Ford Recalls 870,000 F-150s for Parking Brake Issue - The Detroit Bureau

Ford Recalls 870,000 F-150s for Parking Brake Issue – The Detroit Bureau

Time Stamp: July 28, 2023 2:26 PM
Source Node: 2793462

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Ford Motor Co. have announced a voluntary recall of 870,701 F-150 pickups from the 2021-2023 model years. According to NHTSA, the recall applies to, “certain 2021-2023 F-150 vehicles equipped with a single exhaust system.” 

2021 Ford F-150 Tremor
Ford recalled about 870,000 F-150 trucks from the 2021-2023 model years.

Contact with the rear axle housing may damage the wiring harness, causing the electric parking brake to activate unexpectedly. Damaged electric parking brake wiring may lead to inadvertent parking brake application while driving, potentially resulting in loss of control of the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash.” 

NHTSA estimates that fewer than 1% of potentially affected vehicles will actually experience the problem. The problem may be preceded by a parking brake warning light and message on the instrument panel cluster. The investigation was opened in February of this year. 

As of July 11, Ford was aware of 918 warranty fixes and three field reports of the problem. Among all those reports, 299 indicated that the electric parking brake had unintended activation, of which 19 allege that the electric parking brake applied itself while driving.  No accidents or injuries have been attributed to the problem. 

As with all recalls, affected owners will be notified by Ford and instructed to bring their trucks to a dealer for a free repair. According to the NHTSA report, the dealer will install a protective tie strap, tape wrap, and replace the harness as necessary. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed on or about September 11, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford’s number for this recall is 23S35.

The recall applies to, “certain 2021-2023 F-150 vehicles equipped with a single exhaust system.”

Additional F-150 recalls

In addition to the parking brake recall, F-150s from 2021 to 2023 have received up to 15 other potential recalls, ranging from windshield wiper failures to fractured driveshafts and non-operational airbags. A few 2021 F-150s were placed under a Do Not Drive order because of a 2021 issue in which the steering gear may have internal damage, which could result in difficulty steering, or the inability to rotate the steering wheel while driving. The 220 vehicles affected have been repaired. 

It’s important to remember that recalls by themselves do not mean a vehicle is unsafe or poorly engineered, but rather reflect caution on the part of the automaker and Federal regulators to ensure maximum safety for the driving public. 

You can look up recalls affecting any vehicle at the NHTSA website. Have the vehicle VIN or year, make, and model ready to input. 

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