- Ford has asked some owners of Bronco SUVs and Ranger pickup trucks to stop driving their vehicles.
- On some models, the driver's side wheel nuts may have been improperly tightened, which could cause the wheels to come off the vehicle.
- In total, just over 1400 models are affected.
Reliability and build quality issues are not new to Ford. In fact, they have been very problematic in recent years. The company's CEO, Jim Farley, has publicly acknowledged the situation and promised that things will change. But as he knows, it will take time.
So the company is not out of the woods yet, and a news report this morning from the site CarBuzz gives us further proof. According to the site, Ford has warned owners of certain Ranger and Bronco models not to drive their vehicles. The reason? Loose lug nuts on the driver's side could cause the wheels to come off.
The recall affects a total of 1,434 vehicles, including 992 Bronco SUVs and 442 Ranger pickup trucks. In both cases, model years 2022 and 2023 are affected.
The number of affected products is still limited, but due to the potential severity of the problem, it is important to inform the public.
According to Ford, one incident report involved a wheel coming off and making contact with another vehicle. Fortunately, the company is not aware of any injuries related to this potentially very dangerous issue.
In 2022, Ford dominated the recall column across the industry.
And how do we explain the current problem with some Bronco's and Rangers?
According to what has been reported, the automated tool that is used to tighten the driver's side lug nuts was taken out of service for repairs last February. During that time, the operations were performed manually, resulting in some of the left side lug nuts not being properly tightened. As a result, the right-side wheels on these models are not affected by the recall.
Some of these cars are on the road. We believe that when they left the factory, they were all able to drive normally. However, if some wheels were not tightened properly, wear and contact with the road will soon weaken the whole. Owners of these models should therefore take Ford's advice seriously.
They are urged to have their vehicles inspected as soon as possible. A vibration or noise could be a sign that the wheel nuts are loose.