Ford Defect Investigations

An investigation is being opened into why electric tailgates are opening on their own in 2017 Ford Super Duty trucks.

The F-250 and F-350 trucks are equipped with electronic tailgates that can be opened with the key fobs, but five owners filed complaints saying the tailgates opened without warning and uncommanded.

In TSB #17-2196, Ford told its dealers that water could get into a wiring harness and cause “uncommanded tailgate openings” in Super Duty trucks. If the tailgate is down while driving, all the jostling can cause extensive damage.

Besides, no-one likes getting caught with their tailgate down.

Ford will finally address Explorer owner’s concerns about exhaust entering their cabin. Just don’t call it a recall.

From David Woods on CarComplaints.com Ford announced "complimentary service" for 1.4 million model year 2011-2017 non-police Explorers in North America. Ford insists the SUVs are perfectly safe to drive and the "complimentary service" is not an official recall.

For whatever reason, Ford appears dead set against recalling this problem. In July 2017, the automaker created a “special program” to fix carbon monoxide (CO) exposure in Explorer Interceptor police vehicles.…

NHTSA isn’t too happy with Ford’s response to the carbon monoxide problem. Welcome to the club.

Ford tested 4 Explorers, some that had been repaired using the steps recommended in TSBs, and didn’t find a problem.

“Ford says all these CO levels are well below any standards, especially since investigators found only “momentary" levels that quickly disappeared. In addition, when investigators allegedly drove the SUVs without using wide-open throttles, the carbon monoxide levels were zero.”

NHTSA took Ford’s “there’s nothing to see here” conclusion under advisement, and then promptly upgraded their investigation to an “engineering analysis.” They also expanded it to include the 2011-2017 Explorer, roughly 840,000 vehicles total.

Game on.

A NHTSA Ford Explorer exhaust manifold investigation has been upgraded and expanded to include more than 1.3 million model year 2011-2017 Ford Explorer consumer SUVs and Police Interceptors.

I’m not sure what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was waiting for here. Ford has already settled one lawsuit, consumers continue to complain about headaches, police officers are passing out, and city officials want the SUVs off the road.

Out of 2,719 complaints filed to NHTSA, there were 41 reported injuries and 3 crashes. For what it’s worth, NHTSA says there’s currently no proof that carbon monoxide caused these problems.

Ford, meanwhile, has received 1,254 warranty claims, 606 reports from dealers and 55 legal claims.

What. A. Nightmare.

Ford owners sure do love their trucks and they just can't seem to stop talking about them.

It also turns out some of them just can't stop thanks to widespread brake issues. Federal safety regulators are investigating 2015-2016 Ford F-150 trucks after reports of brake pedals going to the floorboards, a complete loss of brakes and dealerships diagnosing the problems as caused by faulty master cylinders.

We've all heard about putting the pedal to metal, you just never want that to happen with the pedal on the left.

If all this master cylinder / brake talk sounds familiar, it's because the 2013 and 2014 model years were recalled for the same issue earlier this year. I guess that's one box still unchecked on the Ford engineer's to-do list.

"DOOR AJAR" When put together those two simple words strike fear into 2011–2013 Ford Edge owners. According to many, the dashboard warning light never shuts off. Never, ever.

Yes, even when all the doors are closed. Yes, even after the doors are double and triple checked. Yes, even after the owner slams the dash out of frustration.…

Following 154 complaints and an ongoing lawsuit in Florida, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has decided to open an investigation into exhaust fumes entering 2011-2015 Ford Explorer SUVs.

Typical complaints say exhaust fumes enter the cabins while the Explorers are operating at full throttle, such as when going uphill or merging onto freeways. Owners of the 2011-2015 Ford Explorers also say the fumes can be triggered by turning on the air conditioning in recirculation mode.

The smells have led to headaches, nausea, and concerns of carbon monoxide poisoning.

NHTSA says nearly 639,000 model year 2011-2015 Ford Explorer SUVs are included in the investigation.

