Ford is recalling 142,522 Lincoln MKC vehicles and asking owners to park them away from structures and other vehicles after discovering a defect that could pose a fire risk.

Repairers who are working on the vehicles should also be sure to park them away from their shop to avoid the risk of fire causing damage to their building, equipment, and other customer vehicles.

The automaker said that on certain 2015 to 2019 models, “the location of the battery monitor sensor may cause the sensor to be susceptible to damage when the battery or related electrical components are serviced.”

“If the battery monitor sensor’s housing is damaged, an electrical short may develop in the battery monitor sensor’s printed circuit
board,” the OEM said in a National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall report. “In the event of a short, lack of fusing in the battery monitor sensor power circuit may allow for an electrical current load sufficient to overheat surrounding material.”

Ford said it became aware of the issue after 18 reports of underhood vehicle fires in North America and China were brought to its Critical Concern Review Group for investigation. The SUVs were both parked and off at the time of the fires, it said.

Ford continued its investigation through May, conducting vehicle inspections, supplier reviews, product design reviews, field data analysis, and lab analysis, the OEM said.

As of May 15,  Ford said it is aware of 19 potentially related reports of underhood fires and added that it’s not aware of any physical injuries associated with the defect. It has not issued instructions to stop driving the vehicles.

Ford said owners of affected vehicles will be notified by mail and instructed to park their vehicle outside and away from structures and other vehicles to avoid the risk of unattended vehicle fires. Owners will be instructed to take their vehicle to a Lincoln dealer to have an in-line fuse added to the battery monitor sensor power circuit.

Customers can determine if their vehicle is included in this recall by entering the vehicle’s identification number (VIN) here.

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