Australian Ford F-150 owners told to stop driving due to steering failure risk

Ford Australia has recalled 443 examples of its 2022-2023 Ford F-150 and told the pick-up's owners to stop driving their vehicles immediately, after discovering its steering shaft could separate from the steering rack.

It is separate to a recent stop-delivery notice issued after a fault related to the turbocharger was discovered.

The steering recall affects all examples of the F-150 which have been converted from left- to right-hand-drive in Australia by Ford's Thai-based manufacturing partner, RMA Automotive.

The recall notice, lodged with the Department of Infrastructure, says: "Due to a remanufacturing process issue, the steering intermediate shaft may separate from the steering rack resulting in a loss of steering control.

"A loss of steering control could increase the risk of an accident causing injury or death to vehicle occupants and/or other road users."

As previously reported, one of the few differences between the US-market F-150 and examples delivered in Australia is the steering rack, which has been borrowed from the smaller Ford Ranger Raptor ute.

In a media statement, a spokesperson for Ford Australia said there are no known instances of the failure occurring in customer vehicles.

"A total of 98 vehicles delivered to customers required an inspection to confirm that the steering shaft had been installed correctly. The vast majority of these inspections took place last weekend, with dealer technicians visiting customers at home or a location convenient to them," Ford Australia said.

"None of these vehicles were found to have an incorrectly installed steering shaft, so those customers have now been cleared to drive their vehicle as normal. A few customers were travelling so their vehicles will be inspected as soon as they’re accessible.

"The balance of the potentially affected vehicles is being checked by our team or dealer network before delivery to customers."

A full list of vehicle identification numbers for the 443 vehicles involved in the recall can be found here.

Ford Australia has advised F-150 owners to stop driving their pick-ups immediately and to urgently contact Ford to organise an inspection and repair, free of charge.

Ford intends to write to owners informing them of the recall, while more information is available by calling the Ford Customer Relationship Centre on 13 36 73.

The recall is unrelated to the recent stop-delivery notice for the Ford F-150, which is related to the pick-up's twin turbochargers.