Ford’s Latest F-150 Recall Is For A Problem It Already Tried To Fix

Ford continues to take extreme measures in its efforts to improve vehicle quality and reduce recalls, but the Blue Oval is still dealing with problems from older vehicles built to less exacting standards, and its latest recall is evidence of the struggle. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, certain Ford F-150 pickups could unexpectedly downshift into first gear, which could cause the driver to lose control and crash. What makes this issue particularly frustrating for owners is that Ford already tried to fix this problem under recall 24V444, but it clearly hasn't worked, so another visit to the dealer is necessary.

The Problem Ford F-150s Face With the New Recall

The recall affected 44,963 vehicles from the 2014 model year, which could suffer from a loss of signal between the transmission output shaft speed sensor (OSS) and the powertrain control module, causing the transmission to downshift to first. According to the NHTSA recall report (recall 26V378 refers), the previous recall fix wasn't correctly installed, despite records showing that it was. Since that recall, Ford has found a number of factors contributing to the intermittent output shaft speed sensor signal, "including contamination, power short to ground, connector corrosion, connector pin swaging, and incorrect outputs from the OSS sensor."

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Along with the sudden jerk that comes with an unexpected downshift to first, customers should see a warning light illuminate on their cluster, but in some cases, the OSS may recover signal while driving, and the truck will drive as normal again. In other scenarios, F-150 drivers may have to perform the most commonplace temporary fix: turn it off and on again. Sadly for Ford, the supplier of the faulty components isn't external, with the powertrain control module being produced by the Dearborn-based automaker. On the flip side, the fix won't require the replacement of this component, and no accidents or injuries related to the problem have come to Ford's attention.

What F-150 Owners Can Expect Next

Affected F-150 owners will be notified of the recall by mail from July 6 to July 10, and instructed to take their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the powertrain control module software updated at no cost. Because these are older vehicles, an over-the-air software update is not possible, but hopefully, the relatively small number of affected vehicles will mean that all impacted trucks will be fixed soon. Hopefully, Ford won't have too many more repeat recalls.

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