Ford F-150 Hybrid Suddenly Bursts Into Flames, Prompting Lots of Questions

This fairly new Ford F-150 Hybrid caught on fire while the owner was towing his boat down the highway, though it’s unclear what started the blaze.

For the most part, the media loves a good vehicle fire – especially if it’s an all-electric vehicle or even partially-electrified models. The reasoning behind this is simple – those types of incidents tend to conjure up fear, views, and general outrage in many cases, because the mere thought of our vehicle suddenly catching on fire for no reason is rather terrifying. Unfortunately, Ford has dealt with its fair share of fire-related issues lately – some of which have prompted recalls – and now, it’s also looking into a Ford F-150 Hybrid that burst into flames recently with no warning.

According to Fox 2 News Detroit, the owner of the Ford F-150 Hybrid pickup – Anthony Zeni – was driving down the highway with his four-year-old daughter and brother, in the process of using that pickup to tow his boat to a storage facility for the winter, when things went horribly wrong. “Once I came to a stop, that grey smoke turned to black smoke. The fire started coming through the hood,” Zeni said. “I yelled to my brother get my daughter. At that point I wondered ‘Is the car going to blow? Am I going to lose my daughter?’ We ran away. As we’re running away, the entire truck was up in flames, and there’s nothing left.”

It was a mere five minutes or so before the PowerBoost pickup was completely destroyed, but luckily, Zeni and his family weren’t injured in the fire. Regardless, as one might imagine, the trio was a bit shaken up after narrowly escaping what could have been a tragedy. “I was happy that my daughter, I, and my brother were safe,” Zeni said. “But I was also upset seeing it burn to the ground knowing that’s my truck. I’m losing it.”

Now, Zeni, investigators, and Ford itself are left to try and figure out how this fire started in the first place. Zeni has only owned the pickup for around eight months, and though it has faced a few recalls, none of them are related to fires. The fact that we’re talking about a hybrid will undoubtedly conjure up some theories that this system could be the root cause – especially after Ford recently recalled a host of hybrid Escape, Corsair, and Maverick models due to a fire risk – but it’s far too early to make that kind of declaration. Regardless, Zeni is obviously hesitant to slip behind the wheel of another hybrid after this incident. “It’s definitely shaken my trust,” he said. “I can’t get another hybrid. I can’t.”

In the meantime, Ford is apparently looking into the matter, as it typically does when something like this happens, so hopefully we’ll get some answers soon. “We are aware of this incident and are working to obtain more information about the vehicle from the customer to assist in our investigation,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

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Brett Foote

Brett Foote has been covering the automotive industry for over five years and is a longtime contributor to Internet Brands’ Auto Group sites, including Chevrolet Forum, Rennlist, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, among other popular sites.

He has been an automotive enthusiast since the day he came into this world and rode home from the hospital in a first-gen Mustang, and he's been wrenching on them nearly as long.

In addition to his expertise writing about cars, trucks, motorcycles, and every other type of automobile, Brett had spent several years running parts for local auto dealerships.

You can follow along with his builds and various automotive shenanigans on Instagram: @bfoote.