Ford bulletin SSM 54160
What it saysSome 2023-2025 F-Super Duty vehicles may exhibit a "Hill Start Assist Unavailable" and/or "Parking Brake Limited Function" message at vehicle start-up with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) U0151, U023A, U0159, and/or… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Aug 22, 2025, received Aug 26, 2025, about the service brakes. It names 12 model years (2023–2025). 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.
Get the next Ford bulletin for your model by email Weekly, only when something new is filed. Nothing else; one-click unsubscribe.
What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationSome 2023-2025 F-Super Duty vehicles may exhibit a "Hill Start Assist Unavailable" and/or "Parking Brake Limited Function" message at vehicle start-up with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) U0151, U023A, U0159, and/or U0146 stored in the anti-lock brake system (ABS) module. These DTCs and/or U0415 may also be present in various other modules related to "invalid data received from the ABS control module". This may be due to the software in the ABS module. To correct the condition, reprogram the ABS module using the latest software level of the Ford Diagnosis and Repair System (FDRS) scan tool. For claiming, use causal part 2C219 and labor operation 2219D and 2219D44.
Trouble codes it names: U0146 U0151 U0159 U023A U0415
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 54160 | Service bulletin | Aug 22, 2025 | 11022152 | PDF, 69 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.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themAlso filed against model years this site has no page for: 2023 Ford F-550 SD; 2024 Ford F-550 SD; 2025 Ford F-550 SD.
A vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
Email me new Ford bulletins for one of these models
A weekly email, sent only in a week when Ford files something new with NHTSA for the model you pick — service bulletins, campaigns, warranty extensions, over-the-air notices, every model year. Nothing else is sent; one-click unsubscribe in every message. Separate from recall alerts.
What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 9 model years this bulletin names have filed 211 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 25 of them name Service Brakes — 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.
there hasn't been an incident per say and these might not be a safety concern. however i would like to list my grievances here just so there's documentation. my radio has some type of glitch where the phone calls get static like its digital, also the mirrors don't fold in all the time when locked with the key fob, the brakes have…
2023 Ford F-250 Super Duty · Service Brakes · filed with NHTSA Mar 15, 2024
I have about 6,000 miles on the vehicle which was purchased new. There were 2 incidents prior to 2/15/26 (the 3rd incident), but it was only this 3rd incident whereby I could identify the problem. The 2 early incidents I only experienced the smell of burning rubber when driving and exiting the vehicle.
2025 Ford F-250 Super Duty · Service Brakes · filed with NHTSA Feb 18, 2026
Vehicle does not remember its previous settings: The following features may or may not be on, even if you have actively went through and turned them off or on. Local dealership has had this truck over 4 times and for days at a time. Nothing has been resolved of these safety functions.
2023 Ford F-450 Super Duty · Service Brakes · filed with NHTSA Jan 31, 2024
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 service brakes
Source: same model, same component group10 other manufacturer communications filed against these Ford models under the same component group (service brakes), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Ford list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 54448 | Service bulletin | Dec 16, 2025 | Some 2017-2026 F-Super Duty vehicles may exhibit a pull/drift condition during braking. This may be due to the brake pads needing to be brok… |
| SSM 54420 | Service bulletin | Dec 3, 2025 | Some 2023-2026 F-Super Duty vehicles built on or before 01-Oct-2025 may exhibit a "Hill Start Assist Unavailable" and/or "Parking Brake Limi… |
| SSM 53892 | Service bulletin | Jun 11, 2025 | Some 2023-2025 F-Super Duty vehicles may exhibit a "Hill Start Assist Unavailable" and/or "Parking Brake Limited Function" message at vehicl… |
| SSM 53239 | Service bulletin | Dec 17, 2024 | Some 2023-2025 F-Super Duty vehicles may require a replacement of the anti-lock brake system (ABS) module (2C219) during normal workshop man… |
| SSM 52590 | Service bulletin | Jun 5, 2024 | Some 2023-2024 F-Super Duty vehicles may require a replacement of the anti-lock brake system (ABS) module for various reasons. Replacing the… |
| SSM 52308 | Service bulletin | Feb 29, 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 B1D08:1… |
| 24G01 | Service bulletin | Feb 22, 2024 | Certain 2023-2024 Model Year F-250/350 Vehicles - Brake Vacuum Sensor Replacement |
| SSM 52015 | Service bulletin | Oct 24, 2023 | Some 2023 F-Super Duty vehicles equipped with vacuum assist brakes and built on or before 01-Aug-2023 may exhibit an illuminated brake warni… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Ford, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Ford SSM 54160 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 54160 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 54160 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 12 model years: 2025 Ford F-250 Super Duty, 2024 Ford F-250 Super Duty, 2023 Ford F-250 Super Duty, 2025 Ford F-350 Super Duty, 2024 Ford F-350 Super Duty, 2023 Ford F-350 Super Duty and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.