Ford said Monday that it was recalling 17,616 Super Duty trucks in the U.S. and federal territories from model year 2021. The issue, not a small one, is that the front wheels could detach.
Ford blames this on hub extenders that “were not properly tightened by the supplier.” The recall only affects certain dualie models of the Super Duty; Ford will reach out to you if your truck is affected beginning next week, but, as always, you can also check on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Ford says that no crashes and no injuries have resulted from the issue, though the notifications will also include an instruction that you don’t drive your Super Duty until it’s fixed, if you are one of the affected.
Owner notifications begin this week. They will be instructed not to drive their vehicle until it can be verified that the front-wheel hub extender nuts are tightened to specification – by contacting their dealer to have the service completed at their location or towed to a dealership, or following provided instructions.
If I was the proud owner of a 2021 Ford Super Duty and I got a letter from Ford saying that I would need to tow my brand new truck to the dealer because the front wheels might come off and my truck is now a brick, I would be ... peeved, and wondering if this was my last Ford, period.
And yet, brand loyalty for trucks in this country is such that I’m assuming most owners who get this notice will instead take it as proof of just how much Ford cares about the health and safety of its customers. I mean, it’s not like has a pattern of bungling new product launches. This is Ford and the only thing it knows is Built Ford Tough (Unless The Front Wheels Detach).