Dive Brief:
- Ford Motor Co. has recalled roughly 741,000 pickups and SUVs for a condition where the transmission park pawl may engage while the vehicle is in motion, resulting in park system damage or vehicle rollaway, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- The recalled vehicles include model year 2018-2021 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs; 2020-2021 Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator; and 2021 Ford F-150 pickup.
- Dealers will update the powertrain control module software and inspect and replace damaged transmission mechanical components as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed Aug. 3, but a remedy is not expected to be available until April 2027, per the report.
Dive Insight:
The recalled vehicles may exhibit temporary engagement of the transmission parking pawl when certain shifts are commanded electronically by the transmission control module, which may lead to damage of mechanical components. If so, the transmission may fail to hold the vehicle when shifted into park if the parking brake is not applied, resulting in vehicle rollaway that increases the risk of a crash or injury.
According to the NHTSA report, the transmission’s valve body separator plate may limit fluid flow to the park valve, causing park pawl engagement when certain shifts are commanded. The electronic parking brake will also automatically apply if the vehicle’s transmission range sensor does not reach the park position when a driver shifts into park. Customers may also see a warning light on the instrument panel if this condition occurs.
The NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation contacted Ford in early April after receiving 11 vehicle owner questionnaires covering nine, model year 2020 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs. Drivers reported such problems as rollaway after shifting to park; the inability to shift into park; vehicles remaining stuck in park; and vehicles moving when the electronic parking brake was applied.
Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group opened an investigation into the concern on April 14. The automaker’s investigation included a review of connected vehicle data, diagnostic fault codes and warranty claims for the nine vehicles and determined that in eight of the cases, the symptoms could be the result of transmission park system damage.
Ford’s CCRG previously investigated warranty claims alleging parking system damage involving the 2020 Ford Explorer in February and March 2022. However, that investigation was closed after Ford’s CCRG concluded that there was no unreasonable risk to safety based on the determination that the electric parking brake would apply automatically to prevent rollaway in the event of park pawl damage, and that drivers would see an instrument panel warning light alerting them of a problem.
Ford’s CCRG reviewed additional warranty claims and field data for Explorer and Aviator models from April through May, which identified reports of vehicle movement while in park and stored fault codes indicating park system damage. The review also identified reports of a condition resulting from the vehicle’s transmission valve body separator plate limiting fluid flow to the park valve, causing temporary park pawl engagement when certain transmission shifts are commanded. Ford’s investigators also found that the earlier parking-brake assumption didn’t hold in some cases when the vehicle had been powered down for some time.
As of May 20, Ford identified 282 reports in North America and 13 VOQs for Explorer, Aviator, Expedition and Navigator SUVs potentially related to vehicle movement while in park equipped with transmissions built using the original separator plate design.
As a result of the findings, Ford’s Field Review Committee approved the recall on June 16.
The updated PCM software will prevent the transmission from commanding those shifts that may result in temporary engagement of the transmission parking pawl while the vehicle is moving.
Ford is aware of 24 reports of property damage and nine alleged injuries related to this issue, per the report.
