A Ford F-150 pickup truck is displayed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, January 15, 2018. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.A Ford F-150 pickup truck is displayed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, January 15, 2018. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.
Windsor

Over 300K Ford pickups recalled

The Ford Motor Company has put out a recall notice for about 327,000 F-150 pickup trucks in North America.

According to Crain's Automotive News Canada, the automaker is calling in the pickup trucks due to an issue with the block heaters. These F-150 and Super Duty trucks make up a portion of vehicles previously recalled in December 2018 for a wiring problem. For the trucks in question, cable splice connectors that were accidentally damaged during service for the previous recall may increase the risk of fire.

Two vehicle fires after the original recall fix have been reported, according to Ford, with one in Canada and the other in the U.S. A second fire in Canada involved a vehicle that did not successfully complete the recall fix.

The automaker said the safety issue only comes into play when the truck is parked and the block heater cable is plugged into an electrical outlet. Customers are advised to not use the engine block heater cable until the issue is resolved.

The affected models include:

  • 2015-19 Ford F-150 vehicles built at Dearborn Truck Plant, March 18, 2014 to Nov. 17, 2018
  • 2015-19 Ford F-150 vehicles built at Kansas City Assembly Plant, Aug. 21, 2014 to Nov. 17, 2018
  • 2017-19 Ford F-Series Super Duty vehicles built at Ohio Assembly Plant, Feb. 5, 2016 to Nov. 17, 2018
  • 2017-19 Ford F-Series Super Duty vehicles built at Kentucky Truck Plant, Oct. 8, 2015 to Nov. 17, 2018
Ford said dealers will disable the block heater, then notify the customer once a replacement is available.

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