Report: Ford recalling 1.1 million F-Series pickups over gas tank straps

Filed under: Truck, Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Ford, Lincoln

Back in May of 2011, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it was expanding its investigation of 2.7 million Ford F-150 models for corroding gas tank straps. Less than three months later, the recall is on like Donkey Kong, though Bloomberg reports that Ford has announced that the actual number is closer to 1.1 million. Further, the 1997 through 2004 F-150 models will be joined by 1997 to 1999 F-250 trucks and 2002 and 2003 Lincoln Blackwood models.

Ford says the gas tank straps are being recalled due to possible corrosion from road salt and other ice-melting chemicals. And since elements like salt are the reason for the corrosion, Ford is only recalling the trucks in the 21 cold weather states and the District of Columbia.

Ford spokesperson Wesley Sherwood adds that the trucks involved in the recall are of the "older, higher-mileage" variety, adding that the straps can corrode after the trucks spend a lot of time in high-corrosion environments.

While the recall is official as of August 1, Ford reportedly won't begin sending out recall notices until mid-September. When the notices arrive, owners of the affected vehicles can bring their truck to the nearest Ford or Lincoln dealer for a free-of-charge repair. if the straps aren't available when the customer enters the dealership, Ford will install a cable support under the fuel tank strap as a short-term fix.

Any time an automaker announces a recall of over 1 million units, it's a big deal. And this is the second seven-digit recall of Ford truck in the last few months. Since these are older trucks, most truck buyers will likely turn the other cheek, but we're guessing Ford is hoping this is the last big truck recall for a long while.

Ford recalling 1.1 million F-Series pickups over gas tank straps originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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