got a combustible gas detector, and poking around under the hood at idle shows nothing. I'm going to have to do it with a friend holding it at high RPM to see if I can duplicate it that way.

The other possibilities I mentioned is that, if they're using multiple sources for manifold gaskets, that they are getting one that's tougher to seal and the vehicles getting those have inadequate torque on the manifold bolts.

Another possibility is that acceleration is causing enough engine movement to allow a leak, since it's only happening on WOT acceleration.

 

[dragonexplorer12]

Its going to be tough to sell my explorer now.

Ford, own up to your mistake and make this American brand great again.

To the Ford executives and engineers: The odor is real and you morons should have fixed this 5 years ago.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Its going to be tough to sell my explorer now.

Ford, own up to your mistake and make this American brand great again.

To the Ford executives and engineers: The odor is real and you morons should have fixed this 5 years ago.

This has been making g the news for several years and does t stop people from buying them. I think the majority of the public knows how the media spins **** these days.

One of the comments made by a fordtech on a other forum was actually quite interesti g.

If this issue is with the PIUs is body sealing issues due to holes being drilled into the bodies for aftermarket, I could see why there are so many. They likely use the same upfitter for the mods so if one isn't sealed properly, most if not all won't be sealed properly resulting in a ton of PIUs experiencing this issue.

 

[thefranchise713]

...if the issue is with poor upfitting on the PIUs tied to the instructions of a single supplier (let's say Whelen produced a defective grommet for a lightbar, while upfitters themselves being localized/diverse), then there's going to be a lot of deep pocket action after this is all and done.

The other half of this... doesn't Ford provide an upfitter guide to prevent precisely these kinds of issues?