Summary
The Ford E-250 has 31 recalls spanning the 2003–2015 model years, with the most serious being a structural defect on wheelchair-lift-equipped 2006–2015 models where side plates on Ricon platform lifts can crack, causing the lift platform to detach and drop against the vehicle's lift door with a user on it.
Nearly all 31 recalls affect vehicles that were modified by aftermarket converters to include Ricon platform-style wheelchair lifts, so these issues apply only to E-250s equipped with those systems. The defects cluster into three practical problems across the 2003–2015 span.
The most widespread issue runs from 2006 through 2015: on certain Ricon S-series lifts, the folding arm pivot holes can be oversized, allowing internal bearings to shift out of position. When that happens, the stowed platform moves excessively and the mounting hardware can fail, dropping the platform. Multiple converters including MobilityWorks, New England Wheels, Mobility Specialists, and National Van Builders filed separate recalls covering overlapping 2006–2014 year ranges for this same failure mode.
A second problem affects 2004–2008 models equipped with Ricon lifts where the anti-stow interlock or threshold warning system fails to detect the presence of a wheelchair user. When the sensor does not register an occupant, the lift can begin stowing while someone is still on the platform. This issue was filed by numerous converters, including Quality Vans, Van Products, Drive Master, Accessible Vans, Access Mobility, Personalized Vans and Trucks, Boulevard, Freewheel Mobility, Around Town, Handicapped Driver Services, and J's Mobility Unlimited, across 2003–2008 model years.
On 2013–2014 models with an optional armored pendant cable on Ricon S-series and K-series lifts, the cable can contact an exposed power lug on the lift and cause a short circuit. There is also a recall covering 2008, 2013, and 2014 models where the lift's positioning cam can fail and allow the platform to rise above the vehicle's floor level, causing a wheelchair user to tip inward when exiting.
On 2010–2012 models equipped with a Roush propane fuel conversion, propane can leak from fuel system fittings and ignite if an ignition source is nearby. The only base-vehicle recall in the group covers certain 2003 models where the certification label incorrectly lists the rear axle rating and tire pressure, which can lead to overloading or underinflation and raise the risk of a tire failure.
