Shillong, July 30: Ford Motor has announced a recall for 870,701 F-150 trucks in the US after discovering a potential wiring problem with their electric parking brakes. According to the automaker’s safety recall report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the rear axle wiring harness bundle in the affected vehicles might come into contact with the rear axle housing, leading to the unexpected activation of the electric parking brake.
NHTSA highlighted the risk associated with this issue, stating that damaged electric parking brake wiring could cause unintended brake application while driving, posing a serious risk of losing control of the vehicle and potentially resulting in a crash.
A report in IANS stated that the recall affects F-150 trucks from model years 2021 to 2023 with single exhaust systems, and the vehicles were manufactured during a three-year period. Owners of the impacted F-150 pickups will be notified about the recall and the repair process through letters starting from September 11, the same date when dealers will receive the notification.
Ford initiated an investigation on February 23, 2023, after reports of unintended parking brake applications in 2021 model year F-150 vehicles surfaced. Warranty and field reports revealed damage to the wiring containing the rear electric parking brake circuits. As of July 11, 2023, Ford has received 918 warranty and three field reports related to the wire chafing condition in North America, spanning from August 2021 to July 2023.
This isn’t the first recall for Ford’s F-150 trucks. In March, the company issued a recall for 18 electric F-150 Lightning pickup trucks due to faulty battery cells, which caused one of the trucks to catch fire during a pre-delivery quality check while charging. As a result, Ford temporarily halted production and issued a stop-shipment order to dealers.