Ford has announced a recall in relation to the production halt of the F-150 Lightning due to battery issues that were discovered during production. The recall will only affect a small number of vehicles, specifically 18, which were inadvertently overlooked during the stop-shipment order.
Initially, the issue was discovered during routine post-production inspections, wherein one of the vehicles displayed a battery issue. Ford then put a stop-shipment order on all vehicles that were being shipped to both customers and dealerships, subsequently halting the production process. Despite this, the company did not initiate a stop-sale, allowing trucks already at dealerships to be sold to customers.
It later emerged that one vehicle had caught fire in a holding lot at Ford’s manufacturing facility, which led to the investigation of the issue. There have been no reports of a similar issue from trucks that have already been sold, nor have there been any reports of injury or property damage as a result of the issue.
Upon investigating the problem, Ford stopped production and identified that the issue stemmed from battery cell production from SK On’s Georgia plant. Affected vehicles appear to have been built throughout most of January, with the issue discovered on February 4th.
After resolving the issues and procuring fresh battery packs, Ford has announced plans to resume production on March 13. However, it appears that a few trucks were either affected and reached customers before the stop-shipment order, or were overlooked in the process. Ford has identified 18 affected trucks that made their way into the hands of customers and has issued a recall to ensure that the batteries are in proper working condition.
Affected customers will be informed as soon as possible, and their high voltage battery packs will be replaced by their dealer. Ford has stated that affected customers can continue to drive their vehicles but are encouraged to make an appointment for repairs as soon as possible.
See also: Ford’s F-150 Lightning Battery Supplier Confirms Fire Incident Not Due to Fundamental Design Flaw
In a statement released today, Ford announced the recall, stating that 18 F-150 Lightnings were being recalled due to a battery cell manufacturing defect, which occurred over a four-week period at the end of last year. Ford has confirmed that 18 vehicles containing cells from that four-week period were delivered to dealerships and customers.
On February 4th, during a standard quality check, one vehicle displayed a battery issue that resulted in a fire. The root cause of the issue was identified as being related to battery cell production at the SK On plant in Georgia. Ford has confirmed that it is not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to this recall. Alongside SK On, the company has identified the root causes and has implemented quality actions. Production is set to resume on Monday with clean stock of battery packs.
