Ford is recalling more than 115,000 2020-2021 model year Super Duty trucks to correct a potential loss of steering control problem.
Another group of trucks are making this year’s recall list, and this time it’s 2020-2021 examples of the Ford F-250, F-350 and F-450 pickups. According to what the automaker tells the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the upper shaft for the steering column can detach from the rest of the steering column in some circumstances, causing a loss of steering control that considerably increases the risk of a crash.
In total, this recall impacts 115,539 trucks.
After an investigation between July and August of this year, Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group (CCRG), an internal safety committee, found that the steering column upper shaft hard slider does not satisfy anti-pull apart load specifications. It determined that trucks built within the 2020 model year and early 2021 (through February) used a single primary staking to prevent the two parts of the steering column shaft from detaching. After that, a second staking was added to prevent the issue.
To-date, Ford says it is aware of three vehicle owner questionnaires (VOQs), seven warranty claims, three field reports and four customer call hotline reports related to the concern. Those reports were received between September 15, 2020 and April 7, 2025, representing 11 unique trucks. Despite the potential loss of steering control, Ford notes in the NHTSA report that it is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this concern.
What’s the fix?
Affected trucks under this recall campaign (Ford recall 25S94; NHTSA recall 25V-626) were built at Ford’s Kentucky truck plant between February 19, 2019 and September 30, 2020.
Dealers are already aware of the issue, though an interim notice to owners outlining the problem will go out between October 6 and October 10. From there, Ford plans to have a remedy in place just after Christmas — between December 26 and December 31 — after which you’ll be able to take your truck to your local Ford or Lincoln dealer.
Ford notified the NHTSA that it will have technicians inspect the steering column upper shaft for evidence of extension. If there’s a problem, the automaker will replace parts that don’t pass inspection free of charge. Even if parts do pass inspection, technicians will reinforce them anyway to improve pull-apart retention and prevent the upper shaft from separating from the rest of the steering column.
