Ford Expedition, F-150 Recall Issued Over Gear Shifting Problems, Rollaway Risks

Nearly 350,000 Ford pickup trucks and SUV’s have been recalled, due a risk that the gear shifter to fail to move to the “Park” position, allowing the vehicle to roll away after the driver exits the vehicle. 

The Ford Expedition and F-150 recall was announced by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on April 6, due to gear shifting problems that have resulted in at least once accident and injury.

Ford vehicles impacted by the recall are equipped with 6-speed or 10-speed automatic transmissions that have a gear shift cable clip that may not have been seated properly during the manufacturing process. This manufacturing defect could allow the transmission to be in a different gear than indicated by the gear shift lever position, allowing for unintended movement.

According to Ford Motor Company’s official recall announcement, if the gear shift cable clip becomes unseated or dislodged, the gear shift lever position may indicate the transmission is in the “Park” position, when it may really be in any of the other gear selections, increasing a roll away hazard.

Customers are being instructed to asked apply to their emergency parking brake when leaving the vehicles until their vehicles are serviced, to prevent roll away problems.

The recall includes model year 2018 F-650 and F-750 vehicles equipped with 6-speed transmissions and model year 2018 Ford F-150 trucks and Expedition SUV’s equipped with 10-speed automatic transmissions.

Ford estimates that the recall affects approximately 347,425 vehicles in North America, with 292,909 sold in the United States and federalized territories, 51,742 in Canada and 2,774 in Mexico.

Roll away hazards are extremely dangerous, posing a risk of serious injuries and fatalities for occupants and bystanders. The NHTSA warns that roll away accidents are especially dangerous when young children are being transported. In the event a child is buckled in the back seat and the caregiver walks around the vehicle as it begins to roll away, both the child and caregiver could be in serious danger.

Ford will begin notifying customers of the recall this month via mailed notice with instructions on how to schedule a free repair appointment at their local dealer, where dealers will be instructed to inspect the shift cable locking clip and properly seat it if necessary. The recall is expected to begin on April 16, 2018. For further information regarding the recall, customers may contact Ford Customer Service at 1-866-436-7332 and reference the recall number 18S10.

In December 2017, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) encountered a similar problem and recalled roughly 1.8 million Ram pickup trucks following several reports of the trucks shifting out of “Park” and rolling away, which resulted in at least seven injuries.