Recall wrap: More trouble for Ford F-150

Ford Australia has issued another four nationwide product safety recalls for its locally-converted Ford F-150 pick-up, taking the grand total to seven recalls over the space of eight months.

All four of these latest recalls relate to ADR non-compliance of either the F-150’s key lighting features or its autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system, which may not reactivate after an ignition cycle.

According to each of today’s fresh recall notices, the AEB system may not reactivate after an ignition cycle as required by Australian Design Rule 98, thereby increasing “the risk of an accident, causing serious injury to vehicle occupants and other road users”.

As for the lighting breaches…

Some 1080 examples of this particular F-150 variant have been recalled because the courtesy lamps, fog lights and daytime running lamps don’t comply with ADR 13 – Installation of Lighting and Light Signalling Devices on other than L-Group Vehicles.

Finer details of the non-compliance haven’t been detailed thus, far but Ford says affected owners will be contacted in writing and asked to present their vehicle for rectification, free of charge.

Owners not wanting to wait for official correspondence can check their vehicle’s inclusion via the VIN list attached to the recall notice.

Exactly the same issue applies to 645 examples of the Ford F-150 Lariat LWB, along with another breach involving the side indicators.

Owners can check is their vehicle is involved in the recall via the VIN list attached to the recall notice.

It’s an identical story for the XLT LWB version of the F-150, of which 199 examples are being recalled.

Owners can check their vehicle’s inclusion via the VIN list attached to the recall notice.

Separately, 219 examples of the Ford F-150 XLT SWB are being recalled just for the courtesy lamps (and the aforementioned AEB breach, which applies to all variants).

Owners can check their vehicle’s inclusion via the VIN list attached to the recall notice.

The recalls issued before this latest round related to a potentially inactive driver’s airbag (January), potential loss of steering (January) and side indicators fitted to LWB versions (March).

In between them, F-150 deliveries have been halted twice: once in January due to a turbocharger issue and once in May revolving around the ADR compliance of “certain lighting features” – almost certainly the same breaches outlined above.

Ford told carsales last month it is compensating affected owners for the repeated headaches with three years of free servicing and up to $2500 cash-back.

General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) has launched a nationwide recall for the current 2024 Chevrolet Corvette range, including the Stingray and hotter Z06 supercar.

It comes following the discovery of potentially faulty seatbelts in 63 vehicles, stemming from a manufacturing defect.

“Due to a manufacturing defect, the front seat belt Automatic Locking Retractors (ALR) may engage earlier than intended and lock the retractor when an occupant is attempting to fasten the seatbelt,” GMSV said in its recall notice.

“This may result in the vehicle occupants being unable to correctly fasten the seat belt as intended.”

It could also leave occupants without the primary safety restraint and means affected vehicles do not comply with Australian Design Rule 04/06 – Seatbelts.

Owners can check whether their Chevrolet Corvette is affected by viewing the VIN list attached to the recall notice.

Also this week, a total of 419 vehicles from Nissan’s now-discontinued luxury marque, Infiniti, are being recalled due to a potential mechanical fault.

Those involved include 353 examples of all variants of the Infiniti Q50 sedan built between 2013-2019, as well as all variants of the larger Q70 sedan built between 2012-2016.

Nissan Australia says the propeller shaft in affected vehicles may not meet manufacturing specifications and could fail.

“As a result, the vehicle will experience a loss of motive power whilst driving… [which] could increase the risk of an accident causing injury or death to vehicle occupants and/or other road users,” said Nissan.

Infiniti owners can check whether their Q50 or Q70 is affected by viewing the VIN list attached to each corresponding recall notice.

Meantime, Kia Australia is recalling battery-electric (EV) versions of its 2023 Kia Niro small SUV due to concerns it could lose power.

According to Kia, the Gear Drive Unit (GDU) assembly bolts may not have been tightened to the correct torque, which could cause it to fail and result in a loss of motive power.

Hybrid (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions of the Niro aren’t involved in the safety recall, which affects just two vehicles nationally.

Owners can check whether their Kia Niro is affected by viewing the VIN list attached to the recall notice.

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