Ford is recalling 50,000 EV-charging cables over fire risk

Ford Motor Co. has announced a recall of approximately 50,524 120-volt convenience charge cords that came with three models of its electric and hybrid vehicles. The vehicles affected are:

2012-15 Ford Focus Electric vehicles built at Michigan Assembly Plant, Sept. 15, 2011 through March 14, 2015
2013-15 Ford Fusion Energi vehicles built at Hermosillo Assembly Plant, Sept. 4, 2012 through March 5, 2015
2013-15 Ford C-MAX Energi vehicles built at Michigan Assembly Plant, April 13, 2012 through March 14, 2015

Ford says “using the 120-volt convenience charge cord originally provided with the affected vehicles with an AC outlet that is not on a dedicated circuit or is damaged, worn, or corroded may result in increased temperature at the wall outlet and potentially lead to a fire.”

The company will mail the owners of affected vehicles notifying them of the risk. Those owners will then need to go to a Ford dealership to have the 120-volt convenience charge cord replaced with a new cord with a built-in thermistor, which will enable the cord to stop charging if it detects overheating in a plug or outlet. As for what brought this recall on, Ford said it was “aware of some fire reports” without elaborating further.