Ford has issued another recall for certain 2013-2017 Explorer SUVs after a previous recall failed to fix a suspension defect.
The rear suspension toe link can fracture, which can cause a driver to lose steering control and crash.
The recall covers 350,000 vehicles in the U.S. and 25,200 in Canada that were built at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant from September 4, 2012 to January 25, 2017.
Ford reported 13 crashes and 6 injuries linked to the fractured toe links under this recall.
Ford said it issued the recall after some drivers in North America, where corrosion is common, “experienced a fracture of the outboard section of the rear suspension toe link after completion of a prior safety recall repair.”
Dealers will complete a torque inspection of the cross-axis ball joint and replace it as necessary.
Ford has now issued 3 recalls for older model-year Explorers due to problems with the rear suspension toe link fracturing.
Back in June 2017, Ford recalled 1.2 million 2011-2017 Explorers after an owner’s rear suspension fractured after hitting a curb. Ford said it would replace the toe links because they could fracture if subjected to “frequent full rear suspension articulation (jounce and rebound).”
In May 2016, Ford also recalled 75,000 Explorer SUVs from the 2014 and 2015 model-years because the rear suspension toe links may not have been welded properly, which could cause them to fracture.
Explorers are not the only Ford vehicles affected by this problem. In February 2020, fractured rear suspension toe links also resulted in Ford recalling the 2013-2018 Ford Flex, Ford Taurus Police Interceptor, Ford Taurus SHO, and Lincoln MKT.
Source: Ford recalls 375,000 Explorer SUVs over part tied to 13 crashes