Ford recalls 115,539 F-Series Super Duty pickups for steering defect

Ford is recalling 115,539 vehicles in the United States and elsewhere for a steering-system defect that could cause components to detach, potentially resulting in a loss of steering and an increased crash risk. The recall covers certain 2020 through 2021 model-year F-250, F-350 and F-450 Super Duty pickups, Ford said in regulatory filings.

Dealers will inspect and repair or replace the faulty parts at no charge to customers. Ford estimated that fewer than 1 percent of the recalled trucks will require the parts swap. A Ford spokesperson told the Daily Mail there have been no reported accidents or injuries tied to the defect.

The affected trucks are part of Ford’s widely popular F-Series lineup, which has been America’s best-selling truck for 48 straight years. Last year, Ford sold about 732,000 F-Series trucks, helping it maintain a dominant position in the market. Through the first part of this year, the company had already surpassed half a million F-Series sales, underscoring the model’s importance to Ford’s overall results.

This year’s recall activity adds to a broader narrative about Ford’s safety and quality challenges. By late September, Ford had issued 115 recalls, the most of any automaker in the current year, a pace that exceeds that of several rivals. The next six most recalled automakers—Chrysler, Volkswagen, GM, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai—had issued 116 recalls in the same period, underscoring Ford’s outsized recall footprint this year. Ford has led auto-safety recalls in three of the past four years, a context that has kept the company under close public scrutiny.

Industry and company officials have noted Ford’s ongoing push to address manufacturing issues with advanced quality-control measures. Ford has highlighted that about half of its recalls are satisfied through over-the-air updates that avoid visits to a dealership. In a broader strategic push, Ford’s CEO Jim Farley has described a shift toward stronger pre-delivery validation and a ‘build and hold’ approach, which keeps certain vehicles in parking lots after assembly to verify build quality before they reach customers. Ford has said it spent roughly $4.8 billion annually on recalls in recent years, a cost it has sought to reduce through process improvements and technology.

Ford’s manufacturing footprint remains heavily U.S.-based. About 77 percent of Ford’s vehicles are assembled in the United States, a factor that ties the company’s recall and quality initiatives closely to domestic production and labor dynamics.