Ford Recalls Super Duty Pickups To Check, Replace Rear Axle Shaft

Ford has issued a smallish recall that covers about 30,000 F-Series Super Duty pickups. This is the second recall covering Ford's F-Series pickups since last month. Other Ford pickup recalls covered F-150s in the "Rust Belt."

The Ford Motor Co. has recalled 2019 F-Series Super Duty pickups for the second time in six weeks. This time, though, the recall is much more limited than the 550,000-truck recall last month.

Trouble In The Rear-Axles Assembly

According to the recall notice, the automaker says the call back has to do with trouble in the electronically locking rear-axle assembly. Ford says that there have been no injuries reported related to this recall.

The defect arose after steel that doesn’t meet Ford specifications made it into the fabrication of passenger-side axle shafts on four-by-four models. Because the steel isn’t up to Ford standards, the passenger-side axle shaft assembly could fracture. In turn, the facture could lead to a loss of two-wheel-drive power and the truck could lose its ability to hold Park. Indeed, if the driver did not apply the parking brake when the fracture occurred, the pickup might move unintentionally.

Ford made the affected vehicles from May 21 to July 26, 2019. The automaker built the affected pickups from May 21 to July 26, 2019. The recall covered 33,000 three-quarter-ton, heavy-duty trucks. The majority of them are in the United States with only a few in Mexico and Canada.

Watch for news about the Ford F-Series Super Duty Pickups, F250 and 350, plus the Ford F150 and other Ford trucks. Click To Subscribe To Torque News YouTube Channel For Daily Ford and Automotive Industry News Analysis.

Dealers Will Inspect, Replace Troubled Shafts

Ford dealers will inspect passenger-side rear axle shafts on the affected trucks. They will replace axles shafts of Ford F-Series Super Duty models with the suspect batch code. Ford is also advising truck owners set the parking brakes whenever they place their vehicles into Park.

For further information, owners can contact Ford Customer Service at 866-436-7332. The Ford ID number is 19S31. Or, owners can contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at 888-327-4236. The call is toll-free. Owners have the option of contacting the agency through its website NHTSA safety website.

Ford Announces Major Recall

The F-Series Super Duty recall is the second Ford pickup recall in the last six weeks. In the first recall, the automaker has recalled more than 550,000 Ford F150 pickups to check problems with seatbacks. The F150 is Ford's half-ton pickup.

The automaker built the Ford F150 pickups using only two of three required seatback pawls. The missing pawl adds to seatback strength. The missing pawl is part of the seat’s recliner mechanism. Ford recall explained in more detail.

Because it is missing an essential part of the seatback mechanism, the seat cannot restrain an occupant, increasing the risk of injury in a crash. Meantime, the automaker apparently has been taking a close look at safety as it has also recalled more than 100,000 F150 pickups to ensure that corrosion can't find a place to start.

Sources: NHTSA. NHTSA stands for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency tasked with enforcing pickup safety standards. Though recalls are voluntary, NHTSA still keeps close tabs on them to ensure recall safety standards. The second source is The Ford Authority which is a major independent information source.

About the author

Marc Stern has been an auto writer since 1971. It was a position that filled two boyhood dreams: One was that I would write, and two that I write about cars. When I took over as my newspaper’s auto editor, I began a 32-year career as an automotive columnist. There isn’t much on four wheels that I haven’t driven or reviewed. My work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, and others. Today, I am the Ford F150 reporter for Torque News. I write how-to and help columns for online sites such as Fixya.com and others. You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook.