About 30,000 2022 and 2023 Ford Mustangs were recalled last year for shaky steering. The electric power-assisted system was “providing unintended steering assist” which translated to a vibration in the driver’s hands. Not great! Free repairs were rendered by dealers, but unfortunately, it looks like 300 or so owners got unlucky and will have to go back to get the repair re-done.
The original recall, NHTSA number 24V-493 and internally referenced at Ford with number 24S44, was issued on June 28, 2024. As the automaker explained the issue:
“The secondary digital torque sensor in the steering gear was calibrated with an inverted polarity. If the primary steering torque sensor experiences a failure or fault and the secondary digital torque sensor’s polarity is inverted, the steering wheel may begin oscillating without warning (alternating clockwise/counterclockwise) when the driver attempts to steer. The oscillation results from the electronic power steering gear providing unintended steering assist.”
In the NHTSA’s report, it’s stated that Nexteer Automotive, the supplier that manufactures the affected Mustang part, notified Ford of “an assembly issue on steering gears” in May of ’24. Ford logged two warranty claims related to the issue in June, and then decided to issue a recall later that month. No crashes have been associated with the issue. But hey, if you had an embarrassing wipeout leaving a cars and coffee meetup in a ’22 or ’23 model-year Mustang, here’s your chance to blame it on your hardware! That’s a joke, by the way—not an actual insurance fraud endorsement.
Anyway, Ford Authority highlighted an important update to this small saga on Wednesday. A batch of 2022-2023 Ford Mustangs repaired in the previous recall, an estimated 332 cars, did not have the prior recall done correctly and need to be brought back to a dealer for another attempt. Ford’s new reference number for this is 25S11, and owners should expect a note about it from Ford on or around March 31.
The NHTSA and Ford are not deeming this a “do not drive” situation—it sounds like the potential steering wheel oscillation would be relatively minor if it’s essentially just the lane-keeping system acting up. Still, any unexpected steering is sketchy and, of course, recalling a recall is more than a little annoying for everyone involved. However, I will give Ford supplier Nexteer credit for raising the issue before it became a bigger one.
I dropped Ford a line to find out if there’s any other info owners and operators might need on this. Stay safe out there, Mustang pilots!
Had any recall nightmares yourself? Drop the author a note at [email protected].
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