What is the defect?
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Focus, 2013-2019 Escape, and 2015-2016 MKC vehicles equipped with a 2.0L engine. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.
What is the consequence?
An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.
What is the manufacturer's remedy?
Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed March 6, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S01. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on January 16, 2026.
Vehicles covered
- Ford Focus, 2013–2018
- Ford Escape, 2013–2019
- Lincoln MKC, 2015–2016
Is your vehicle included?
- Find the 17-character VIN on the driver-side door jamb sticker or at the base of the windshield.
- Enter it on NHTSA's recall lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls. It shows open recalls for that exact vehicle.
- Or ask any dealer for the make. A recall repair costs you nothing.
How this recall can matter to a lemon law claim
A recall repair counts as a repair attempt when the same problem keeps coming back. Keep every repair order, with the dates the vehicle went in and came out, because days out of service can count toward your state's threshold. If the problem returns after the recall repair, that history is what a claim is built on.
See your state's lemon law rules →