Ford Recalls F-150 Over Rear Axle Hub Bolt That May Break, Fix Not Yet Available

The half-ton pickups in question are split between 54,509 units for the 2021 model, 47,886 for the 2022 model, and 10,570 for model year 2023. According to the attached report, the recalled trucks were optioned with the Trailer Tow Max Duty package and 9.75-inch HD rear axle with a ¾ float axle design. Their production dates range between January 28, 2020 and December 25, 2022. What is the problem with them? As it happens, the rear axle hub bolt may fatigue and break, which may result in stripped rear axle hub splines, leading to a loss of torque transfer.

That's not all, though. Stripped hub splines also means unintended vehicle movement while in park if the parking brake isn't applied. The easiest way of telling whether the hub bolt is loose or not is a clicking noise coming from the rear axle. If said bolt gives up the ghost, drivers may hear a rattling noise.

The first warranty claim alleging a broken rear axle hub bolt and stripped hub splines was filed with FoMoCo back on January 8, 2022. Be that as it may, the Ford Motor Company address the condition until June 6, 2022. That's when the NHTSA contacted the second-largest US automaker in regard to three questionnaires filed with the federal watchdog. All three owners alleged broken rear axle hub bolts on 2021 to 2022 model year trucks optioned as mentioned earlier. Three months later, the Ford Motor Company approved a Customer Satisfaction Field Service Action to address loose or broken rear axle hub bolts.

Fast forward to November 2022, and the NHTSA contacted Ford yet again over multiple reports of dealer technicians telling customers that the wheel may detach from the vehicle in the event of a hub bolt fracture. The Ford Motor Company said that wasn't possible, and given that four bolts retain the rear axle wheel end hub and bearing assembly to the brake bracket, the Ford Motor Company was 100% right.

Ford opened yet another investigation into reports of broken rear axle hub bolts on August 2023, an investigation that eventually morphed into NHTSA campaign number 23V-896. Although Ford couldn't recreate the stripped spline condition, this investigation determined that bolt fractures could lead to corrosion-induced spline fretting. Due to the increased risk of unintended vehicle movement, spline fretting prompted FoMoCo to finally heed the NHTSA's recommendation to recall these pickups.

Between January 8, 2022 and November 27, 2023, the Dearborn-based automaker received no fewer than 376 warranty claims. Thankfully for both owners and Ford's legal department, there were no reports of accident or injury related to said condition. Dealers will be informed about 23V-896 no later than January 16, but at the present moment, no permanent fix has been developed for the aforementioned issue.

Owners will be informed of this blunder via first-class mail in the period between January 29 through February 2, with notification letters instructing owners to bring their F-150 pickups in for an interim repair in case of symptoms related to a fractured rear axle hub bolt. Ford hasn't provided an estimate for when the final remedy will become available.

Affected components are listed in the attached document as part number ML3W-4725-C for the left-hand-side rear axle shaft assembly and ML3W-4234-C for the right-hand-side rear axle shaft assembly. In the meantime, owners can check whether their F-150s are recalled or not by running the 17-character vehicle identification number on the NHTSA's site.