Quick News About Ford Problems

We try to boil down the news about Ford to the most important bits and pieces -- recalls, service bulletins, and lawsuits that can help you solve you car problems. Oh, and the occasional interesting story as well. If you're interested in getting these quick story summaries as an email, signup for free over at CarComplaints.com.

  1. Of all the things that can start a fire in your truck, I’m guessing you were never really worried about the seat belts.

    Well, guess what? Following a lengthy investigation into the seat belt pretensioner system in the 2015-2018 F-150, Ford has decided to recall 2 million trucks that are catching on fire after a crash.

    Between April and October 2017, Ford knew of four reports of localized interior fires that occurred on 2015-2016 F-150s after the seat belt pretensioners deployed. An investigation on the four trucks was opened that focused on the front seat belt pretensioners (both retractor and lap anchor), electrical wiring, insulation and carpeting.

    Pretensioners use a small explosive charge to lock the seat belt in place during an accident. Except, the F-150’s charges aren’t small and have been producing “excessive sparks” that smolder on interior panels and sometimes start a fire.

    The recall covers both the Regular and SuperCrew Cabs.

    keep reading article "Millions of F-150s Recalled Because Their Seat Belts Are Starting Fires After Crashes"

  3. Ford has reluctantly settled a class-action lawsuit for using defective Takata airbags.

    Although agreeing to settle the case without the court deciding right or wrong, Ford continues to deny all liability and wrongdoing concerning the vehicles. The automaker says it decided to settle to get the matter over with and avoid the cost of further litigation.

    This isn't the first time Ford has acted reluctant when it comes to Takata problems. Owners can expect to see the following benefits regardless of Ford doing it out of the kindness of their heart or the protection of their checkbooks.…

    keep reading article "Takeways from Ford's Takata Class-Action Settlement"

  5. Ford wants the lug nut lawsuit tossed because "the plaintiffs never allege the swollen lug nuts have ever caused physical injuries to any person or damage to any property."

    Ford also says the plaintiffs talk about swollen lug nuts as if the lug nuts should be indestructible and the warranties should last forever, then wrongly "attempt to cast their product-defect allegations as warranty, fraud and unjust-enrichment claims."

    Should lug nuts last forever? Of course not. But they also shouldn't fuse into something harder than a diamond after 10,000 miles on the road.…

    keep reading article "Lug Nut Lawsuit is Baseless According to Ford Attorneys"

  6. Ford is warning even more 2006 Ranger owners to stop driving their trucks immediately because the airbags can kill them.

    Last month Ford sent a message to 3,000 owners saying their trucks need to be parked because of an elevated risk of safety. They even insist on towing the vehicles to the dealership for repair because driving them is just too dangerous. 😳 This latest warning affects 33,400 additional owners.

    The affected trucks were built between 08/10/2005 to 12/15/2005, and 08/05/2005 to 11/04/2005.

    keep reading article "Ford Warns More 2006 Ranger Owners to Stop Driving Their Trucks Immediately"

  7. The Center for Auto Safety (CAS) says enough with the "special programs" and "complimentary service" campaigns,

    it's time for an extensive recall program for 1.3 million Explorers with carbon monoixide problems. The CAS says the SUVs have cracked exhaust manifolds that allow carbon monoxide to enter the cabins and that claims about CO exposure have increased 900% since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation a year and a half ago. That's not even counting the thousands of complaints sent by owners to Ford and sites like CarComplaints.com.

    The "complimentary service" program only lasts until December 31st of this year. The CAS is looking for something more permanent, saying it is possible that Ford and Ford’s customers have just been lucky up until this point, but the time for Ford to take more serious action is now, before that luck runs out.

    keep reading article "Safety Advocates Are Calling For a Ford Explorer Carbon Monoxide Recall"

  8. You know what feels like a long time ago? The first Takata inflator recall in May of 2013.

    That’s back when we were young and optimistic that the issue would be resolved quickly.

    Now I can hardly remember what it feels like to have hope at all. Especially as we stare down the barrel of another recall expansion for passenger-side inflators in the Mustang, Edge, Fusion, and Ranger. CarComplaints.com has information on which model years and zones.…

    keep reading article "It Never Ends. Takata Recalls Expanded by 328,000 Vehicles"

  9. The Austin Texas police department is starting to put Ford Explorer Police Interceptors back into service after pulling all 397 off the streets earlier this year.

    An additional 42 used by other city departments were pulled as well. The issue is exposure to carbon monoxide. After multiple officers complained about feeling sick the department made a move to equip all the SUVs with carbon monoxide detectors. Multiple officers filed lawsuits against Ford. At least one officer says the exposure led to nerve damage. Yikes.…

    keep reading article "Soon Austin Residents Will Start Seeing Ford Explorer Police SUVs Again"

  10. Like it or not, Ford is going to need to recall nearly 3 million vehicles with Takata airbags.

    Back in July, Ford filed a petition to delay the recalls so they could investigate the matter further. Time’s up.

    “NHTSA says the request for additional testing by the automakers isn't reasonable based on the data that has been collected.”

    This isn’t a no harm, no foul situation. Delaying the recall puts people’s lives at risk and it’s not a good look for Ford.

    keep reading article "Ford’s Petition to Stop Takata Recall Has Been Denied"

  11. Ford is recalling 15,000 F-150’s from the 2017 model year.

    David Woods, reporting for CarComplaints.com says _The 2017 trucks are equipped with 10-speed automatic transmissions that can remain in gear no matter where the gear shift lever is positioned. Ford says a pin that attaches the transmission shift linkage to the transmission can come out, leaving the shift lever unable to change gears.

    In other words, the shift lever might say “park” while the transmission is still very much in “drive.” Until the fix is ready, now would be a very good time to become friends with your parking brake.

    keep reading article "2017 F-150 Could Remain in Gear, Even if Your Gear Shifter Says Otherwise"

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