Ford Lio Ho Motor recalling Escapes for engine checks

Ford Lio Ho Motor Co (福特六和), the nation's fourth-largest automaker, said it will start recalling more than 3,000 Ford Escape sport utility vehicles (SUVs) next month, after the US headquarters received reports of engine fires linked to corrosion on antilock brake connectors.

"There were more than 3,000 such cars brought into Taiwan in 2001. We will notify the owners to bring their cars back to our dealers for free checkup," Ford Lio Ho spokesperson Grace Lee (李秋萍) said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Michigan-based Ford Motor Co said on Tuesday that it was recalling more than 500,000 Escapes after 50 engine fires were reported to be under investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Ford said the recall involved 444,880 Escapes from the 2001 to 2004 model years in the US, and about 75,000 Escapes in Canada, Mexico and Europe. The recall does not affect hybrid versions of the SUV, it said.

Lee said that Escapes bought in Taiwan after 2002 were not involved in the recall as these units were assembled in Taiwan, using different components than the US-made ones.

"We have not received any complaints here pertaining to the issue," she said.

Ford Lio Ho has an 8.7 percent share of the local car market. It sold 7,748 cars locally in the first three months of the year, a 30 percent drop from the same period last year, government statistics show.

Ford Motor said the recall would address missing or incorrectly installed seals on the wiring harness of the antilock brake connector.