Ford Recalls 3 Million Vehicles for a Transmission Rollaway Condition
2016 Ford Edge
Ford Motor Company recently recalled approximately 3 million light vehicles which include the 2013 – 2018 Escape with all engine applications and the 6F35 transmission, the 2013 – 2018 C-Max with the 2.0 liter engine and CVT transmission, the 2013 – 2016 Fusion with all engine applications and the CVT transmission, the Transit Connect Van with 1.6 or 2.0 liter engines and either the 6F35 or 8F35 transmissions and the 2015 – 2018 Edge with all engine applications and the 6F35 or 6F55 transmissions.
The recall is focused (no pun intended) the failure of the shift cable bushing (grommet) that attaches the manual shift lever cable to the selector lever on the transmission. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which states that the vehicle operator may select the park position with the shift lever, but the vehicle may be in a gear other than park even though the shift indicator on the instrument cluster indicates park posing a potential rollaway situation after the driver exits the vehicle.
Potential Rollaway Situation
In the NHTSA documents, Ford says that it’s aware of six reports of property damage potentially related to this shift bushing issue, in addition to four reports alleging injury. Furthermore, the automaker has found 1,630 warranty claims that it attributes to this issue.
Replace Affected Bushing
Fixing the problem is relatively straightforward. Owners will be notified via first-class mail starting in late June and will take their vehicles to their local dealership, and technicians will replace the affected bushing with an improved material that is better engineered to withstand heat. The techs will also add a cap over the bushing to prevent contaminants from possibly causing the issue again as seen in the photo above, this repair will be performed free of charge.