Twenty hours have passed since Ford issued a reliable, widespread recall affects a large number of vehicles, and it seems the company doesn’t want to stay out of the limelight for too long. In fact, the Blue Oval has gone out of its way to do better yesterday revoked with this: 2.9 million crossovers, sedans, and trucks, all of which run the risk of losing connection between the gearshift lever and the transmission itself.
The recall covers five different Ford models, manufactured between 2013 and 2021. Each model poses a risk that the bushings in the gearshift linkage will wear out (or appear to fall off altogether), causing the gear lever stem to not be able to control the transmission. Those means are:
- 2013-2018 C-Max
- 2015-2018 Edge
- 2013-2019 Escape
- 2013-2016 Fusion
- Transition connection 2013-2021
Interestingly, although the model year range is similar for most vehicles, it seems much transmission is affected – not just one shared unit. Ford’s safety recall report specifically call the Ford-GM gearboxes 6F35, 6F55 and 8F35, as well as the Ford eCVT transmission. All appear to be susceptible to this bushing issue, raising the question of whether GM needs to issue its own recall for similar cooperative transmissions.
The recall addresses a specific risk of vehicle rolling after the driver places the transmission in the vehicle, even though the transmission itself is not the problem. If that bushing fails, the driver moving the gear selector will not affect the actuator itself – you can think you are in the Park, but the car may still be in the Center.
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Ford’s solution was to replace the bushing, and add a protective cap to prevent it from wearing out. If you’re worried your car may be affected, check the dashboard – it’s based on data from the transmission, rather than shifting, so it will always show the correct gear. If all seems appropriate there, run your VIN at NHTSA recall website.
