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Ford Recalls 30K F-150 Pickups

The company issues three separate safety recalls that involve trucks in North America.

by Staff
October 26, 2017
Ford Recalls 30K F-150 Pickups

Photo of Ford F-150 courtesy of Ford.

3 min to read


Photo of Ford F-150 courtesy of Ford.

Ford Motor Co. is calling back more than 24,000 Ford F-150 pickup trucks in the U.S., as part of three separate recalls, so dealers can make needed repairs.

In addition, Ford is recalling more than 6,000 F-150 trucks in Mexico and Canada for the same issues.

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The first of these recalls covers 2018 Ford F-150 trucks equipped with a 3.3-liter engine, six-speed transmission and column-mounted shift lever. If the driver rapidly moves the transmission shifter from park to drive, there may be a loss of PRNDL gear indication in the instrument cluster and momentary engagement of reverse operation before the vehicle reaches forward drive function, according to Ford. Another potential outcome is that the truck momentarily goes into neutral rather than reverse.

The resulting unintended movement poses a safety risk. Ford, however, said it isn’t aware of any accidents or injuries associated with the problem. To fix it, dealers will reprogram the powertrain control module with the latest level calibration software. There will be no charge for this service.

Before completion of the repairs, customers and dealers will be instructed to carefully shift into the desired gear and confirm their gear selection in the PRNDL instrument cluster display.

This recall involves 12,429 trucks in the U.S., 2,023 in Canada, and 579 in Mexico. The reference number for this recall is 17S35.

The second recall covers 2017 F-150 trucks with 10-speed automatic transmission. In these trucks, the pin attaching the transmission shift linkage to the transmission might come out. If this happens, the transmission will be stuck in the gear the truck was in when the pin came out, regardless of the position of the shift lever.

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The shifter indicator might display inaccurate information, and the key might be removed -- even if the vehicle isn’t in park. A warning chime, however, will sound and an instrument cluster message will indicate “transmission not in park.”

If the transmission isn’t in the park or neutral position, the driver won’t be able to restart the vehicle.

“If a vehicle cannot be shifted to park and the parking brake is not applied, unintended vehicle movement may occur, increasing the risk of a crash,” Ford warned in a released statement.

Ford, however, noted that it isn’t aware of any accidents or injuries associated with this issue.

The recall involves 11,783 trucks in the U.S., 3,169 in Canada, and 701 in Mexico. The Ford reference number for this recall is 17S36.

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Dealers will remove the roll pin and replace it with an updated part, Ford said. There will be no charge for this service. Customers and dealers will be instructed to make sure the parking brake is applied whenever the vehicle is parked. 

The third recall involves 2018 Ford F-150 trucks equipped with a 3.5-liter engine. Ford is recalling these pickups for possible loss of motive power and engine failure. This recall covers 22 trucks in the U.S., seven in Canada and one in Mexico.

In these trucks, certain cylinder heads manufactured for the engine are missing machined holes designed to supply lubrication to the camshaft-bearing journals, Ford said.

“Lack of proper camshaft lubrication will result in premature engine failure and loss of motive power without warning while driving, increasing the risk of accident or injury,” Ford said.

Ford added that it doesn’t know of any accidents or injuries tied to the problem, however.

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Ford said it believes the trucks in this recall are still on dealer lots. But if any have, in fact, been sold, they need to be transported to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the engine replaced at no cost to the owner. The reference number for this recall is 17S37.

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