Ford Recalls F-150 Pickups To Repair Defective Electronic Brake Boosters

The Ford Motor Co. has a habit of recalling vehicles when they need to be pulled back for repair. It's a good policy that other carmakers might want to emulate.

Where other automakers tend to wait and wait until there's a considerable number of vehicles included in a recall, the Ford Motor Co. tends to err on the side of caution and recall 50 or 100 or just 10 vehicles to make sure they are in good shape.

Ford Has Had Its Share Of Major Recalls

Ford indeed has its share of significant recalls. Just last week, the automaker recalled more than 850,000 vehicles in three recalls for various reasons from front to rear ends. But, the automaker also recalls vehicles for what seems to be an abundance of caution. Ford issues fourth recall in just over a week.

However, in its latest recall – the fourth in a bit over a week -- Ford has recalled just 51 Ford F-150 trucks. The automaker recalled the pickups to deal with electronic brake booster issues. Specifically, the defect in the affected vehicles creates a leakage path that will let brake fluid travel where it doesn't belong. In this case, the fluid can enter the electronic control unit or ECU, the underhood "brain" of the pickup. It is not a happy situation.

The Ford Authority, which wrote about this particular recall at the end of last week, noted that the electronic brake boosters manufacturer was a supplier. Ford was not responsible for the bad boosters.

Brake Sensor Problem Detailed

According to the recall, thanks to an incomplete cinch between the sensor and brake booster housing, brake fluid may be forced to leak through a pressure sensor and into the brake booster control unit.

If this leakage occurs, drivers can expect one of three possible occurrences. The first is higher brake pedal effort. The second could be more extended pedal travel. And, finally, drivers might experience a reduction in braking. In turn, drivers could experience crashes. Drivers will also find the ABS, ESC, and Brake lamps lighted on the instrument cluster.

Ford said it is unaware of any crashes or injuries relating to this problem in announcing the issue.

Ford built the affected vehicles at the Dearborn Truck Plant between Dec. 11, 2020, and Jan. 31, 2021. The vehicles involved in the recall are all located in North America.

Ford Will Begin Contact Owners Soon

Dealers will start contacting owners on July 26. When Ford contacts the owners, they can bring their F-150s to their dealers to replace the defective electronic brake booster assembly. The Ford reference number on this recall is 21S33.

For further information, customers can contact Ford Customer Service at 866-436-7332. Or, they can contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236. Also, customers can contact the federal safety agency through their website: www.safercar.gov.

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 that I handled faithfully for 32 years. Not too 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 venues including Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, and others. You can follow me on: Twitter or Facebook.