Ford is recalling 741,195 vehicles because vehicles could have damaged transmission parking pawls.
According to a new recall report submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Ford Motor Company has an issue with 741,195 vehicles in the U.S., ranging between model years 2018 and 2021. While this primarily impacts the Explorer and closely-related Aviator, this also impacts other vehicles equipped with Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmissions, including the 10R80-equipped F-150, Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator.
Ford says those impacted vehicles, equipped with park-by-wire functionality, could have an issue where the parking pawl may temporarily engage while they are in motion, when certain shifts are commanded by the transmission. That does not necessarily create an issue while driving, but it could damage the park system components.
If those system components are damaged, including the parking pawl itself, then the pawl may fail to engage when it’s actually needed, causing the vehicle to roll away if the parking brake isn’t also applied.
Here’s a breakdown of the vehicles included in this recall (Ford recall number 26S48; NHTSA recall number 26V-402):
- 2021 Ford F-150: 82,570 units built between January 8, 2020 and October 8, 2021
- 2018-2021 Ford Expedition: 246,202 units built between March 14, 2017 and July 27, 2021
- 2018-2021 Lincoln Navigator: 59,079 vehicles built between March 16, 2017 and May 24, 2021
- 2020-2021 Ford Explorer: 313,147 units built between October 28, 2018 and November 9, 2021
- 2020-2021 Lincoln Aviator: 40,197 units built between October 25, 2018 and August 25, 2021
What’s the fix?
Ford’s internal safety review team went through transmission plant and assembly records to determine the time frame and size of the recall population. The lighter midsize SUVs may be equipped with either the 10R60 or 10R80MHT transmissions, while the larger trucks and SUVs use the 10R80.
One warning sign to drivers will be a wrench light in the vehicle’s instrument cluster. When drivers park their vehicles and the transmission range sensor does not reach the park position when the gear selector is placed in Park, the electronic parking brake should apply automatically.
While all vehicles have that “roll away detection” that should keep them in place, impacted vehicles have indeed rolled away anyway. To-date, Ford says it has identified 282 reports in North America and 13 vehicle owner questionnaires (VOQs) for the condition, mainly on Explorer/Aviator and Expedition/Navigator models. There are also 24 allegations of property damage and 9 injuries (including 2 emotional injuries, per the report) related to the issue.
Ford plans to handle this recall in phases, with repair notifications going out around April 5, 2027. Owners should get an interim notification — in other words, there’s a problem but the fix isn’t available yet — in August of this year.
When Ford is ready to do so, dealer technicians will update the PCM software to stop transmissions commanding shifts that could cause the parking pawl to temporarily engage while the vehicle is in motion. Those technicians will also look at the transmission park system and replace any damaged components, free of charge.
Newer Ford and Lincoln vehicles using 10-speed automatic transmissions are not included in this recall because Ford uses a new separator plate design. The original valve body separator plate limited flow to the park valve during some shifts, allowing the pawl to engage when those shifts were commanded.
Ford issued an updated technical service bulletin for this issue on May 15, 2023, instructing technicians on how to fit an improved valve body separator plate that is visually distinct from the original design.
Some aftermarket suppliers sell valve body kits to deal with hydromechanical issues that have been notorious for causing transmission issues and failures, while Ford itself also updated the heavier duty 10R140’s valve body (found on Super Duty trucks) to address the same fluid flow issue in 2023 (Ford recall campaign 23S54).
