Ford Recalling 322,000 Cars Due To Battery Fire Risks In Europe

Ford is being forced to recall roughly 322,000 cars in Europe over potential battery fire risks. The models included in the recall are the Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy, built between February 2014 and February 2019.

According to a Ford spokesman, the issue involves leaking battery acid around the battery’s negative terminal, which in turn could cause the battery monitoring system sensor to fail, meaning the battery could overheat – that’s when a fire could potentially be sparked.

Ford will recall 101,000 vehicles in Germany and 56,000 in the UK, with the rest spread across the U.S. automaker’s key European markets, as reported by Autonews Europe.

All of the aforementioned nameplates (Mondeo, S-Max, Galaxy) are currently being built at Ford’s Valencia plant in Spain, alongside the Kuga, Transit Connect and Tourneo Connect.

Back in 2015, it was reported that this factory was able to produce more models and derivatives than any other Ford facility in Europe and that going forward, the plant would gain the capacity to build up to 450,000 vehicles per year.

Also read: Ford Looking To Secure Mondeo Evos Moniker, Should We Expect A New Model?

“Our Valencia operation has become truly state of the industry in terms of flexibility, productivity and the innovation in manufacturing quality,” stated Ford of Europe COO Barb Samardzich at the time.

Since the recall includes models built up until February of this year, this means that updated 2019 S-Max and Galaxy minivans are also affected. The two nameplates gained new diesel engines, an 8-speed automatic gearbox and more safety tech just a year ago.