Ford Recalls Nearly 350,000 F-Series Trucks That May Roll Away When Parked

Ford vehicles have been rolling away when in Park since the 1950s. They still cannot get it right.
Ford vehicles have been rolling away when in Park since the 1950s. They still cannot get it right.

Ford is recalling close to 350,000 trucks–the vast majority being of the F-Series variety–over a gear shift issue that may cause the vehicles to roll away when parked. According to the company, the fault lies with a clip that locks the transmission with the gear shift cable failing to fully engage. If the clip becomes loose, a Ford that was put in park and turned off may not be in park at all.

This puts trucks at risk of rolling away unexpectedly. If you're parking your 2018 F-150 at a jobsite with heavy-duty machinery and a bunch of fellow workers around (as thousands of F-150s are to do everyday), it may be best to pick a spot where there isn't an incline or make sure your parking brake is on. Ford is reporting exactly one accident and injury related to the issue.

All in all, the company is recalling precisely 347,425 North American trucks including 2018 F-150s and Expeditions equipped with the 10-speed automatic transmission and 2018 F-650s and F-750s with the 6-speed auto. Here's the official list:

2018 Ford F-150s built in Dearborn, Jan. 5, 2017 to Feb. 16, 2018
2018 Ford F-150s built in Kansas City, Jan. 25, 2017 to Feb. 16, 2018
2018 Ford Expeditions built in Kentucky, April 3, 2017 to Jan. 30, 2018
2018 Ford F-650s and F-750s built in Ohio, April 25, 2017 to March 9, 2018
In addition, Ford is issuing a similar, albeit much smaller, recall on F-150s, Expeditions, Lincoln Navigators, and Mustangs over "a potentially missing roll pin that attaches the park pawl rod guide cup to the transmission case." Essentially, cars put in park and turned off may not actually be in park at all. Same result as the other recall, different cause.

Only affecting a total of 161 Fords, the "park pawl rod guide cup" issue hasn't been linked with any incidents or injuries Ford is aware of. Here's the master list for this recall:

2017-18 Ford F-150s built in Dearborn, Oct. 20, 2016 to March 5, 2018
2017-18 Ford F-150s built in Kansas City, Dec. 22, 2017 to Feb. 26, 2018
2018 Ford Expeditions built in Kentucky, Nov. 28, 2017 to Feb. 14, 2018
2018 Ford Mustangs built in Flat Rock, Nov. 6, 2017 to Feb. 12, 2018
2018 Lincoln Navigators built in Kentucky, Dec. 13, 2017 to March 8, 2018
Par for the course, Ford dealers will inspect the affected vehicles and correct any gearshift issues as necessary, free of charge.