Ford Motor Company has issued a recall for select 2023 Ford F-53 and F-59 stripped chassis models due to an issue with the instrument panel.
The defect: in affected vehicles, corrosion in the Smart Data Link Connector (SDLC) may interfere with the Controller Area Network (CAN) communication, resulting in an inoperative instrument panel. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 101, “Control and Displays” and 105, “Hydraulic and Electric Brake Systems.”
The hazards: an inoperative instrument panel cannot show critical safety information, such as the speedometer or warning lights, increasing the risk of a crash.
Ford is not aware of any injuries or accidents related to this issue.
Components: wire harness connector
Affected vehicles: select 2023 F-53 recreational stripped chassis and F-59 commercial stripped chassis vehicles built between July 14th, 2023 and March 29th, 2023.
Number of affected vehicles: 5,558
The fix: dealers will install a wire harness connector, and inspect and replace the SDLC module, as necessary, free of charge.