The government has closed their investigation into F-150 electric vacuum pump failures, but that's only because Ford has agreed to repair them under a "customer satisfaction program".

Ford opened customer satisfaction program 15N05 that **extends warranty coverage for the electric vacuum pumps in 2011-2012 Ford F-150 trucks equipped with 3.5L GTDI engines. The satisfaction program extends warranty coverage for up to 10 years of service or 150,000 miles from the warranty start date.

"All affected F-150 trucks are eligible for the program through July 30, 2016, regardless of mileage."

You say customer satisfaction program, I say recall. Po-tay-to, Po-tah-to I suppose.…

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has decided not to issue a recall for Ford F-series trucks that are stalling out at any speed.

NHTSA looked at alleged problems with the exhaust gas temperature (EGT) sensors and additional problems with the calibration of powertrain control module (PCM) software.

Maybe they should look again.…

F-150 owners can't stop their brake pedals from suddenly falling to the floor. That means they also can't stop their trucks.

The problem is an empty master cylinder resevoir that's hard to detect because there's never any corresponding brake fluid leaks. It's like a magic trick that no-one finds amusing.

A new investigation hopes to pull back the curtain:

"The no-leak symptom is what makes NHTSA believe the fluid is moving from the master cylinder to the brake booster. In addition to that, some owners told NHTSA that Ford dealers have said the same thing."

The investigation covers 2013-2014 F-150 trucks equipped with 3.5-liter engines. If the problem is confirmed, it should prompt a recall.

2015 was a terrible year for Ford door latches. 2016 isn't starting off any better.

Ford Focus door latch problems are under investigation by the government, an investigation that could possibly lead to a recall of 400,000 Ford Focus cars.

The original investigation involved the Fiesta. It was later expanded to include the Fusion. And now the 2012-2013 Focus will get an investigation of their own.

The problem can be traced to busted pawl springs which allow the door to shut without ever latching. When that happens, owners may see a "door ajar" warning light or have their doors open while going around a corner.

My guess is the investigation will be to determine if the Focus used the same pawl springs as the other cars. If so, Focus owners should expect a recall soon.

Ford Edge owners shouldn't expect a recall for any cracked 22" alloy wheels after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) put the kibosh on its investigation.

The investigation was opened in May 2015 after an owner complained their wheel split and sent the car off the road.

"NHTSA determined the Ford Edge wheel failed because a severe impact caused a crack in the wheel that eventually expanded around the wheel. Based on the evidence, investigators saw a rough appearance that showed a rapid stress fracture but no abnormalities or unique features associated with the site of the fracture."

NHTSA did say it will continue to monitor complaints, so if you've had similar issues tell us about it here.

Add the 2013 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ to the list of vehicles being investigated for door latch issues.

Complaints have kept pouring in since the original investigation was opened, and now the government says 207 reports have been filed with NHTSA and another 451 reports were filed directly with Ford. NHTSA says 65 of its complaints claim the doors opened while the cars were in motion.

The original investigation was opened late last year.

The feds have opened a "preliminary investigation" into 6th-generation Fiesta door latch concerns.

"The government says it's received 61 complaints about doors that won't latch in the 2011-2013 Ford Fiesta. Some Fiesta owners said the doors opened after being shut and while the cars were moving. One person reported an injury after the door flew back open and struck the individual."…

keep reading article "Investigation Opened Into Fiesta Doors That Open When They Shouldn't"

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has closed their investigation into engine problems in the 2011-13 F-150 after Ford sent a technical service bulletin to dealers on how to fix the problem.

NHTSA had received 95 complaints about the 3.5L EcoBoost engine in F-150 trucks misfiring. The misfires would only happen under humid or rainy conditions.

The EcoBoost engine uses twin turbochargers that compress air to increase the engine's power, and what Ford found was condensation building up inside of the air cooler tubes. When the condensation is high enough, up to three cylinders can misfire.…