Yahoo Autos Ford Recalling F-150 and Other Models for Potentially Dangerous Seat Defect
Ford is recalling 483,325 U.S. vehicles, including F-150 and Super Duty pickups plus Explorer, Expedition, and Lincoln Aviator models from the 2018 through 2020 model years, over a problem with their seatbacks.
The issue is a missing pawl in the seatback, which keeps the seat from reclining. In case of a crash, the seatbacks may not adequately restrain an occupant, Ford said.
Dealers will replace the seat structure at no charge in the event the problem is found.
This past weekend was not exactly a holiday for Ford’s safety team but was definitely a long weekend as they issued another recall in the month of August. The first recall we covered this month was because of missing plastic and no warning lights on some 2020 Lincoln Aviators and 2020 Ford Explorers. This new recall covers a far wider spread both in terms of vehicles and models affected and is for vehicles with a lack of seat restraint in the event of a crash.
Certain 2018 through 2020 Ford F-150, 2019 and 2020 Ford F-series Super Duty, 2018 and 2019 Ford Explorer, and 2019 and 2020 Ford Expedition vehicles with a manual driver's-side and/or front passenger's-side seatback recliner mechanism, and certain 2020 Ford Explorer and 2020 Lincoln Aviator vehicles with rear outboard seats with manual seatback recliner mechanisms, are affected by this recall. These vehicles could be missing its third pawl (a bar in the seatback that prevents movement) required for seatback strength. Ford states that "a seatback with an improperly assembled recliner mechanism may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury."
A pawl is a bar that is a type of latch mechanism. It engages with the gear in the seatback to prevent movement or dictate the direction of movement of the seatback. It's what allows the seatback to move back and forth when the lever on the side of the seat bottom is pulled up. In the event of a crash, these pawls are supposed to hold the seatback in place; in the case of a frontal or rear collision, without the pawl engaged, the seat could unexpectedly recline or raise depending on the direction of impact. If this happens, the passengers are not restrained in their seats properly, and the seatbelts (and airbags if deployed) would not perform in the way they were intended to, which could then cause unnecessary injury to the passengers in the vehicle.
This recall affects 483,325 vehicles in the United States. Dealers will be replacing the seat structure at no charge to customers in the event that the issue is found to exist in their vehicle. Ford reports that there are no accidents or injuries associated with the recall. Owners can learn whether their vehicle is involved in by visiting the recall page of Ford's owner website.
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