- Vehicles
- 1,520,000
- Built between
- Dec 1995 – Apr 1998
- Models
- 4
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- NHTSA investigation
- Owners notified
- 20 July 1998
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between December 1995 and April 1998. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 1997-1998 Ford ExpeditionBuilt December 1995 to April 1998
- 1997-1998 Ford F-150Built December 1995 to April 1998
- 1997-1998 Ford F-250Built December 1995 to April 1998
- 1997-1998 Lincoln NavigatorBuilt December 1995 to April 1998
What the defect is
Vehicle description: multi-purpose vehicles and light duty pickup trucks. The lug nuts on these vehicles may not create sufficient clamp load allowing wheel movement in relation to the hub/rotor mounting surface.
What could happen
This can result in the loosening of lug nuts, stud fatigue failure, and the potential for a wheel separation from the vehicle, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
What gets fixed
OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES WILL BE RECEIVING TWO NOTIFICATIONS. THE FIRST NOTIFICATION, WHICH BEGAN IN MAY 1998, WILL PROVIDE AN INTERIM REPAIR PROCEDURE UNTIL PARTS BECOME AVAILABLE. THIS INTERIM PROCEDURE CAN BE COMPLETED BY OWNERS OR THEIR DEALERS. IT SPECIFIES THAT THE LUG NUT TORQUE MUST BE VERIFIED TO BE 100 LBS. THEN THE LUG NUTS NEED TO BE TIGHTENED AN ADDITIONAL 1/8 TO 1/4 TURN MORE. THERE WILL BE A SECOND OWNER NOTIFICATION, WHICH IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN JULY 20, 1998, UNDER WHICH DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE WHEEL STUDS AND REPLACE THE WHEEL LUG NUTS.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtDecember 1995 to April 1998
- Recall reported to NHTSA13 May 1998
- Owners notified20 July 1998
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 13 May 1998.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- FORD MOTOR COMPANY
- Recall initiated by
- ODI
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Owners will be receiving two notifications.the first notification, which began in may 1998, will provide an interim repair procedure. There will be a second owner notification, which is expected to begin july 20, 1998.OWNERS who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact ford at 1-800-392-3673.ALSO contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.