Ford is recalling 18 F-150 Lightning electric pickups after a fire

DETROIT – Ford engine is recalling 18 F-150 Lightning electric pickups that the company has determined may have a battery cell failure that caused a truck to catch fire last month.

The Detroit automaker said Friday the small recall applies to vehicles that have already been delivered to customers and dealers. They were assembled using improperly manufactured battery cells that took four weeks to build at supplier SK On’s Georgia facility.

A Ford spokeswoman declined to disclose how many trucks Ford owns that could have the problem. She said the company was “applying quality measures to already-produced vehicles with batteries built during this four-week window that we held.”

The fire happened on February 4 in a parking lot during a pre-delivery quality check while the vehicle was being loaded. Ford stopped the production of the vehicles and gave the dealers a delivery stop.

Ford previously declined to disclose details about the problem that caused the vehicle to catch fire or the solution implemented. Additional details should be available when the National Highway Transportation Administration officially issues the recall notice.

Ford said there were no known reports of accidents or injuries related to the battery issue or the recall.

The automaker reiterated Friday that production of the F-150 Lightning is scheduled to resume Monday at one of its Michigan plants.

The F-150 Lightning is being closely watched by investors as it’s the first mainstream electric pickup truck on the market and a major launch for Ford.

Ford initially opened customer reservations for the F-150 Lightning when it was unveiled in May 2021. More than 200,000 reservations were made before Ford temporarily shut down the process to try to adjust production to expected demand.

Ford has sold fewer than 20,000 of the all-electric trucks to date.