Ford has issued its third major recall since the beginning of the year. This time, more than 70,000 vehicles, including 7,698 in Canada, are being recalled because of a problem with the rearview or backup camera on three models.
Granted, this kind of recall is less concerning than ones that directly affect safety on the road, say that touch the engine, suspension or brakes. Still, it is serious, and for a company that has been grappling with a chronic recall problem for several years, the situation continues to give cause for concern.
Ford issued slightly fewer recalls last year, to its credit, but there's still work to be done to improve quality and reduce inconvenience for owners.
The new campaign affects the 2021 Ford Expedition, 2021-2022 Super Duty trucks (F-250 to F-600) and 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsair.
The problem
For some time now, the company has been receiving a significant number of warranty claims concerning an operating problem with the rearview/backup camera on those vehicles now identified in the recall. Users report a lack of image clarity, or sometimes a the total lack of a display of the image captured by the rear camera.
By law, vehicle rearview cameras have to be properly functioning. And good thing, too: with the size of today's models, especially SUVs and pickups, getting a good look at what's in the rear when backing up is essential to everyone's safety.
Fortunately, Ford reports it is not aware of any injuries or fatalities related to the problem.
The solution
Owners will be contacted by mail at a later date. The catch is that (at the time of writing) Ford itself does not know the nature of the problem.
It is possible that replacing the camera will resolve the situation, as it is reported that on vehicles that have had their cameras changed, the situation did not reappear.