Incident: Ford SUVs Engine Fires Recall Due to Software Glitch

Published Date: 2022-05-19

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident involving the 464 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs from 2021 occurred around May 2022 as per the article published on May 19, 2022 [127606].
System 1. Powertrain control computer in 2021 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs [Article 127606] 2. Software causing unintended acceleration, deceleration, or loss of drive power in all-wheel-drive vehicles [Article 127606]
Responsible Organization 1. Ford - The software failure incident, specifically related to the recall of 464 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs due to a software problem causing unintended acceleration, deceleration, or a loss of drive power, was caused by Ford [127606].
Impacted Organization 1. Owners of 39,000 Ford SUVs [127606]
Software Causes 1. Unknown
Non-software Causes 1. Faults in engines and airbags leading to fires in Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs [127606] 2. Dust getting into the airbag wiring in the steering wheel of certain Ford heavy-duty trucks, causing the driver's airbag not to inflate in a crash [127606] 3. Software problem in electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs causing unintended acceleration, deceleration, or loss of drive power [127606]
Impacts 1. The software problem in the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E SUVs can cause unintended acceleration, deceleration, or a loss of drive power in all-wheel-drive vehicles, potentially leading to safety hazards for the drivers [Article 127606]. 2. The powertrain control computer in the affected vehicles may not detect a software error, indicating a critical flaw in the software system that could compromise the vehicle's performance and safety [Article 127606].
Preventions 1. Implementing thorough software testing procedures to detect and address any potential software bugs or glitches before the vehicles are released to customers [127606]. 2. Conducting regular software updates and maintenance checks to ensure the software controlling the powertrain in all-wheel-drive vehicles is functioning correctly and does not pose a risk of unintended acceleration, deceleration, or loss of drive power [127606]. 3. Enhancing software quality control measures to prevent software errors that may lead to safety hazards, such as fires in vehicles, by improving the detection and resolution of software issues [127606].
Fixes 1. The software problem causing unintended acceleration, deceleration, or loss of drive power in the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E SUVs can be fixed by dealers or through an online software update [127606]. 2. Owners of the affected vehicles will be notified by letter around May 30 regarding the software fix [127606].
References 1. Ford statement on the engine fires in Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs [127606] 2. Jeffrey Marentic, general manager of Ford Passenger Vehicles [127606] 3. Documents posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [127606]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization (a) In the provided articles, there is no specific mention of a software failure incident happening again within the same organization (Ford) or with its products and services. (b) The articles do mention that Ford has issued a recall for 464 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs from 2021 due to a software problem that can cause unintended acceleration, deceleration, or a loss of drive power in all-wheel-drive vehicles. This indicates a software failure incident related to the Mustang Mach-E SUVs [127606].
Phase (Design/Operation) design (a) The software failure incident related to the design phase: - The article mentions a software problem in 464 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs from 2021, which can cause unintended acceleration, deceleration, or a loss of drive power in all-wheel-drive vehicles. This issue is attributed to a software error where the powertrain control computer may not detect the error, leading to the mentioned problems [127606]. (b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase: - There is no specific mention of a software failure incident related to the operation phase in the provided article.
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) within_system: The software failure incident related to the Ford vehicles involves a recall of 464 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs from 2021 due to a software problem that can cause unintended acceleration, deceleration, or a loss of drive power in all-wheel-drive vehicles. The powertrain control computer may not detect a software error, leading to these issues. The problem will be fixed by dealers or by an online software update, with owners being notified by letter around May 30 [127606]. (b) outside_system: The article does not provide information about the software failure incident being caused by contributing factors originating from outside the system.
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions (a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions: - The article mentions a software problem in 464 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs from 2021 that can cause unintended acceleration, deceleration, or a loss of drive power in all-wheel-drive vehicles. This issue is attributed to a software error that the powertrain control computer may not detect, leading to the mentioned problems [127606]. (b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions: - The article does not provide specific information about a software failure incident caused by human actions.
Dimension (Hardware/Software) hardware (a) The software failure incident related to hardware: - The article mentions a recall for 464 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs from 2021 due to a software problem causing unintended acceleration, deceleration, or a loss of drive power in all-wheel-drive vehicles. This issue is attributed to a software error in the powertrain control computer, which may not detect the error [127606]. (b) The software failure incident related to software: - The article does not specifically mention any software-related failures that originated solely from software issues.
