Dearborn, Michigan – Dec. 13, 2017 – The Ford Motor Company recently issued a recall for more than 177,000 vehicles from the 2016 model year, for both F-150s and Explorers, stemming from concerns over power seats for both drivers and front-seat passengers.
For both types of seats, there is a concern with the upper left pivot bolt, which can loosen and fall out. This increases the risk of seat deflection and injury in the event of a crash if occupants are not properly restrained by their safety belts.
In all, Ford estimates that about 20 percent of the vehicles in the recall will be affected by the defect.
The Defect
Three separate factors can potentially come together to lead these bolts to loosen or fall out, including the extrusion height of the adjuster link being out of specification and side member extrusion heights not being properly specified in the first place. Furthermore, the threadlock material on the pivot bolts themselves may not meet required specifications.
Drivers or passengers of affected trucks or SUVs may be able to detect the problem if they find their seats sliding unexpectedly as the vehicle is speeding up or slowing down, or if they find a bolt on the floor of the vehicle.
Timeline of Events
Between June and July 2017, loose driver seats in certain F-150s were reported to Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group, which requested a comprehensive search of data for any associated symptoms, as well as requesting parts in the field.
Over the next two months, the CCRG reviewed field reports and other information, and found that the driver’s seat bolts were most likely to fail on vehicles produced between February and March 2016, and Ford determined that the same seat mechanisms were used in Explorers produced during the same period.
In October and November, Ford analyzed the pivot bolt’s threadlock material, and identified performance lapses in the production months in question. On Nov. 20, the company’s Field Review Committee approved field action on the recall.
The Solution
Ford encourages F-150 owners with affected vehicles to call its toll-free hotline at 1-866-436-7332 or contact a local dealer that can give them more information from the company’s online database. This is important because the vehicles in question were not produced in VIN order, meaning that some may be affected while others are not.
Owners of affected vehicles will be notified by mail that they should take the trucks to their local dealers to measure the torque on power seat pivot link bolts. If the bolt passes the assessment, dealers will remove and clean it, apply a new threadlock and re-install it. However, if it fails the inspection, another threadlock will be added until parts are available for a final repair, slated to be completed in the first quarter of 2018. All these efforts will be completed free of charge, and Ford will also reimburse drivers for any repairs they covered out-of-pocket before the safety recall.
Dealers were first notified of the recall on Nov. 30, 2017, and owner notifications should arrive between Jan. 15 and Jan. 19, 2018.
