1986 FORD E-350

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Recall Query (RQ) 24003 on February 27, 2024, to evaluate the scope and remedy effectiveness of NHTSA recall 24V097. On February 16, 2022, Ford Motor Company (Ford) issued a safety recall, NHTSA recall 22V089, for certain 2021-2022 Ford E-350 and E-45... 0 vehicles equipped with dual rear wheels. According to the filing, specific hydraulic lines could leak resulting in a sudden loss of power steering and power brake assist, increasing the risk of a crash. The remedy involved a dealer inspection of the lines and their replacement as necessary. Only vehicles that failed the inspection received updated parts. On February 9, 2024, Ford issued a new recall, NHTSA recall 24V097, to replace the specific hydraulic lines on any vehicle that had not yet been inspected and on any vehicle which had passed inspection within the previous twelve months. However, vehicles which had passed the inspection more than twelve months ago would not be included within the scope of the new recall, as Ford deemed them to have a low likelihood of failure. ODI opened this RQ to better understand Ford's scoping of recall 24V097, specifically concerning the inspected-only vehicles not included in the new recall filing. ODI sent Ford an information request letter on April 18, 2024. Ford responded, in full, on May 31, 2024. ODI reviewed Ford's data which showed that the vehicles not included in the new recall had a predicted failure rate of less than 0.25% within 10 years from the date of inspection. By comparison, the vehicles included in the new filing have had a failure rate of approximately 2% prior to being recalled again. ODI analysis of complaint and warranty data further supports Ford's assessment that vehicles that passed inspection more than twelve months prior to recall 24V097 are unlikely to experience the defect condition. ODI is closing this RQ without a manufacturer action. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. The Agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.Read more

By letter dated June 10, 2019, Ford Motor Company notified the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of a safety defect that may exist in certain model year (MY) 2009 through 2016 Ford Econoline vehicles equipped with a 5R110W transmission. Following the receipt of consumer complaints alleging trans... mission failures in vehicles built with a 5R110W transmission, NHTSA opened this investigation to assess the manufacturer's data including warranty claims, field reports, design changes, etc.Vehicles equipped with a 5R110W transmission contain a capacitive discharge weld within a coast clutch component in the transmission. A substandard weld may fatigue and fail, causing an elevated rate of loss of motive power in subject vehicle applications. Reports indicate that most of the weld failures occur when the torque is highest, which is when the driver attempts to accelerate from a stop.Analysis of the data provided by Ford Motor Company found that the risk of a transmission failure is very high in vehicles equipped with the combination of a W-MOD 5.4L SOHC EFI NA V8 G-NP engine and a 5R110W transmission. This vehicle population mainly consists of school buses and ambulances. A loss of mobility in school bus applications may result in the transfer of children when the vehicle is immobilized in a roadway, and a loss of vehicle mobility in ambulance applications may result in the delay of patient treatment.In response to this investigation, Ford Motor Company agreed to conduct recall 19V-432. Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the coast clutch cylinder replaced and to replace the single-engaging coast one-way clutch with a dual-engaging one-way clutch. With recall action 19V-432 taken by Ford Motor Company this investigation is closed. Further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist on other model or MY vehicles outside of the recall scope. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.Read more

ODI has received 1 complaint and reports from 4 transportation fleets alleging 182 switch failures.Each fleet operates mini buses built on a Ford E350 or E450 cutaway chassis.The OEM HVAC blower switches have melted, smoked, burned or experienced open flame and become inoperable on vehicles in each ... fleet.Some drivers have reported a burning smell or smoke coming from the dash.One fleet reported a vehicle fire.No injuries were sustained.However, the bus was carrying special needs children when the driver noticed smoke coming from the dash.The driver was able to evacuate the children prior to the vehicle becoming engulfed in flames.This PE has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA) to determine if the blower motor switch failures create a situation where a vehicle fire is possible and presents a safety risk to the driver and other passengers.Read more

FORD HAS RECEIVED NO OWNER REPORTS OF FAILURE, OTHER THAN THE FOUR ODI REPORTS THAT CAME FROM A SINGLE FLEET IN NEW YORK STATE.FORD ALSO REPORTS THAT IT HAS RECEIVED NO FIELD REPORTS AND DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY WARRANTY CLAIMS ALLEGING THE SUBJECT PROBLEM.FORD ESTIMATES THAT THE 86,910 SUBJECT VEHICLES... (THAT HAVE OVER 6 YEARS EXPOSURE), HAVE ACCUMULATED OVER SIX BILLION MILES OF SERVICE AND THAT THE VIRTUAL LACK OF REPORTS INDICATES THAT THERE IS NO DEFECT TREND.BASED ON FORD'S DATA, A SAFETY RELATED DEFECT TREND DOES NOT APPEAR TO EXIST AT THIS TIME AND FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT NO SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT EXISTS.THE AGENCY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES.ODI WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR FIELD REPORTS FOR THIS PROBLEM AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION IN THE FUTURE IF INDICATED.Read more

THIS INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED ON CERTAIN FORD PICKUP TRUCKS AND VANS TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF A VALVE STEM EJECTION (WITH RAPID AIR LOSS) AND A SLOW LEAKING VALVE STEM ON VEHICLE HANDING.DURING THE INVESTIGATION, ODI EVALUATED OVER 1,100 COMPLAINTS AND WARRANTY CLAIMS, CONDUCTED VEHICLE DYNAMIC TE... STING ON A SUBJECT VEHICLE WITH THE FAILURE MODE REPLICATED, INTERVIEWED OWNERS, AND EXAMINED COMPLAINT VEHICLES IN THE FIELD.THE RESULTS OF THE TEST PROGRAM INDICATES THE EFFECT OF A VALVE STEM EJECTION ON THESE VEHICLES IS EASILY CONTROLLED. FURTHER, WITH A POPULATION OF ALMOST 900,000 VEHICLES, HAVING TWO TO FOUR YEARS OF EXPOSURE, ODI IS AWARE OF ONLY 3 MINOR CRASHES AND IS UNAWARE OF ANY INJURIES.THE SMALL NUMBER OF CRASHES RELATIVE TO THE LARGE POPULATION OF VEHICLES IS CONSISTENT WITH THE TESTING WHICH WAS PERFORMED. THEREFORE, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.SEE THE ATTACHED REPORT FOR FULL TECHNICAL DETAILS.Read more