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The software failure incident related to unintended acceleration, deceleration, or loss of drive power in 464 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs from 2021 was non-malicious. The problem was identified as a software issue that could cause these unintended behaviors in the vehicles. Ford mentioned that the powertrain control computer may not detect a software error, leading to these issues. The problem was set to be fixed by dealers or through an online software update, with owners being notified by letter around May 30 [127606]. (b) There is no specific information in the articles indicating a malicious software failure incident.
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) accidental_decisions (a) The software failure incident related to the Ford vehicles catching fire does not seem to be directly related to poor decisions or contributing factors introduced by poor decisions. The incidents were primarily attributed to faults in the engines and airbags, as well as a software problem causing unintended acceleration, deceleration, or loss of drive power in the Mustang Mach-E SUVs [127606]. (b) The software failure incident involving the unintended acceleration, deceleration, or loss of drive power in the Mustang Mach-E SUVs from 2021 could be categorized as a failure due to contributing factors introduced by accidental decisions or mistakes. Ford mentioned that a software problem can cause these issues, and they plan to fix the problem through dealers or online software updates [127606].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) accidental (a) The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to development incompetence. (b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is mentioned in the article. Ford is recalling 464 electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs from 2021 due to a software problem that can cause unintended acceleration, deceleration, or a loss of drive power in all-wheel-drive vehicles. The powertrain control computer may not detect a software error, leading to these unintended issues. The problem will be fixed by dealers or by an online software update, and owners will be notified by letter around May 30 [127606].
Duration unknown The articles do not mention any specific software failure incident related to a permanent or temporary duration. Therefore, the duration of the software failure incident in this case is unknown.
Behaviour value, other (a) crash: The software problem in the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E SUVs can cause unintended acceleration, deceleration, or a loss of drive power in all-wheel-drive vehicles. This issue is related to a software error where the powertrain control computer may not detect the error, leading to potential safety risks [127606]. (b) omission: There is no specific mention of a software failure incident related to omission in the provided article. (c) timing: There is no specific mention of a software failure incident related to timing in the provided article. (d) value: The software issue in the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E SUVs causing unintended acceleration, deceleration, or a loss of drive power falls under the category of a failure due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly [127606]. (e) byzantine: There is no specific mention of a software failure incident related to Byzantine behavior in the provided article. (f) other: The software issue in the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E SUVs causing unintended acceleration, deceleration, or a loss of drive power could also be considered as a failure due to the system behaving in a way not described in the options provided [127606].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence harm, property, delay, non-human, theoretical_consequence, other (a) death: There were no reports of deaths related to the software failure incident mentioned in the articles [127606]. (b) harm: One person was injured due to the incidents related to the Ford SUVs catching fire [127606]. (c) basic: There were no reports of people's access to food or shelter being impacted by the software failure incident [127606]. (d) property: The software failure incident resulted in property damage as Ford had to recall vehicles due to faults in engines and airbags, and certain vehicles experienced fires [127606]. (e) delay: There were delays caused by the software failure incident as Ford had to recall vehicles and work on determining the root cause of the issues [127606]. (f) non-human: Non-human entities, specifically vehicles (Ford SUVs), were impacted by the software failure incident [127606]. (g) no_consequence: There were observed consequences of the software failure incident, such as fires, injuries, and recalls [127606]. (h) theoretical_consequence: There were potential consequences discussed, such as the importance of resolving the issue for customers to continue using their vehicles and the impact on production and sales due to semiconductor chip shortages [127606]. (i) other: The software failure incident also led to financial losses for the company, as Ford reported a loss of $3.1 billion in the last three months, partly attributed to the semiconductor chip shortage and heavy investment in electric-vehicle startup Rivian [127606].
Domain transportation The software failure incident reported in the articles is related to the transportation industry. The incident involves the recall of Ford vehicles, including SUVs and heavy-duty trucks, due to various issues such as engine fires, airbag faults, and a software problem causing unintended acceleration, deceleration, or loss of drive power in all-wheel-drive vehicles [127606]. This incident directly impacts the transportation sector by affecting the safety and functionality of vehicles intended for moving people and goods.

Sources

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