Ford Recalls Thousands of Electric Vehicles After Dangerous Defect Is Discovered
Ford is facing notable challenges with its electric vehicles as the company approaches the end of 2024, having issued a recall for thousands of its electric F-150 Lightning models. The recall, prompted by an official notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Management, highlights a defect involving the front upper control arm ball joint, which may not have been properly secured during assembly. This issue could lead to a separation of the control arm from the vehicle’s knuckle assembly, posing a risk of partial loss of directional control adn increasing the likelihood of crashes.
Ford acknowledged awareness of one accident linked to this defect and began its investigation in october 2024,following a report received in September of the same year. A total of 11,922 trucks, including models from 2023 and 2024, are affected. Ford intends to notify owners by mail and will provide inspections and necessary repairs free of charge.
This incident compounds the difficulties Ford has experienced throughout 2024 in the electric vehicle sector, with prior announcements indicating considerable losses and a strategic pivot away from electric vehicle production toward traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. The situation underscores the challenges Ford faces in transitioning to electric mobility while ensuring safety and addressing operational flaws.
Car manufacturing titan Ford appears to be ending 2024 the same way it started — having major issues with its fleets of electric vehicles.
Ford recalled thousands of its electric-powered F-150 Lightning pickup truck series, according to a release from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“Ford’s team reviewed assembly plant records to determine the population of affected parts,” the release stated. “The front upper control arm ball joint on affected vehicles may not have been properly secured during assembly.”
The release further explained the defect at hand: “Certain vehicles may have an improperly torqued nut on the ball joint which secures the front upper control arm to the knuckle assembly.
“An improperly torqued nut on the ball joint can result in separation of the front upper control arm from the knuckle assembly.”
As to the dangers of that improperly torqued nut, the release called out that “[i]f the upper control arm ball joint nut is loose or missing, the front upper control arm can separate from the knuckle assembly, which can cause the driver to experience a partial loss of directional control, increasing a risk of a crash.
“The nut on the upper control arm ball joint may not have achieved the correct torque due to variation in the alignment or orientation between the fastening tool and the fastener that may have induced lateral forces on the tool, preventing it from properly seating on the fastener.”
The recall notice did call out one telltale sign of the defect.
“If the ball joint nut is loose or missing, the driver may experience vehicle vibration and hear a clunk or rattle noise during suspension jounce and rebound,” the release stated.
Ford claimed that it “is aware of one accident attributed to this condition.”
According to the timeline provided, Ford was first notified of this issue in a September 2024 incident report.
Just a month later, in October, Ford launched its investigation into the issue.
By November, it had identified the ball joint issue.
Ford is offering a remedy, free of charge.
“Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to inspect the torque of the left and right upper control arm ball joint nut,” the recall stated. “If the torque inspection passes, dealers will replace the nut. If the torque inspection fails, dealers will replace the knuckle and nut.
“There will be no charge for this service.
“Ford provided the general reimbursement plan for the cost of remedies paid for by vehicle owners prior to notification of a safety recall in May 2023. Owners who have paid to have these repairs completed at their own expense may be eligible for reimbursement, in accordance with the recall reimbursement plan on file with NHTSA.”
According to WKRC-TV, a mail notifications will be sent to owners by Feb. 3, 2025.
A total of 11,922 trucks have been recalled, including 8,017 F-150 2023 models and 3,905 F-150 2024 models.
This latest EV-related issue comes on the heels of a rough 2024 for Ford.
In May, the company announced that its electric vehicles were being sold at a staggering loss.
In July, Ford pulled a 180 and converted a Canadian EV plant into a traditional car plant.
That all peaked in August, when reports surfaced that Ford was projected to lose $5 billion due to its electric vehicle business and that the plan was to “pivot” away from it.
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