Complaint 2226406

Complaint Summary

STEERING

Owner Narrative

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, there was an abnormal whistling and dinging sound coming from the vehicle, and the powertrain malfunction warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle independently downshifted, and the rear driver’s side of the vehicle slid to the left, and the front passenger’s side of the vehicle crashed into another parked vehicle. The contact exited the vehicle and discovered that due to the impact, there was windshield fluid leaking out of the windshield washer fluid reservoir onto the ground, and the vehicle caught on fire. The contact entered a local AutoZone, retrieved a fire extinguisher, and extinguished the fire. The local fire department was contacted. The contact stated that no air bag was deployed. A police report was filed. A Fire Department report was not filed. The contact had a cut on the right arm, and the medical team in the ambulance patched up the arm; no further medical attention was needed. The vehicle was towed to the residence, where it was self-diagnosed that the steering and ball joint assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V237000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. A dealer was contacted and stated that the remedy was not yet available and would not be available until July 26th. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.