The F-Series pickup truck may be America's number one truck for the 47th consecutive year in 2023, but alas, the F-Series also happens to be a favorite of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The latest recall involving the Ford Motor Company's full-size truck line is a biggie, for the driver's airbag in 17,970 vehicles may become deactivated due to an insufficient weld condition.
Documents filed with the federal agency reveal that BCS Automotive Interface Solutions notified the Dearborn-based automaker of a problem related to the airbag clock springs on November 8, 2023. The assemblies in question were manufactured by a sub-supplier, namely American Furukawa of Michigan.
As it happens, certain assemblies were contaminated by Furukawa during the manufacturing process. The subsequent investigation determined that suspect clock springs equip 2023 model year pickup trucks ranging from the F-150 to the F-250 through F-600. Serial numbers supplied by BCS helped the automaker trace all of the suspect steering column control modules.
The SCCMs in question may contain a clock spring assembly with a shoddy weld between the ribbon cable and the bus bar. The ribbon cable provides connectivity to the driver's airbag, and the shoddy weld can lead to a loss of electrical connection to the driver's airbag. In this event, the airbag warning light will illuminate in the vehicle's instrument cluster.
Between May 1 and November 10, the Ford Motor Company received 19 warranty reports alleging open circuits related to the clock spring concern. A grand total of 11 part numbers are listed in the safety recall report attached below. Affected vehicles include 9,281 examples of the 2023 Ford F-150, namely vehicles produced between January 3 and June 15.
Photo: Ford
The remainder comprises F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, and F-600 trucks manufactured between January 6 and August 2. Said report further states that the sub-supplier washed the clock spring bus bars in isopropyl alcohol contaminated with glycerin, hence the insufficient weld condition between the ribbon cable and bus bar of the clock spring assembly.
On December 18, the Blue Oval instructed retailers to replace suspect clock spring assemblies with properly manufactured ones. Owner notification letters will be mailed between January 8 and January 12. Of course, said owners can easily determine whether their F-Series pickup trucks are recalled or not by entering the VIN on the NHTSA's website.
At the moment of reporting, the 2024 Ford F-150 carries a starting price of $34,585 for the work-oriented Regular Cab XL with rear-wheel drive and the 5.0-liter Coyote V8. The Super Duty starts at $44,970, while the Lightning kicks off at $49,995.
In production since 2020 for the 2021 model year, the 14th-generation Ford F-Series is assembled at two plants: the Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri and the Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan. The F-150 Lightning comes from the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, a historic manufacturing complex that handled Mustang production from 1964 to 2004.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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