Yet Another Super Duty Recall – Rear Axle

Ford will recall 28,579 F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickup trucks that could suffer a potential break in the passenger side rear axle shaft.

The recall is only for trucks built in May through most of July, the automaker said.

A broken rear axle shaft could result in a loss of power while driving in two-wheel drive, and inability to hold the park function. If the parking brake is not applied, this could result in the unintended vehicle movement. That could create a crash.

Ford blamed the defect on “improper material handling during the bar stock cooling process at the axle shaft material supplier.”

The problem was spotted during production verification testing.

Engineers analyzed the axle shaft and determined it had the incorrect steel composition for Ford’s specifications. Upon investigation, the supplier discovered that a particular batch of axles was produced with a wrong steel type. The supplier mixed those axles with the correct F-Super Duty axle shafts.

The automaker will notify owners of the recall by mail. Ford will ask owners to take their vehicles to a dealer where technicians will inspect the axle shaft. They will replace any shafts made with the wrong steel grade. Ford will not charge for the service.

Notice of the recall will go out later this month.