Ford bulletin SSM 51601
What it saysSome 2021-2023 F-150 and 2022-2023 F-Super Duty/Expedition/Navigator/Maverick vehicles equipped with an integrated trailer module (iTRM) may exhibit a trailer lamp fault message with various related diagnostic trouble… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated May 5, 2023, received May 24, 2023, about the trailer hitches. It names 22 model years across Ford and Lincoln (2021–2023). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
One page for every brand it was filed under. Each brand’s bulletins: Ford · Lincoln.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationSome 2021-2023 F-150 and 2022-2023 F-Super Duty/Expedition/Navigator/Maverick vehicles equipped with an integrated trailer module (iTRM) may exhibit a trailer lamp fault message with various related diagnostic trouble codes (DTC). Most trailer emulator testers will not draw enough current to correctly diagnose these concerns. They may be used to diagnose basic functionality of the iTRM, however, some trailer emulator testers may cause false trailer lamp fault messages to appear. The customer's trailer should be used for diagnosis instead of a trailer emulator tester. Refer to Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 417-01 for normal diagnostics.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 51601 | Service bulletin | May 5, 2023 | 10236029 | PDF, 8 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
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Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themFord 20 model years
Also filed against model years this site has no page for: 2022 Ford F-550 SD; 2023 Ford F-550 SD; 2022 Ford F-600 SD; 2022 Ford F-650 SD; 2023 Ford F-650 SD; 2022 Ford F-750 SD; 2023 Ford F-750 SD.
Lincoln 2 model years
A vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 15 model years this bulletin names have filed 4,098 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 929 of them name Electrical System — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
On the 2021 Ford F-150, the 32 owners who gave an odometer reading for Electrical System reported it at a median of 30,000 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
2022 Lincoln Navigator L Reserve has many issues with Modules one of them that keeps goes bad is Apin which controls the screen and all other features like Massage seats Running Boards and Music and all other controls that gets disabled when it goes bad it’s a frequent problem which I has been having often changed 3 times but the problem…
2022 Lincoln Navigator · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Jul 11, 2023
Brand new truck. Initial problem 6-8/2022: The truck would shut off after 15 minutes and then would not start for 45 minutes, I repeated this 4 times. Then while I was driving and turning around in a parking lot it actually stopped, everything went dead, no lights, key didn't have any affect, nothing, and then it started after 10-15…
2022 Ford F-250 Super Duty · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Jul 18, 2023
I pulled my 2022 Maverick into my parking spot at work and everything went dead. I had to use my key to open my tailgate. The tow service jumped the battery and it started, however, when they went to take it off the tow truck at the Ford dealership, it had to be jump started again. I was told the battery was bad and they changed it.
2022 Ford Maverick · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Aug 9, 2023
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the trailer hitches
Source: same model, same component group5 other manufacturer communications filed against these Ford models under the same component group (trailer hitches), newest first.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 52467 | Service bulletin | Apr 23, 2024 | Some 2022 F-Super Duty vehicles equipped with a 12.3 inch center display screen and 2023-2024 F-Super Duty vehicles may exhibit DTCs B1D08 a… |
| SSM 52466 | Service bulletin | Apr 23, 2024 | Some 2021-2023 F-150 vehicles may exhibit DTCs B1D08 And/Or B1D09 stored in the trailer module (TRM) with a Trailer Brake System Fault See M… |
| SSM 52363 | Service bulletin | Mar 15, 2024 | Some 2023-2024 F-Super Duty vehicles equipped with a trailer brake control module may exhibit a Trailer Disconnected message after cycling t… |
| SSM 52313 | Service bulletin | Mar 1, 2024 | Some 2021-2023 F-150 vehicles may exhibit DTCs B1D08:11 and/or B1D09:11 stored in the trailer module (TRM) with a Trailer Brake System Fault… |
| SSM 52279 | Service bulletin | Feb 21, 2024 | Some 2021-2023 F-150 vehicles may exhibit DTCs B1D08:11 and/or B1D09:11 stored in the trailer module (TRM) with a Trailer Brake System Fault… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Ford and Lincoln, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Ford SSM 51601 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the SSM 51601 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way.
Which vehicles does SSM 51601 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 22 model years across 2 brands (Ford and Lincoln): 2023 Ford Expedition, 2022 Ford Expedition, 2023 Ford F-150, 2022 Ford F-150, 2021 Ford F-150, 2023 Ford F-250 Super Duty and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.