Ford has revealed that more than 41,000 F-250 and F-350 models sold in the United States have a rear axle shaft that could be prone to breaking, prompting it to issue a recall for the pickup trucks.
The carmaker says that the left rear axle shaft of 2023 model year F-250 and F-350 vehicles may have been manufactured without properly completing an electromagnetic induction heat treatment process. This is because personnel at the supplier who makes the axle shafts may entered an incorrect process parameter into one of the machines used to perform the heat treatment.
This means that it is possible that the rear axle shaft on impacted Ford F-Series models could break. If that’s the case, it will result in a loss of power and the inability to hold the vehicle in park if the parking brake is not applied.
Read: Ford Yet Again Tops Recall Charts For First Half Of 2023
A total of 41,555 vehicles are involved in the recall. These consist of 36,333 examples of the F-250 built from March 20, 2023 and August 21, 2023 as well as 5,222 F-350 models manufactured between the same dates.
Ford had received seven warranty reports attributed to the issue by August 14 and first became aware of the problem on August 10 for Super Duty vehicles with 10.5-inch rear axles. An analysis of parts returned under warranty revealed that the axle shaft is prone to fracturing roughly 44 mm from the flange.
Company dealerships were informed of the recall on August 30, 2023 while the owners will be notified from October 16, 2023. Owners will be instructed to take their truck to a Ford or Lincoln dealership to have the left rear axle shaft inspected and, if needed, replaced free of charge.
