Ford is recalling 518,993 2020-2023 Bronco Sport and Escape crossovers with the 1.5-liter three-cylinder for the potential of a cracked fuel injector and is urging owners to take their cars to the dealership to get them inspected. It seems when the car gets warmed up, a cracked fuel injector could cause fuel or fuel vapor to accumulate near hot surfaces, potentially resulting in a fire under the hood.

This is similar to a recall that occurred earlier this year that affected 345,451 Bronco Sports and Escapes from similar years. In that recall, the 1.5-liter engines were recalled due to the fact the engine oil separator housing could crack and develop an oil leak that might cause an engine fire.

Ford is currently working with dealers to get the recalls rolled out. It will entail updating the vehicle software to detect whether a fuel injector is cracked and then warn the driver with a dashboard message. If something is detected, the engine will automatically reduce engine power to contain the risk and allow the driver to pilot the vehicle to a safe location and call for service.

Dealers will also install a tub draining fuel away from the cylinder head and away from the hot surfaces and make sure there is no fuel odor coming from the top of the engine.

"Taking care of our customers who are affected by this potential issue is our utmost priority," said Jim Azzouz, Executive Director, Global CX Products & Customer Relations. "Once the repair is available, we will ask customers to schedule service with their preferred dealer. They can then take advantage of our complimentary pickup and delivery or a loaner to make sure the repair is completed at their earliest convenience."

Ford said a total of 54 vehicles reported fires, and four of them were found with cracked fuel injectors. It concluded that 13 others were most likely caused by a leaking fuel injector.

It's been a pretty bad year for Ford with recalls. This year alone, the company recalled 66,221 2021 Navigators and Expeditions due to another risk of a fire. Then 49,000 2020 Mach-E's were also recalled due to a wiring issue. 2021 and 2022 Ford Broncos were recalled for rearview mirror issues, and there were also half a million 2020-2021 F-150s recalled for windshield wipers that would not work. This isn't even all of them, so it's become apparent the company is dealing with some major manufacturing issues.

Ford isn't telling owners to stop driving their vehicles because they project a low failure rate for fuel injectors experiencing external leaks. Hopefully, things start to calm down for the automaker in the near future as supply lines solidify and manufacturing is better ironed out.