If you live in the U.S. and are in the market for a supremely well-rounded pickup truck, it is hard to look past the Ford F-150, the nation’s best seller. Unfortunately, Ford has long battled quality issues with its vehicles and it ended 2023 by issuing a widespread recall of 2021-2023 Ford F-150 vehicles across the United States.
The recall, submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on December 22, impacts a total of 112,965 examples of Ford’s best-selling pickup truck that have been fitted with the Trailer Tow Max Duty package and a 9.75-inch heavy-duty axle manufactured between January 28, 2020, and December 25, 2022. The recall includes 54,509 units from the 2021 model year, 47,886 units from the 2022 model year, and 10,570 F-150 models built for 2023MY.
Ford says the rear axle hub bolt could break due to fatigue and as such, will no longer prevent micro-movement between the hub splines and the axle shaft splines. This could lead to the premature wearing of the hub splines, potentially leading to a loss of torque transfer to the wheels. Additionally, stripped rear axle hub splines may result in unintended vehicle movement while the vehicle is in park if the parking brake is not applied.
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Owners may be alerted to the issue if they notice a clicking noise, indicating the rear axle hub bolt has become loose. A rattling noise may be heard if the bolt breaks. The NHTSA was first alerted to a potential issue on June 6, 2022, when it received three reports of broken rear axle hub bolts on 2021-2022 Ford F-150 models.
Ford will alert dealers to the recall on January 16 and start sending out letters to customers between January 29 and February 2. Customers will need to take their vehicle to a local Ford or Lincoln dealership for an interim repair while Ford works on a permanent remedy.
