On certain Ranger Electric vehicles, the bolts that attach the transaxle to the vehicle may loosen and the driver may notice a jerking motion and/or a clunking sound. If the vehicle is not serviced promptly. all nine bolts may ultimately fall out or fracture. If this occurs, the transaxle may fall down from its intended location and cause the transaxle to be in a different gear than indicated. If the shifter is in park, the vehicle may still be free to roll as if in neutral.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Transaxle bolts will be replaced with longer bolts equipped with a thread lock material. New bolts will also have a higher installation torque.
On certain motorcycles, the backrest leaf spring mounting bracket, if overloaded with the backrest in the vertical position, to crack or break. If the bracket were to break, the backrest would detach from its mount. This is due to the use of square mounting holes and pressed in nuts. The square hole design results in an increased notch effect at the corners of the holes, which can lead to breakage of the bracket if it is overloaded.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Backrest will be replaced with one containing a mounting bracket with round holes.
On certain vehicles, the frame down tube may crack below the steering head gusset under certain conditions. Continued use could cause the rider to lose control of the motorcycle resulting in a possible crash.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Vehicles will be inspected and, if required, gussets will be welded to the frame tubes or the frame will be replaced.
Certain vehicles do not comply with the requirements of CMVSS 201- Occupant Protection. Vehicles have a console cover/armrest cam latch that can release at less than the 10 g vertical load restriction required by the standard.
Certain Explorer Sport, Explorer Sport Trac, Rander Edge and Ranger XLT vehicles may have a wire formed hood striker that may be susceptible to fatigue fractures. If the hood striker fractures, the hood may fly open while the vehicle is being driven. A hood fly-up while the vehicle is being operated may result in resuced driver visibility and, potentially, a vehicle crash.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Hood striker will be replaced with a revised hood striker.
Certain vehicles may have loose or missing rear wheelhouse plugs. Under certain operating conditions, exhaust gases can flow forward and accumulate in the rear wheelhouse. These exhaust gases could flow into the passenger compartment if the wheelhouse plug is missing or loose and may cause possible illness, unconsciousness or death.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect for loose or missing wheelhouse plugs, and install new plugs if necessary.
Certain vehicles do not comply with the requirements of CMVSS 114 - Locking System. An improperly adjusted transaxle park lock cable assembly could allow shifting from the "park" position with the ignition key removed.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Dealers will perform a functional check of the automatic transaxle park lock cable assembly operation, and, if necessary, adjust the cable.
Certain vehicles may be equipped with a defective tailgate locking mechanism which, in combination with cold temperatures, may cause the tailgate to not lock properly. Should the tailgate open when the vehicle is in motion, or as the result of a vehicle crash, personal injury could occur to unrestrained passengers.
Certain motorcycles were built with a rear shock absorber that could break which could cause the underside of the vehicle to drag on the ground. This could adversely affect handling and result in a crash without prior warning.
On certain motorcycles, the side stand mounting bracket may come loose due to incorrect torque. Should this occur, the side stand may not properly support the motorcycle and personal injury could occur.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Side stand mounting bracket fixings will be retorqued to 45 Nm. If it is necessary to tighten either of the bracket fixings through more than one full turn, both of the fixings will be replaced as the threads and under-head areas may have become damaged.
Certain vehicles do not comply with the requirements of CMVSS 201 - Occupant Protection. The console cover does not remain closed when a specified vertical load is applied. During a crash, the console cover could open and the cover or items stored under it could injure an occupant.
On certain pickup trucks, the trailer hitch side brackets were manufactured using materials with insufficient physical properties (i.e. yield and tensile strength). After extended usage, brackets built without proper material may fatigue and fracture in the area where the trailer hitch mounts to the frame. This could result in separation of the towed unit creating a possible road hazard and crash.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Vehicles will be inspected and any trailer hitch that exhibits evidence of fatigue cracking will be replaced. If there is no evidence of cracking, two reinforcement plates will be installed.
On certain vehicle equipped with Fontaine light weight fixed position fifth wheels, the fifth wheel mounting plate may develop a crack in the area where the legs of the fifth wheel are welded to the base plate. This could result in eventual trailer separation.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Fifth wheel base plate will be inspected and if a crack is found, the base plate will be replaced.
On certain vehicles, the trailer hitch assembly attachment bolts may lose clamp load. If the operator does not notice the condition due to rattle or other looseness of the trailer hitch assembly, there is a potential for the trailer hitch to separate from the vehicle.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Trailer hitch mounting bolts and nut plates will be replaced with higher strength mounting bolts and nut plates installed at a higher torque and including an adhesive patch.
On certain motorcycles, the screws holding the side stand switch may loosen and fall out due to engine heat and vibration. If this happens, the side stand switch will not function correctly, making it possible to ride the motorcycle with the side stand in the down position. If a side stand in the down position were to hit the ground during a turn, loss of control and a vehicle crash could occur.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Screws holding the side stand switch will be replaced with a combination of bolts and nuts which will hold the switch securely.
On certain vehicles, aluminum castings used in the manufacture of the vehicle frame may have missed the required heat treatment operation resulting in soft frame castings. Soft frame castings may fracture under expected vehicle operation conditions. If a casting were to fracture, it could compromise vehicle handling or result in a loss of vehicle control and a possible crash without prior warning.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Vehicles will be inspected for soft sub-component frame castings. Owners of vehicles found to have soft frame sub-components will be offered a replacement vehicle.
On certain vehicles, the hydraulic lift cylinders are attached to brackets that are welded to the liftgate. under certain conditions, the bracket welds may fracture due to the brackets being inadvertently mislocated relative to the liftgate. There may be a potential for the liftgate bracket to gradually bend inward which might allow the liftgate cylinder ball stud to disengage.
Certain vehicles do not comply with the requirements of CMVSS 201 - Occupant Protection. The console armrest latch will not withstand the vertical force requirements of the standard. In the event of a crash, the latch may open and the armrest or the contents of the console could injure an occupant.
Certain motorcycles were built with an isolator mount system that could lose clamp load. Should this condition occur, it may allow the engine to move unexpectedly within the frame and cause unintended distraction to the operator, which could result in an accident.
Safety Risk
No risk description available.
Remedy
Front isolator system will be replaced on affected vehicles.
On certain motorcycles, the fuel tank mount system could, in the event of a collision, allow the fuel tank to become separated. Fuel tank separation could result in personal injury.
