Ford Motor Company is issuing a safety recall for 30,123 F-Series pickup trucks in the United States and 5,736 in Canada due to a manufacturing defect that could cause the tailgate support cable to snap under load.
The safety recall covers select 2026 and 2027 model-year Ford F-150 pickups, as well as F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550 and F-600 Super Duty models produced at Ford's Kentucky assembly plant between May 30 and June 15, 2026.
According to filings with safety regulators, assembly line workers at the plant discovered the defect during open-gate load testing in June 2026, when operators noticed left-hand tailgate cables separating from their mounting eyelets.
An investigation traced the failure to a supplier, Ohio-based Cable Manufacturing & Assembly Co., which had produced left-side support cables using a broken crimping die during two shifts on May 26, 2026.
The problem
If the malformed crimp on the left-side cable eyelet fails while carrying a heavy load — such as cargo, equipment, or a person using the tailgate step — the entire static weight transfers instantaneously to the right cable. This secondary overload can cause the right cable to break as well, causing the tailgate to drop abruptly onto the rear bumper. An uncontrolled tailgate drop poses severe risks of body panel damage and occupant injury.
Although Ford estimates that only 2 percent of the recalled population actually contains defective cables, the automaker issued a stop-ship order and initiated field remedies.
To date, Ford has received no warranty claims or field reports connected to the condition.
The solution
The remedy is straightforward: authorized Ford dealerships will inspect and replace the suspect left-side tailgate cable (part number FL34-9944411-AD) with a properly crimped replacement unit free of charge.
On our side of the border, the recall campaign is filed under Transport Canada number 2026-511.
Interim owner notification letters are scheduled to be mailed in December 2026, with final instructions for the fix following in January 2027. Canadian and U.S. owners can verify if their vehicle is affected by checking their vehicle identification number (VIN) on Ford’s owner portal or official regulatory databases.