Ford Recalls 2.9 Million Vehicles That Could Roll Away While Parked

Photo: Ford

It’s been a whole twenty hours since Ford issued a broad, newsworthy recall affecting a huge swath of vehicles, and it seems the company didn’t want to spend too long outside that spotlight. In fact, the Blue Oval went out of its way to outdo yesterday’s recall with this: 2.9 million crossovers, sedans, and vans, all at risk of losing connection between the shifter stalk and the transmission itself.

The recall covers five different Ford models, built between 2013 and 2021. Each one runs the risk of a bushing in the shifter linkage wearing down (or, seemingly, falling out completely), leaving the shifter stalk unable to control the transmission. Those vehicles are:

2013-2018 C-Max2015-2018 Edge2013-2019 Escape2013-2016 Fusion2013-2021 Transit Connect

Photo: Ford

Interestingly, despite the similar model-year range for most of the vehicles, it seems multiple transmissions are affected — not just one shared unit. Ford’s safety recall report specifically calls out the Ford-GM 6F35, 6F55, and 8F35 gearboxes, as well as Ford’s eCVT transmission. All seem susceptible to this bushing issue, posing the question of whether GM will need to run its own recall for the same collaborative gearboxes.

The recall mentions a specific risk of vehicles rolling away after the driver places the transmission in Park, though the gear itself isn’t the issue. If that bushing fails, a driver moving the gear selector will not affect the transmission itself — you may think you’re in Park, but the car could still be in Neutral.

Ford’s solution is to replace this bushing, and to add a protective cap to prevent it from wearing away. If you’re concerned your vehicle may be affected, check the dash — it’s based on data from the transmission, rather than the gearshift, so it will always display the proper gear. If all seems aligned there, run your VIN over at NHTSA’s recall site.