Ford Motor Company’s (NYSE: F) quality struggles continue as NHTSA today said that the Blue Oval is recalling more than 453,000 F-Series pickup trucks , Ford’s most popular vehicle in the US. The front windshield wiper motor may become inoperative, causing the wipers to fail. Trico Componentes in Mexico made the defective motor.
Some of the vehicles recalled were previously recalled for the same problem. NHTSA appears to have played a strong part in the latest recall because of complaints from people to NHTSA.* The newest NHTSA recall Campaign Number is 22V842000.
In the legally required NHTSA filings, Ford said that “factors that led to inoperative or poorly performing wipers are wiper motor integrated circuit board damage due to high transient voltage spikes and poor-quality wiper motor electrical terminals.”
Notification to dealers is expected to occur on 1 January 2023. Mailing of owner notification letters is expected to begin then as well and is expected to be completed by 6 January 2023.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
*Chronology of Ford Wiper Motor Safety Defect
March through June 2022
- On March 4, 2022, Ford approved safety recall 22S12 to because of inoperative wiper motors that could result in a reduction or loss of visibility in certain conditions. Safety recall 22S12 involved F-150 vehicles built from January 8, 2020 (Job #1) through March 22, 2021.
- On April 21, 2022, Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group (CCRG) initiated an investigation to monitor the field performance of vehicles produced after March 22, 2021, based on wiper motor quality matters identified and corrected by the supplier that were not part of the original safety defect recall.
- Through June 2022, the rate of reports remained low at 0.8-1.4 R/1000 and did not demonstrate an increasing trend.
July through October 2022
- Ford continued to monitor field data and identified an increasing trend of inoperative wiper motor reports beginning in late August 2022. Additionally, Ford’s investigation identified six VOQs related to this safety defect within the non-recalled population.
- NHTSA contacted Ford on September 9, 2022, regarding the same VOQs.
- Ford reviewed the status of its ongoing investigation with NHTSA on September 15, 2022.
- In October 2022, the CCRG investigative team completed an updated analysis of field data and then found the overall report rate for the non-recalled population was approximately 2.3 R/1000, with higher rates for certain periods of production coinciding with supplier quality concerns that were not within the range of the 22S12 safety defect recall.
- Ford said a Weibull analysis projections were also updated in October 2022 and found the 10 year/150K miles rate is predicted to be approximately 5% for vehicles produced from March 23, 2021, through August 8, 2022.
- As of October 13, 2022, Ford claimed it is aware of 1,378 warranty reports globally, received from May 6, 2021, through October 12, 2022, for inoperative or intermittently functioning windshield wiper motors on vehicles produced with the subject wiper motor from March 23, 2021, through August 8, 2022.
On November 4, 2022, Ford’s Field Review Committee reviewed the concern and approved a field action.
Ford Recalls 2021-22 F-150s for Wiper Motor Failures Again
Ford Motor Company’s (NYSE: F) quality struggles continue as NHTSA today said that the Blue Oval is recalling more than 453,000 F-Series pickup trucks , Ford’s most popular vehicle in the US. The front windshield wiper motor may become inoperative, causing the wipers to fail. Trico Componentes in Mexico made the defective motor.
Some of the vehicles recalled were previously recalled for the same problem. NHTSA appears to have played a strong part in the latest recall because of complaints from people to NHTSA.* The newest NHTSA recall Campaign Number is 22V842000.
In the legally required NHTSA filings, Ford said that “factors that led to inoperative or poorly performing wipers are wiper motor integrated circuit board damage due to high transient voltage spikes and poor-quality wiper motor electrical terminals.”
Notification to dealers is expected to occur on 1 January 2023. Mailing of owner notification letters is expected to begin then as well and is expected to be completed by 6 January 2023.
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
*Chronology of Ford Wiper Motor Safety Defect
March through June 2022
July through October 2022
On November 4, 2022, Ford’s Field Review Committee reviewed the concern and approved a field action.