Ford recall repairs under investigation after fires

Ford Motor Co.'s recall of more than 500,000 Escape sport-utility vehicles for fire risk from corroded brake parts is under U.S. investigation because some may have ignited even after they were serviced for the flaw.

At least 86 of the 388,500 vehicles serviced so far under the 2007 recall have had "non-crash fire incidents" originating near the anti-lock brake-system part, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its Web site. Five of those were reported in the past six months, the agency said.

Information provided by the manufacturer suggests that the SUVs were improperly inspected or that electrical grease prescribed in the recall wasn't applied correctly or at all, the safety agency said.

"There were some service issues with a small number of vehicles," Jennifer Moore, a spokeswoman at Dearborn, Michigan- based Ford, said today in an interview. "The vast majority of these were not open-flame fires but appear to have involved smoking and/or melted connectors."

Ellen Martin, a safety agency spokeswoman, didn't respond to requests for comment.

The recall covered conventional gasoline-powered Escapes from model years 2001 to 2004, following 50 reports of engine fires caused by corroded brake parts. Gasoline-electric hybrid Escapes weren't included in the recall, Ford said at the time.

Ford rose 15 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $11.75 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.