Dearborn, Mich.—April 18, 2017—Ford Motor Company took part in a recall for 2017 Ford F-250 vehicles. This action intends to correct two noncompliance issues with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, as the vehicles in this recall could fail to meet the requirements for theft protection and transmission issues.
The Defect
The F-250 vehicles potentially affected in this case may not be able to reach Park mode because of park rod actuating plate damage during manufacturing. As said above, this single issue counts as both a transmission threat and a possible cause for theft. Exactly 48,443 are thought to be subject to this problem, but the Part 573 Safety Recall Report did not include an estimate for what percentage has the defect.
Timeline of Events
- Oct. 9, 2015: Production on the vehicles began.
- March 30, 2017: The review group discovered the cause of the issue in these vehicle’s plates. There were just three warranty claims traced to the defect by this point, but not any related accidents or injuries. This was also the final manufacture date of the group of potentially affected vehicles.
- March 31, 2017: On the same day as the submission date of the Part 573 report, Ford also officially approved the recall. The component manufacturer involved was from Goodrich, Michigan.
The Resolution
While dealer notification was scheduled immediately for March 31, the owner notification date was given as April 10. The fix itself was simply listed as a replacement for the affected actuating plate, though the report said that owners should use the parking brake as a precaution whenever they want to put the vehicle into park.
A notice to manufacturers said that new in-stock vehicles affected by this recall were not to be delivered while the action was in motion.
