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Lincoln MKC recalled because start button located too close to touchscreen [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker responded to our questions and let us know that the fix for the push-button start on the 2015 MKC has the switch moved to the top of the of the column of gear shift buttons instead of the bottom. Owners should be notified about both campaigns "toward the end of February." After massive campaigns from General Motors and to fix Takata airbag inflators, 2014 will undoubtedly go down as The Year Of The Recall. And with little time to spare, Ford is getting in just under the wire to adding two more to its yearly total. The larger of the campaigns is actually one of the most bizarre campaigns we've heard of all year. Lincoln is recalling 13,574 units of its 2015 MKC compact crossover in North America to move the location of the push-button ignition switch on the dashboard. According to the automaker's announcement: "Due to the switch's close proximity to other controls, occupants are inadvertently shutting off the engine while driving." The button is located near the bottom of the touchscreen, which can apparently make it possible to hit by mistake. Back when Autoblog first drove the new MKC in June, we came away very impressed, but noted: "... we're still not completely sold on the aforementioned pushbutton transmission selector ... it still seems somewhat gimmicky and it can't be operated by feel alone, as you might when shifting a traditional console-mounted lever from Park to Drive." According to Lincoln, there have been no reported accidents or injuries stemming from this button misapplication. Of the affected vehicles, there are 11,144 in the US, 2,033 in Canada and 397 in Mexico. To fix the problem, dealers are moving the button to a different location and reprogramming the powertrain control module. According to Automotive News, models built since September already have a different layout. The change was reportedly done to match the rest of the Lincoln lineup. The second recall covers 12,205 units of the 2014 Ford Escape (2015 model year pictured below) and 2015 Lincoln MKC in North America because of a problem with nickel plating on the fuel pump. The issue can cause the pump to seize, which can cause the crossovers not to start or stall while driving. The automaker is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this fault. Dealers are replacing the fuel deliver module to fix the situation. Of the affected vehicles, there are 9,038 in the US, 3,074 in Canada and 93 in Mexico.

2018 Lincoln Navigator ad has more weird Matthew McConaughey

Now that new 2018 Lincoln Navigators are on their way to dealers, it's once again time for Matthew McConaughey to be weird behind the wheel in a new commercial. Things start out normally enough with the actor sitting in the SUV at a railroad crossing. But don't worry, it gets strange soon enough because for the rest of the commercial, McConaughey just drums on the Lincoln's steering wheel, a bit like in that disconcerting lunch scene in The Wolf of Wall Street. And the whole time, the actor doesn't say a word. He just drums along to the train and the crossing bells. Then he drives away. And that's it. It's just McConaughey drumming. The ad actually doesn't even show much of the Navigator, and obviously there isn't a word said about it. The most you might be able to learn about the Navigator from this commercial is that it's an SUV, it has an interior that has chrome and leather, and it has those "piano key" buttons for the shifter. We get that the first McConaughey commercials went viral and were frequently parodied for how bizarre they were, and the last Continental ad was also pretty off-the-wall. That was all good for getting attention from younger buyers, but we wonder if these ads are losing their punch and effectiveness. And if they have, then this ad doesn't do anything else to give buyers a sense of what the Navigator is. That's a shame, because the newest Navigator has a lot going for it. Instead, we get McConaughey drumming. Enjoy. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Celebrities Marketing/Advertising Lincoln SUV Luxury Videos lincoln navigator

Ford recalls 90,736 vehicles due to engine valve issue

Ford will recall 90,736 vehicles as engine intake valves in the vehicles may break while driving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Saturday. The recall impacts certain 2021-2022 Bronco, F-150, Edge, Explorer, Lincoln Nautilus, and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with either a 2.7L or 3.0L Nano EcoBoost engine, the NHTSA said. According to documents posted by NHTSA and sourced from the automaker, "The engine intake valves may break while driving, which can result in engine failure and a loss of drive power." Following an investigation that started in January, 2022, Ford found 22 instances where "the engine intake valves fractured and fell into the combustion chamber of the engine causing catastrophic engine damage." The automaker's analysis continues: "Ford identified that the potential root cause of the failures was engine intake valve failure due to valves that exceeded the designed specification for hardness, were brittle, and more likely to fracture. Ford determined that this was due to the supplier’s grinding processes and the sensitivity of the intake valve material to grinding processes that were not within control specifications. The intake valve material was changed for vehicles produced after October 31, 2021." Fixing the problem will require replacement of the entire engine. "Dealers will inspect each vehicle to determine its cumulative number of engine cycles. For vehicles that do not meet the engine cycle threshold, dealers will accumulate high revolutions per minute (rpm) engine cycles per a service procedure. Engines will be replaced on vehicles that do not pass the engine cycle accumulation," Ford says.