Ford is recalling about 1.4 million F-150 pickup trucks in the U.S. after a federal safety investigation into reports of unexpected downshifts. The automaker said the trucks will need a software update, while regulators said the problem can lead to an unintended downshift.
The recall covers model year 2015-2017 F-150 pickups equipped with the 6R80 transmission. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Ford was aware of two injuries and one accident that were potentially related to the issue, making this more than a routine service campaign and putting one of the country’s best-selling pickups back under scrutiny.
Ford said dealers will update the trucks’ powertrain control module software as the remedy. Owners of affected vehicles will be notified by mail and told to bring their Ford or Lincoln dealer the truck for the update. If a vehicle showed certain diagnostic trouble codes before the software was installed, dealers will replace the lead frame under an extended warranty program at no charge.
The recall follows a March last year preliminary evaluation that was opened after complaints about unintended downshifts, then an expanded safety-related investigation earlier this year. Ford had previously said the issue may have been tied to electrical connections wearing down over time because of heat and vibration, and the agency said incorrect signals likely trigger the unintended shift.
That leaves Ford with a familiar sort of recall: one driven less by a single dramatic defect than by a pattern that became too large for regulators to ignore. Dealers are expected to be notified on April 15, interim owner notices will go out from April 27 to May 1, and the remedy letters are scheduled to start July 13 and finish July 17.
The fix is straightforward, but the stakes are not. For owners, the answer is a software visit and, in some cases, a no-cost lead frame replacement. For Ford, the larger issue is that a problem first flagged by complaints has now turned into a recall of about 1.4 million trucks.
