Excitement gives way to worry. Having literally transferred well over fifty thousand dollars just weeks before to purchase the vehicle, something was amiss.
“What is that noise? No seriously, what is that? It “sounds” like the little squealer that digs into your rotors to let you know your brake pads are shot. Nope… it’s not happening when we apply the brakes.
It doesn’t happen while coasting and is mostly associated with acceleration. Aha! It happens, more precisely, when applying load to the transmission. Oh shit. This could end bad.”
It turns out it’s a recall. Specifically, 2021—2023 Ford F-150® Trucks with Trailer Tow Max Duty Package — Rear-Axle Hub Bolt Recall
This is thankfully covered under warranty – what’s more it’s a safety recall so replacement is essentially always covered by Ford. If you have a vehicle with this issue you’re going to want to know a few things.
When the maintenance manager broke the news, she also prepared me for an even bigger disappointment. She reflected that is was in most cases taking months to receive replacement parts due to supply chain issues. What’s more,: the vehicle was unsafe to drive, and she didn’t have a loaner for me. (After all, I didn’t purchase from this dealership.) Technicians took photos of the broken part and shot it off to Ford and I limped the vehicle home to consider trade options.
That’s when we discovered the Technical Instructions for the Field Service Action associated with the recall as published by Ford:
SAFETY RECALL 23S65
“Due to a limited supply of service parts at this time, dealers are authorized to repair affected. F-150 vehicles identified in OASIS that are brought to your dealership and currently have a loose or fractured rear axle bolt. F-150 vehicles identified in OASIS that do NOT have a loose or fractured rear axle bolt will be eligible for repair at a future date.”
Ironically the following morning at 9am sharp the phone rang. It was the service department informing me that Ford had overnighted replacement parts, and they were ready to schedule the work. It was a timely appointment albeit rescheduled once because “blizzard” ya’ll, and that’s not a joke.
Here’s what else you want to know about this recall, as explicitly stated in the document:
“NOTE: This is an interim repair and will not close the Field Service Action (FSA).”
That’s right folks. Ford will presently replace the bolt, if broken, with the same part deployed in the factory. There is no permanent replacement offered as of yet – we presume this requires a fair bit of engineering for such a large number of vehicles impacted.
Here’s a copy you can take to your dealership service department if they’re not up to speed. Slapping your VIN in OASIS will get you more traction than anything else.
23S65TechInfo