Fusion steering wheel bolt recall

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 3, 2005
Messages
17,871
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/car...heel/423395002/

So this recall came out yesterday. My mom's Fusion is covered under it so I thought I would be a good son and make a separate order for her to make sure I could get her car taken care of. There is one bolt required per vehicle and they come in a bag of 4. Ford rejected my order because they are seed stocking us. Fabulous, I will snag one and hide it for her. Nope, we are being seed stocked 8. Not 8 bags, 8 bolts. With no way of ordering additional bolts. All of our seed stocked have been claimed by sales because they sold 9 Fusions to a fleet and they are under a stop sale until the recall is completed. Le sigh...
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Can you just tighten it in the meantime?


I took her car to work yesterday for a LOF and rotate. That went south. But I didn't feel anything. I would pull the bolt and put some blue Loctite on it but I don't feel like dealing with the airbag.

She has already had the steering wheel off so our tech could do a shotgun diag on why her cruise control didn't work. He did the clockspring, steering wheel switches, and both multifuction switches. One of them fixed it.
 
So far just a stop sale. No rentals that I know of. They just started offering rentals for SOME vehicles with the airbag recall.
 
The 06 Rangers with Takata airbags are the only stop driving recalls I’ve ever seen from Ford and I’ve been around since the Firestone Wilderness AT days!
 
Last edited:
I'm just curious how it fails. For it to come loose, wouldn't you have to pull on the steering wheel? I suppose once the nut comes loose, there's nothing stopping you from yanking on the wheel but maybe that only happens if you push down on one part of the wheel and the rest of it pops off?

This is like some bad comedy where the wheel comes off and you hand it to the passenger and tell them to hold the wheel.
 


Bolt in question is highlighted. It is M10x20. Supposedly the new one will have a different pitch and a nylon lock. Hopefully no Fusion ever needs the wheel taken off after having the recall done.
 
Hard to tell from the picture, but you'd think the spline would hold the wheel in even if the bolt came off. Guess it's just a bad design.
 
No lock washer, Nylock nor Loctite on a steering wheel bolt?? What could possibly go wrong? Hard to believe some of the stupidity coming out of new vehicle manufacturers today.
shocked2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal


Bolt in question is highlighted. It is M10x20. Supposedly the new one will have a different pitch and a nylon lock. Hopefully no Fusion ever needs the wheel taken off after having the recall done.


It sounds like they just want to jam the bolt in there permanently and if the wheel ever needs to come off again hopefully its out of warranty.
 
Maybe that's one of the parts that should have been rehashed before it ever ended up in the car on the line instead of some poor bugger sitting there holding a steering wheel not connected to anything but some wires.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Any idea if Ford will issue a stop driving recommendation? Will they pay for rentals?


I don't want to sound harsh, but are you kidding?

IMO those two things will never happen. At best, they might issue a directive to be careful, for what that is worth.
 
No I am not kidding, all it takes is a few more of these or a few deaths and they have a real problem.

Quote:
The automaker says it is aware of two accidents and one injury that may have been caused by the problem.
 
If a steering wheel defect, affecting the ability to command the vehicle, is not the most crucial safety aspect, then what is? Ford should definitely stop selling new models affected and advise people that have one to stop driving and provide loaners.

But in this stupid world we live in, people will be outraged at some extra emissions and speculate how many thousands of people it might've killed, but won't blink an eye at a problem that can or already has killer or injured people.
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
If a steering wheel defect, affecting the ability to command the vehicle, is not the most crucial safety aspect, then what is? Ford should definitely stop selling new models affected and advise people that have one to stop driving and provide loaners.

But in this stupid world we live in, people will be outraged at some extra emissions and speculate how many thousands of people it might've killed, but won't blink an eye at a problem that can or already has killer or injured people.


They have a stop sale on new vehicle deliveries.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top