Bad transmissions, botched repairs, and trim that falls off. Just another day at the Blue Oval
Ford is getting into the Halloween spirit and scaring (or perhaps scarring) owners with three new recalls. This brings their total up to 134, a staggering 113 more than second-place General Motors. In fact, Ford has issued more recalls this year than GM, Volkswagen, BMW, Honda, Mercedes, and Hyundai combined.
That’s quite an achievement and we’ll kick things off with faulty replacements. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 34,481 re-manufactured ten-speed automatic transmissions may not hold the vehicle in park.
More: Ford’s ‘Snowflake’ Recall Proves Even Its Glass Can’t Handle Criticism
These were used as repair parts on certain 2017-2021 Ford and Lincoln vehicles. The problem was traced back to a bearing that may not have been installed, which increases the risk of a rollaway.
The safety recall report says the faulty gearbox could have been installed in an assortment of vehicles including the F-150, Expedition, Navigator, Ranger, Explorer, Transit, and Mustang.
Ford became aware of the issue this summer, following a complaint that a Mustang “would not hold in park.” A teardown revealed a missing T10 bearing in the transmission and, shortly after, another case was reported.
Ford is aware of eight warranty claims related to the issue, but not any accidents. As part of the recall, dealers will inspect the transmission on vehicles with 8,000 miles (12,875 km) or less on them and replace the gearbox, if necessary.
That doesn’t exactly scream quality is job one, but the automaker defended the half step by saying two independent statistical analyses concluded that “potential issues would manifest within 8,000 miles (12,875 km), if the T10 bearing is missing.”
That being said, you might want to use the parking brake given Ford’s track record of botched recalls.
Not The Kind Of Flexing You Want
Moving on, the second recall involves 64,938 Flex vehicles from 2017-2019. The driver and front passenger B-pillar door trim may detach while driving, posing a danger to other motorists.
The problem is being blamed on a couple of issues including a design change that “increased outward reaction force on the part” as well as factory workers who didn’t do a good job of using hand rollers to promote adhesion.
This recall was sparked, in part, by a separate campaign involving trim on Explorers that could fall off. At the time, Ford already had a Technical Service Bulletin for Flex vehicles doing the same.
That’s not a good look for the company, especially when there has been “1,601 warranty claims, 20 field reports, 8 consumer complaints, 8 customer surveys, 1 legal claim, and 13 VOQs for front B-pillar trim separation.”
As part of the recall, dealers will inspect the B-pillar trim and repair or replace it, as needed.
Lights Out
Lastly, Ford is recalling 14,843 F-150 Lightning trucks from the 2022 and 2023 model year. This is a case of recall redux as the vehicles were previously recalled in 2023 for having a rear light bar that could have microcracks in the reversing lamp lens. This allowed moisture to get inside, which could make the lights flicker or fail altogether.
That’s not good and during the original fix, dealership technicians may not have replaced the original metal fasteners with the required plastic pushpins. Those metal fasteners can “transfer stress to the light bar lens and result in microcracks,” replicating the problem that sparked the recall in the first place.
The automaker is aware of numerous complaints spanning across 47 different vehicles. To address the issue, technicians will inspect and replace the rear light bar, as needed, and hopefully use the right fasteners this time around.
Owners will be notified in November, although a fix isn’t expected to be available until March of 2026.
Google News
MSN Start
Hailing from Metro Detroit, it was practically destiny for Michael Gauthier to dive headfirst into… Read full bio

source