Ford F-150 Faces Recall Without Permanent Solution To Rollaway Issue

Ford F-150 Faces Recall Without Permanent Solution To Rollaway Issue

If you own an F-150 with the Max Trailer Package, you need to read this.

Ford is big into tradition, so it simply couldn’t end 2023 without at least one more recall for the F-150.

On 21 December 2023, CarBuzz published a piece on how Ford issued more recalls than any other manufacturer for the third year in a row. On 22 December 2023, Ford issued a recall for 112,965 2021 to 2023 Ford F-150s for a rear axle bolt that may break. That takes Ford’s recall count up to a nice round 55 for 2023, involving roughly 5.8 million vehicles. At least Ford can take some solace in the fact that the final recall was nowhere near as bad as the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ’s potential front brake failure.

Ford’s final recall for 2023 is not for the entire F-150 range, however. It’s only for vehicles equipped with the Trailer Tow Max Duty package and the 9.75-inch heavy-duty axle.

According to the paperwork Ford filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the rear axle hub bolt may “fatigue and break,” resulting in damage to the axle hub splines. If your truck is one of the models affected and you hear a clicking or rattling noise coming from the axle, you should take your car to the nearest Ford dealer for an “interim repair.” If the splines are damaged, the friction is lost. You’d lose power going to the rear wheels, and the car could roll away even when it’s in Park.

Ford uses the word interim because a full remedy for the issue is still under development. Owner notification letters will only be sent out at the end of January, likely giving Ford time to work on a solution. Ford will most likely do repairs on a case-by-case basis. In cases where the 3/4 float axle design is still fine, a more robust hub bolt will be fitted. In cases where there is damage to the axle hub splines, replacing the entire axle is a more likely scenario.

As much as we like making fun of Ford’s many recalls, the American automaker is losing a lot of money because of continued recalls. Fixing a rearview camera issue on 422,000 vehicles cost the company $270 million and annoyed thousands of Ford Bronco, Explorer, and Transit customers nationwide. And that’s just one of the 55 recalls recorded in 2023.

Thankfully, Ford is aware that it has serious quality control issues, and its CEO was honest enough to admit that it will take years to get the company back on the right path.

The first step was to implement new quality control checks for the 2024 Super Duty models, and we hope to see fewer recalls this year as a result.