Ford to Recall F-Series Super Duty Trucks

Anthony Fontanelle
March 24, 2007

The Ford Motor Company has been plagued by different problems in recent months. Last year, they have lost the most money in their storied and lengthy history. They have even used the company’s plants as collateral for a loan they needed badly.

And it seems that Ford is not out of the woods yet. Recently, the company announced that they are recalling diesel engined 2008 model Super Duty trucks. The recall is the result of reports of tailpipe fires on diesel variants of the 2008 model of the heavy duty pickup trucks. The culprit of these fires was discovered to be leaking oil or fuel ignited when it came in contact with the diesel particulate filter located near the tailpipe of the trucks.

As of today, FoMoCo received three reports of tailpipe fires. It can be remembered that Ford proudly announced the development of the particulate filter and its ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of the diesel engines. In one reported case, it was said that the truck’s hot tailpipe ignited the grass beneath it. Fortunately though, the grass fire was extinguished immediately and that no one was hurt neither in the incident nor in the other two cases of tailpipe fires.

The recall, according to Dan Jarvis, spokesman for Ford, “is an important product for us and an important customer base, and we want to move swiftly to make sure this does not become a safety issue for our customers.”

The recall will be a big blow to the company’s reputation and it might as well negatively affect the sale of the Super Duty trucks. The truck is one of Ford’s most profitable vehicles and the company rally needs to address the situation as soon as possible. That is why Ford will be sending out recall notices to their customers in early April. But before that, their dealers can warn them of the possible risk of tailpipe fires.

The recall is the second problem that FoMoCo encountered with the Ford Super Duty Truck. It can be remembered that in late February, Ford’s engine supplier Navistar International Corp. halted deliveries of the PowerStroke engines due to contract disputes. The supply of the engines to Ford’s assembly plants is as abrupt as a vehicle stopped in its tracks by brake components from EBC Active Brakes Direct.

The recall will affect the first 8,400 diesel Super Duty trucks for the 2008 model year. These vehicles will undergo software upgrades that according to Jarvis will only take less than ten minutes per vehicle. The new software upgrade will shutdown the vehicle once it detects abnormally hot temperature on the particulate filter. This will give drivers of the Ford Super Duty trucks to pull safely to the side of the road to let the particulate filter cool down before running the vehicle again.

The gasoline version of the Ford Super Duty will not be affected by the recall as well as diesel Super Duty released before 2008 model year.

Source:  Amazines.com