July 16 (Reuters) - Ford is recalling 694,271

vehicles in the United States due to a fuel leak issue that

could increase the risk of a fire, the U.S. National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Wednesday,

following a year-long investigation.

The NHTSA report said that in the potentially affected

vehicles, a fuel injector may crack and leak fuel inside the

engine compartment, likely resulting in an underhoood fire.

An internal committee at Ford initially reviewed the issue

in March 2024 and suggested an engine control software update

and installation of a drain as a remedy. The affected vehicles

were equipped with a 1.5L engine, the U.S. automaker said.

The committee did not recommend replacing the potentially

defective fuel injectors. At the time, the recall covered only

about 42,000 vehicles.

A month later, the NHTSA opened a recall query to evaluate

the adequacy of Ford's remedy, adding that the proposed fix did

not address the root cause of the issue.

After reassessing the issue, Ford said earlier this month

that it had found cracked fuel injectors in eight vehicles that

experienced underhood fires despite having undergone repairs.

Six of those vehicles lacked the updated engine software the

company had previously recommended.

Ford also approved a safety recall for previously impacted

vehicles, along with others equipped with a 1.5L engine and the

relevant engine control software. However, a revised remedy is

still under development.

The latest recall affects certain 2021-2024 Bronco Sport and

2020-2022 Escape models among others, the auto safety body said,

estimating that 0.3% of all recalled vehicles possess the

defect.