NHTSA Says Ford Recalling 103,000 US Vehicles Over Damaged Axle Bolts

Ford is recalling more than 103,000 F-150 pickup trucks in the U.S. over axle bolts that may break and result in vehicle rollaways or a loss of drive power, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday.

A broken axle bolt can damage axle hub splines – components that transfer power from the axle to the wheels and help them rotate.

Damaged splines can cause vehicles to roll away when in park without the parking brake engaged or result in a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash, the U.S. auto safety authority said.

The report said that if the rear axle bolt becomes loose, customers may report a clicking noise. If the bolt breaks, they may hear a rattling noise.

As a remedy, dealers will replace the rear axle shaft assemblies, free of charge.

The recall affects Ford’s F-150 models between 2023 and 2025. NHTSA estimates about 1% of the vehicles have the defect.

(Reporting by Meenaktshi and Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Harikrishnan Nair and Sonia Cheema)