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With winter coming on rather quickly this year – Buffalo has already had more than 70 inches of snow, and it isn’t even Thanksgiving – it makes sense to ensure that your vehicle’s safety systems are working correctly.
Wipers Are Key To Vehicle Safety
Imagine trying to drive through a snowstorm with windshield wipers that don’t work. The same is true of the heater/defroster and an ice storm. Not only do the wipers have to work, but the defroster has to be up to the task of clearing ice from the windshield. Indeed, there are also vents in most vehicles that aim at the front side windows. The vents are part of the defroster system. The side vents ensure that you have the best front vision. And then, there’s the rear window electric defroster system. It has to be working as well as the front.
If any of these systems fail, then you and your vehicle run the risk of a serious accident and possible injury or even death. That’s why Ford has initiated a recall of more than 450,000 2021 and 2022 F-150 pickups for problems with the windshield wipers.
In its paperwork on the recall that Ford filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the automaker said that the problem affected about one percent of the total number of vehicles recalled. However, they have no idea exactly which vehicles may have faulty windshield wiper motors, so the automaker recalled nearly half-a-million pickups.
Ford Plans January Recall Mailing
Ford plans to notify owners of the recalled pickups on Jan. 3, 2023. Once owners receive their notification letters, they can take their pickups to a local Ford dealer for the free repair. Dealers will replace the front windshield wiper motor, free of charge.
For more information, owners can contact Ford customer service at 866-436-7332. Ford’s identification number for this recall is 22S71. Or owners can contact the NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236. Or owners can visit the agency website at www.nhtsa.gov for more information. The safety agency’s identification number is 22V842.
This recall expands on an earlier one this year, whose identification number is 22V142.
Marc Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971 when an otherwise normal news editor said, "You're our new car editor," and dumped about 27 pounds of auto stuff on my desk. I was in heaven as I have been a gearhead from my early days. As a teen, I spent the usual number of misspent hours hanging out at gas stations Shell and Texaco (a big thing in my youth) and working on cars. From there on, it was a straight line to my first column for the paper, "You Auto Know," an enterprise I handled faithfully for 32 years. Not many people know that I also handled computer documentation for a good part of my living while writing YAN. My best writing, though, was always in cars. My work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, etc. You can follow me on: Twitter or Facebook.
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