All the Mustang EVs are in the US or Canada.
Ford Motor Company is issuing a safety recall for all 2021 Mustang Mach-E vehicles. Ford said it discovered some vehicles may have sub-frame bolts that an unnamed supplier (Martinrea Honsel in Mexico) did not tighten to specification. Ford also said in a late Friday afternoon release – days before required NHTSA safety recall documents are publicly available, including info on how the defect was determined – that “it is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this condition.” Condition is pr babble for safety defect.
All of the affected vehicles are in the U.S. and Canada. They will be serviced before customer delivery. This of course is required by US law since dealers cannot deliver vehicles with a safety defect subject to recall. Delivered vehicles are also subject to the recall. Dealers will inspect the sub-frame bolts and tighten if necessary.
Owners who have already received their vehicles will be notified beginning the week of March 22. The Ford reference number for this recall is 21S09, which under Ford’s traditional recall nomenclature means that there have been nine safety defect recalls this year.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Chronology
On 13 February 2021, a Squeak and Rattle audit at Ford Cuautitlan (Mexico) Stamping and Assembly Plant identified a noise coming from the front suspension of a vehicle. The team identified the cause of the noise to be loose bolts on the front subframe.
Further investigation determined that the supplier had insufficient torque controls in the assembly station that secures the front subframe to the lower load path. A modification to the assembly station on 21 January 2021 affected the securing of the bolts and enabled an operator to release assembly without the torque completed.
The Ford team determined based upon plant records that the vehicles with suspect front subframes were built between 21 January and 15 February 2021.
On March 3, 2021, Ford’s Field Review Committee reviewed information and approved a recall.