Ford is recalling greater than 550,000 pickup vans throughout the US after a whole lot of complaints that transmissions can unexpectedly downshift to first gear, irrespective of how briskly the autos are going.
The sudden down-shifting could cause drivers to lose management and improve the danger of crashes, in accordance with the auto manufacturing large.
Ford has reportedly acquired complaints from virtually 500 autos, and was conscious of at the least two accidents because of the problem.
It comes after US auto security regulators started investigating complaints of abrupt downshifts in additional than a whole lot of hundreds of Ford pickup vans from 2014.
The recall covers sure F-150 pickups from the 2014 mannequin yr. Ford’s F-Sequence pickups are the top-selling autos within the US.
Paperwork filed by Ford on Tuesday say the issue is brought on by a misplaced sign between a transmission velocity sensor and the powertrain management laptop. There additionally may very well be corrosion and issues with connector pins.
Sellers will replace the powertrain management software program without charge to homeowners, who will probably be notified by letters in early July, Ford stated.
In a press release additionally out on Tuesday, Ford stated it expects repairs to be out there within the third quarter of this yr. Homeowners will be capable of use cell service or pickup and supply at taking part sellers.
In accordance with paperwork filed by the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA), Ford reported 396 guarantee and area studies and 124 buyer complaints about the issue, overlaying a complete of 482 vans.
Ford stated it is aware of of 130 complaints to the federal government, with 52 alleging that rear wheels locked up or that drivers misplaced management of the vans. Two of the complainants reported accidents and one reported a crash that would have been brought on by the issue, Ford stated.
The auto-giant’s assertion stated that earlier than the vans downshift, drivers may see a malfunction indicator mild on the dashboard.
In some instances, alerts will be restored whereas the vans are transferring, and they are often pushed usually. In different instances drivers might have to cease and restart the engine to get the transmissions to work correctly.
The corporate says it expects fewer than 1 % of the recalled autos to have the issue.
The NHTSA stated it began its investigation in March after getting complaints about sudden downshifts within the vans’ automated transmissions. The company is trying into whether or not these vans ought to have been included in earlier remembers for the issue.
The corporate has stated it’s working with NHTSA to assist the investigation.
