Ford is recalling more than 295,000 Super Duty trucks for failing CP4 RP7 high-pressure fuel pumps.
For the past three years, Ford’s engineering team has been investigating fuel pump failures on 6.7-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel engines. The part in question is Bosch’s CP4 RP7 fuel pump, which Ford introduced during the 2020 model year run of F-Series Super Duty trucks, and ran through the 2021 model year, when Ford replaced it in production with an updated RP8 unit. This new recall campaign covers 295,449 trucks across the Super Duty lineup from the F-250 to the F-750, so long as it’s equipped with the 6.7L Power Stroke.
In its chronology report submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Ford says its initial investigation in September 2021 attributed the high-pressure fuel pump failures to “aged biodiesel resulting from the COVID pandemic shutdowns.” Over the following months, as CP4 fuel pump issues came to light in Ram’s heavy duty trucks, Ford maintained the problem boiled down to fuel sitting for extended periods of time during the COVID-19 pandemic, and concluded that condition led to no-start faults with customers’ trucks, rather than a trend of stalls. As a result, it did not issue a large-scale recall.
General Motors also faced a lawsuit alleging the Bosch CP4 fuel pumps were unreasonably fragile, and could cause 6.6-liter Duramax turbodiesel engines on 2011-2016 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra HD trucks to shut down while driving, and settled the class action for $35 million in October 2024. Although it agreed to compensate impacted owners, the automaker denied any wrongdoing.
However, by 2024, the automaker’s investigation included “connected vehicle data” (telemetry), as well as analyzing conditions that could result in loss of motive power situations, in addition to no-start faults. Through teardowns of failed fuel pumps, the company said there was a “positive correlation between bio-mass diesel specifications and average temperatures within a state and the incidence of failures.”
Between October 18, 2019 and November 12, 2024, Ford says it received 3,070 warranty claims, 498 field reports and 58 customer service reports associated with failing Bosch CP4 RP7 fuel pumps. The company decided to formally issue a recall to address the problem on December 13, 2024.
Which trucks are affected and what’s the fix?
Ford’s language covering the defect notes that, “Over time, aged biodiesel deposits can form on internal high-pressure fuel pump components, which may lead to failure of the pump and can result in a loss of motive power.”
According to the NHTSA recall report (number 24V-957, Ford recall number 24S78), the campaign covers these specific 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel-equipped trucks:
- 2020-2022 F-Series Super Duty (F-250 to F-600) built between Feburary 19, 2019 and August 23, 2021:
- 2020 model year: 149,180 units
- 2021 model year: 120,597 units
- 2022 model year: 16,361 units
- 2021-2022 Ford F-650 and F-750 built between May 14, 2019 and August 23, 2021:
- 2021 model year: 5,361 units
- 2022 model year: 3,950 units
Ford’s recall involves a PCM update, but not a fuel pump replacement.
While GM agreed to pay owners and Ram replaced Bosch CP4 fuel pumps with an older CP3.3 design, Ford’s official action for this recall does not involve replacing potentially buildup-stricken fuel pumps on its trucks. Instead, owners will be instructed to take their truck to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) reflashed.
Ford says the PCM update will increase cooling in the tappet area and prevent formation of aged biodiesel deposits. Newer trucks not included in the recall have the RP8 unit, which the company told regulators “implemented a design robustness action that increased the pump’s roller shoe and tappet body clearances for improved fuel flow to increase cooling in the tappet area”. It sounds like the PCM update will make these RP7 units behave similarly to the RP8 variant, but without the actual mechanical changes to accommodate the higher fuel flow. At this point, it’s unclear whether the PCM update will actually solve the deposits issue long-term, and what effect it will have on the pumps’ longevity in affected trucks.
Owners who actually experience actual pump failure as a result of wear on the pump components and metal debris in the fuel system may still be eligible for repairs under warranty, depending on mileage, but this specific recall only considers the software update. Ford says that it will return the cost of repairs paid for by vehicle owners prior to notification of a recall, under its general reimbursement plan.
The automaker will mail notices out to affected truck owners between January 13 and 17, 2025. Dealers are already aware of the recall campaign, as of Thursday, January 2.
