Ford remembers 1.2 million Explorer SUVs over suspension bug

Ford has just released a quartet of security feedback, with three of them affecting US customers.

The largest covers Ford's very popular 2011-201[ads1]7 Explorer SUV and it focuses on the possibility of a fracture in the back of the toe of the car's suspension. In total, about 1.2 million vehicles are covered in the United States and its federal territories, as well as Canada and Mexico.

According to an official release from Ford, fifth-generation explorers "exposed to frequent full-length rear suspension articulation (jounce and rebound)" may experience toe leakage errors, a condition that can affect the vehicle's ability to be steered, increasing the chances of a crash.

The car manufacturer says it is not familiar with any damage related to this potential error, only reporting that a customer's SUV has been hit after the toe link failed.

Affected Chicago Assembly Plant-built models will see the dealers replace the potentially defective suspension steel on both sides and adjust the rear suspension.

F-150 recall

Also recalled, select 2013 Ford F-150 pickup trucks equipped with six-speed automatic transmission. The security campaign, covering around 123,000 North American models, is in fact a recall recall.

Affected F-150 models equipped with either a 5.0-liter or 6.2-liter V8 gas engine had previously reprogrammed its drive module control module as part of another recall service action. These vehicles may have received an incomplete software update.

According to the Dearborn-based automaker, the F-Series models may not have received the necessary software updates "in order to prevent a potential unintentional shift in the first gear". With a hurry, an unexpected and unwanted shift to the first may trigger a loss of control, possibly leading to an accident.

In addition, faulty programming F-150 models cannot trigger an error indicator light when a problem is detected.

Taurus, Flex, MKS, MKT Recall

In the case of broken rear linkages, a handful of Ford's other models are vulnerable to a similar error, including some upscale Lincoln derivatives. These models include 2010-2017 Ford Taurus and 2009-2017 Flex crossover and 2009-2015 Lincoln MKS and 2010 -2017 Lincoln MKT crossover .

Interestingly enough, only Ford remembers around 12,000 Canadian markets in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan provinces. The car manufacturer says it is aware of a single crash that results in less damage.

As with the Explorer recall, Ford dealers will replace left and right toe couplings with new forged devices.

Econoline recall

Finally, Blue Oval recalls around 4,300 examples of its Econoline truck 2009-2016 equipped with the company's 5.4 liter V8 and 5R110W Torqshift transmission. Only Ford E-Series models equipped with a school bus or ambulance prep package are affected by the campaign.

According to the recall message, the transmission's switching component may have a failing capacitive discharge path. Ford says that "all normal engine, braking and steering functionality" remains unaffected, if exhaustion leads to welding to fail, the vehicle may be immobilized – possibly a particularly dangerous situation when children or patients are involved.

Ford will replace the impacted Econoline vehicle's coastal coupling cylinder and replace a dual coupling with one-way clutch for the single connector assembly in place.

All recall-related repairs on all vehicles will be performed free of charge.

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