Ford Motor Company has announced a recall for almost 1.3 million units of its 2013-2018 Fusion midsize sedan and its more luxurious counterpart, the Lincoln MKZ, due to front brake hoses that could rupture prematurely and leak brake fluid. This is quite serious because this defect could affect the sedans' ability to stop, seriously increasing the crash risk.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall document states that the defective component is the brake jounce hose, a little rubber hose connecting the metal brake line to the brake caliper.

The government safety agency states this rupture "occurs from a consistent localized failure of the internal reinforcement braid due to cyclic fatigue via tensile/bending and torsional inputs during suspension and steering articulations."

Translation: the rubber hose fails due to wear and tear far sooner than it should.

The NHTSA further noted that hoses were tested on a rig that simulated 88% of suspension articulation in real-world testing. The failure relates you are directly related to usage, so the more miles the vehicle has traveled, the greater the chance for the hose to rupture. The rupture may not be noticeable at first but will gradually worsen as time passes.

Owners will begin to notice a change in the overall brake pedal feel. Eventually, the brake fluid indicator dash light will turn on. The automaker says that owners who've already experienced this have reported they can still bring the vehicles to a complete stop.

The fix involves replacing both the front left and suitable hoses, which will have a different material braid that's more robust than the existing ones.

Owners will begin to be notified by mail in mid-April, and they'll receive a second letter once the necessary replacement parts arrive. As always, a Ford or Lincoln dealership will complete the repairs free of charge. Owners who've already paid out of pocket to have these repairs will be fully reimbursed. This is yet another recall for the Blue Oval, which, unfortunately, no longer comes as much of a surprise.

Ford issued more recalls last year than any other automaker, with a grand total of 65 that affected over 8.6 million vehicles. In 2021, there were 53 recalls for nearly 5.4 million cars.

CEO Jim Farley has already appointed a quality czar, but that happened only a few months ago. 2023 is already off to a rough start, recall-wise.