Ford is recalling the Mustang Mach-E out of concern that the windshield and panoramic roof could leak or, worse, come flying off during a crash or while driving. Nearly 18,000 of the electric SUVs sold to date are at risk of the former, though Ford says only around 13,000 of them run the risk of the roof detaching.
The company will start providing owners with recall instructions in late October, and it says it is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the defect. Ford initially started recalling Mustang Mach-E SUVs last week in Canada, as Electrek reported.
Ford told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earlier this month that it had become aware that the windshield and panoramic roof of the Mustang Mach-E may not be properly bonded to the car. The company said it does not yet know the cause of the problem.
The recall is just the latest hiccup in the rollout of the Mustang Mach-E, which is the Detroit automaker’s first mass-market electric car. Ford recalled dozens of the first Mach-Es sold in March after discovering loose subframe bolts. Many of the first deliveries were delayed, too, while the company tightened up its quality checks. Some early vehicles were also plagued by a software problem that led to the 12-volt battery dying, as The Verge first reported in April.
Panoramic glass roofs have become a popular feature in new electric vehicles, especially after Tesla started making them standard on its cars. Tesla is familiar with the problem Ford is running into now, too, as the company dealt with glass roof problems with the Model Y SUV, including one that literally blew off on the highway. In fact, Ford’s head of electric vehicles even took an indirect shot at Tesla after this happened, as Electrek points out.
