Nineteen (19) Ford Super Duty Trucks Recalled Because The Steering Column Can Come Apart

Photo: Ford

Ford’s pesky little recall issue is not ready to go away just yet, but the latest is only going to impact a handful of vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is issuing a recall of 19 2023 Ford F-250, F-350 and F-450 Super Duty pickup trucks built between January 4th and January 23rd of this year. Someone apparently forgot to put a few bolts in the steering column, and because of this the column could separate from other components.

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According to NHTSA documents, the steering column upper shaft coupler bolts may not have been re-installed or tightened down enough during an on-site modification repair at Ford’s plant. That is less than ideal because a missing or loose bolt on the steering column could lead to the column separating from the rest of the steering system. How this happened to just 19 trucks is both weird and impressive.

As you may have imagined, that can be catastrophically bad. If your steering column comes apart, you no longer have a way to control the direction of your many-thousands of pounds pickup truck, but luckily Ford has a solution.

NHTSA says Ford first became aware of the issue on May 1 of this year when the Kentucky Truck Plant received two warranty reports regarding steering intermediate shafts of 2023 Super Duties. On the first truck, one of the two bolts was missing and the second bolt was loose. It lost the ability to steer while it was being unloaded onto a dealer lot with under 10 miles on the clock. The second vehicle had the minor issue of the steering wheel’s position didn’t align with the front wheels, but luckily it never lost the ability to steer.

Starting on May 8, the automaker began calling all 19 impacted Super Duty owners to let them know the down low, and they’ll also be sent notification in the mail just in case. Owners are being told to contact a Ford or Lincoln dealer to schedule an appointment so that their steering column upper shaft bolts can be inspected. If both bolts are installed, the dealer will also check if they’re torqued down enough. As you may have expected, there won’t be any charge to owners who get this fix done.