Automobile manufacturing titan Ford seems to be ending 2024 the identical approach it began — having main points with its fleets of electrical automobiles.
Ford recalled 1000’s of its electric-powered F-150 Lightning pickup truck collection, in accordance with a release from the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration.
“Ford’s group reviewed meeting plant information to find out the inhabitants of affected components,” the discharge said. “The entrance higher management arm ball joint on affected automobiles could not have been correctly secured throughout meeting.”
The discharge additional defined the defect at hand: “Sure automobiles could have an improperly torqued nut on the ball joint which secures the entrance higher management arm to the knuckle meeting.
“An improperly torqued nut on the ball joint may end up in separation of the entrance higher management arm from the knuckle meeting.”
As to the risks of that improperly torqued nut, the discharge referred to as out that “[i]f the higher management arm ball joint nut is free or lacking, the entrance higher management arm can separate from the knuckle meeting, which may trigger the motive force to expertise a partial lack of directional management, rising a threat of a crash.
“The nut on the higher management arm ball joint could not have achieved the proper torque because of variation within the alignment or orientation between the fastening software and the fastener that will have induced lateral forces on the software, stopping it from correctly seating on the fastener.”
The recall discover did name out one telltale signal of the defect.
“If the ball joint nut is free or lacking, the motive force could expertise car vibration and listen to a clunk or rattle noise throughout suspension jounce and rebound,” the discharge said.
Ford claimed that it “is conscious of 1 accident attributed to this situation.”
Based on the timeline supplied, Ford was first notified of this subject in a September 2024 incident report.
Only a month later, in October, Ford launched its investigation into the difficulty.
By November, it had recognized the ball joint subject.
Ford is providing a treatment, freed from cost.
“Homeowners will probably be notified by mail and instructed to take their car to a Ford or Lincoln vendor to examine the torque of the left and proper higher management arm ball joint nut,” the recall said. “If the torque inspection passes, sellers will change the nut. If the torque inspection fails, sellers will change the knuckle and nut.
“There will probably be no cost for this service.
“Ford supplied the overall reimbursement plan for the price of treatments paid for by car homeowners previous to notification of a security recall in Might 2023. Homeowners who’ve paid to have these repairs accomplished at their very own expense could also be eligible for reimbursement, in accordance with the recall reimbursement plan on file with NHTSA.”
Based on WKRC-TV, a mail notifications will probably be despatched to homeowners by Feb. 3, 2025.
A complete of 11,922 vehicles have been recalled, together with 8,017 F-150 2023 fashions and three,905 F-150 2024 fashions.
This newest EV-related subject comes on the heels of a tough 2024 for Ford.
In Might, the corporate introduced that its electrical automobiles have been being offered at a staggering loss.
In July, Ford pulled a 180 and transformed a Canadian EV plant into a traditional car plant.
That each one peaked in August, when experiences surfaced that Ford was projected to lose $5 billion because of its electrical car enterprise and that the plan was to “pivot” away from it.
This text appeared initially on The Western Journal.