Ford recalls 1.3 million Explorer SUVs and F-150 pickups
Ford has announced a recall on over 1.3 million vehicles mainly in North America to fix rear suspension and transmission control software problems. The long list of vehicles includes Ford Explorer SUVs, F-150 and Econoline trucks, Taurus, and Flex crossover. It also includes the Lincoln MKS and MKT crossover.
The largest recall covers over 1.2 million Explorer SUVs from 2011 through 2017. Ford says a rear suspension toe link can break if the suspension moves a lot. That can limit steering control. One customer reported running into a curb when a link broke, but Ford says it's not aware of any injuries. Affected Explorers were built from 2010 to 2017 at Ford's assembly plant in Chicago.
Dealers will replace the left and right toe links, which keep weight on the tires, with new forged units free of charge.
Ford also is recalling 123,000 2013 F-150 pickups for a second time to stop transmissions from unintentionally downshifting into first gear. The recall covers pickups with 5-liter and 6.2-liter gas engines. A previous software update didn't work. Dealers will update it again.
The F-150s affected by this recall were built from 2012-2013 at either the Dearborn Assembly Plant in Michigan or Ford's assembly plant in Kansas City.
A similar recall was issued for 5.4-liter engine Ford Econoline vehicles with a 5R110W transmission and a school bus or ambulance prep package. The 4,300 vehicles are in both the United States and Canada. Though all were assembled in Ohio from 2009-2015.
Approximately 12,000 Canadian vehicles operated in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are also being recalled for a fractured rear suspension toe link. Ford said they were aware of one report of a crash with minor injuries related to this issue.
List of vehicles in this Ford recall
- 2011-2017 Explorer SUV
- 2013 Ford F-150 pickup trucks
- 2010-2017 Ford Taurus
- 2009-2017 Flex crossover
- 2009-2015 Lincoln MKS
- 2010-2017 Lincoln MKT crossover
- 2009-2016 Econoline trucks - equipped with 5.4-liter V8 and 5R110W Torqshift transmission