Ford F-150 recalled again; owners told to stop driving immediately

It’s been a bumpy start to production for the Ford F-150 in Australia with the full-size pick-up recalled for the second time in under a month.

Ford has issued a stop driving notice for its new flagship ute after an issue was discovered that could see the steering shaft separate from the steering rack.

The new problem follows hot on the heels of a turbocharger related recall in late December 2023 that saw Ford Australia instruct its dealer network to stop sales and delivery of its new large dual-cab ute.

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Three examples of the F-150 were understood to be impacted by the turbo recall, however this latest problem affects all examples of the F-150 sold in Australia so far.

Ford converts the F-150 from left-hand drive to right-hand drive at a new 21,000sqm facility on the outskirts of Melbourne, with Thai-based outfit RMA Automotive taking care of the actual remanufacturing work.

“Due to a remanufacturing process issue, the steering intermediate shaft may separate from the steering rack resulting in a loss of steering control,” said Ford in its recall notice.

“A loss of steering control could increase the risk of an accident causing injury or death to vehicle occupants and/or other road users.”

The full recall notice is linked here.

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The steering rack is one of the key differences between American and Australian F-150s, with Ford and RMA replacing the original rack with one taken from the Ford Ranger Raptor.

If your vehicle is affected, stop driving your F-150 immediately and contact Ford to organise an inspection and possible repair.

Ford is acting swiftly to address the issue with owners taking to social media to applaud the company for its impressive customer service.

A Ford spokesperson made the following statement about the steering-related recall when contacted by Wheels:

"We found a quality issue in a very small number of F-150s, which could potentially have led to a loss of steering whilst driving. This was picked up in the re-manufacturing plant and there have been no reported incidents in the field.

"A total of 98 vehicles delivered to customers required an inspection to confirm that the steering shaft has been installed correctly. The vast majority of these inspections took place last weekend, with dealer technicians visiting customers at home or a location convenient to them.

"Of these, none were found to have an incorrectly installed steering shaft, so all of these customers have now been cleared to drive their vehicle as normal. A few customers were travelling and away from their vehicles, so their vehicles are not being driven and will be inspected as soon as they’re accessible.

"The balance of potentially affected vehicles are being checked by our team or dealer network before delivery to customers. We thank customers for their patience as we work through this process."