Ford recalls pickup trucks, SUVs that may roll on their own

By James Raia

Cars and trucks often get recalled for airbag and accelerator issues, but it’s rarely because a vehicle can roll down the street on its own. Ford believes some of its pickup trucks may do exactly that.

As the country’s best-selling vehicle, Ford has recalled nearly 68,000 model year 2020 Ford Ranger and F-150 vehicles with 10-speed automatic transmissions and certain 2020 Expedition SUVs with the police package and 10-speed automatic transmissions.

In the affected vehicles — 55,158 vehicles in the U.S., 12,090 in Canada and 681 in Mexico — a clip that locks the gearshift cable to the transmission may not be fully seated. Vehicles with a rotary gearshift dial are not affected.

According to the manufacturer, a partially seated clip may allow the transmission to be in a gear state different from the gearshift position selected by the driver. This could allow the driver to move the shifter to Park and remove the ignition key, without the transmission gear actually being in Park.

If the parking brake is not applied in those cases, the vehicle could move unintentionally, increasing the risk of injury or crash.

Ford said it is not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to this issue.

Affected vehicles include:

* 2020 Ford Ranger vehicles built at Michigan Assembly Plant from Feb. 28 to March 18, 2020;
* 2020 Ford F-150 vehicles built at Dearborn Truck Plant from Feb. 18 to March 19, 2020, and Kansas City Assembly Plant from Feb. 21 to March 19, 2020;
* 2020 Ford Expedition vehicles built at Kentucky Truck Plant from March 3 to 19, 2020.

Dealers will inspect the shift cable locking clip and properly seat it as needed. The Ford reference number for this recall is 20S18.

James Raia, a syndicated columnist in Sacramento, Calif., offers a weekly automotive podcast and electronic newsletter, both available via free sign-ups on his website: www.theweeklydriver.com. He can be reached via email: james@jamesraia.com.

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