Ford is one of the largest automotive manufacturers in the United States, and it sells the most widely purchased vehicle in America—the Ford F-150—but a new recall casts a shadow on the brand’s popularity and safety record. Could America’s most popular pickup truck actually be dangerous?
Why Is Ford Recalling 271,000 F-150s?
For the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), this recall started with 33 complaints posted to their website in February. Before long 74 extra complaints showed up, and they all had one thing in common—the 2013 and 2014 F-150. These complaints said that the truck’s brakes would often fail, and when the NHTSA investigated, it found nine crashes that may have been caused by these brake failures.
How Did Ford Respond To Reports Of Crashes?
After learning about these crashes, Ford has now implemented a recall that includes 271,000 F-150 models in the United States and Canada. The company blames the stopping problems on a faulty master cylinder that can sometimes leak brake fluid into the brake booster. Ford is now offering to replace the master cylinder and any brake boosters exposed to the fluid. However, a lot of damage has already been done.
One man who filed a complaint with the NHTSA in March reported that he had been in three rear-end collisions because of F-150 brake failures, but because he owed so much money on his truck, the truck owner couldn’t get rid of it or get a different vehicle. Fortunately, this man and many others—who were caught in similar brake failure crashes—were not injured, but their stories could have easily been different.
If a driver can’t stop a large pickup at an intersection, then there’s no telling how many lives could be threatened. Plus, there could still be other accidents connected to this recall that have yet to be discovered. Keep following our defective auto parts blog to find out if Ford really does have the situation under control.
