Loose Lug Nuts Cause Ford’s Latest Bronco and Ranger Recall

Ford has seemingly been issuing a never-ending stream of recalls so far in 2023. There have been issues for the F-150 Lightning, the Mustang, the Explorer and even the Fusion due to all manner of manufacturing problems. Now, it’s been forced to announce yet another recall, this time affecting its Bronco and Ranger models.

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First reported by Autoevolution, the latest recall from the Blue Oval affects certain 2023 Bronco and Ranger models. The recall, which was confirmed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on April 20th, affects 1,434 Bronco and Ranger cars.

According to the NHTSA, affected vehicles are equipped with lug nuts on the left-side wheels that may not have been properly tightened. This, the agency says, could “result in loosening of the wheel attachment and potential wheel detachment from the vehicle.”

In the severe instance where a wheel did come loose, it would increase the “risk of injury or crash,” the NHTSA reports. According to the government agency:

“Due to an assembly process error, the lug nuts on the left-side road wheels may not have been tightened to specification.

“Loose wheel lug nuts may lead to vibration and noise while driving.”

Loose nuts. Photo: Ford

It’s a pretty simple fix for the problem, as Ford will recall the impacted models and bring them into dealerships to check the torque on the driver side lug nuts. Until then, however, the American automaker has told owners of affected vehicles not to drive their new cars.

In total, the recall affects 992 Ford Bronco vehicles and 442 Ford Rangers. The owners of these cars will be notified by mail before May 5th 2023.

If you are worried that your car might be affected by a recall, there are a few easy ways to check if it’s the case. First up, the NHTSA has a super handy app that you can use to see if your vehicle is impacted by a recall, or you can head to the regulator’s website and plug your VIN into its recall search tool.