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NHTSA campaign 19V864000

2017–2019 Ford F-250 Super Duty and 2 other Ford models: latches/locks/linkages recall

Unintended tailgate opening may allow unrestrained cargo to fall out of the truck bed and become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

high231,664 vehicles affected77% reported repaired

What was reported

Source: manufacturer filing, 49 CFR Part 573
ProblemFord Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Super Duty F-250, F-350, and F-450 trucks equipped with an electric tailgate latch release switch mounted in the tailgate handle. Water may enter the electrical wiring system and cause a short circuit, activating the switch and releasing the tailgate latches.RiskUnintended tailgate opening may allow unrestrained cargo to fall out of the truck bed and become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.FixFord will notify owners, and dealers will modify the tailgate/frame wiring harnesses by adding jumper pigtails to isolate the tailgate release control circuits and will install a new tailgate handle release switch, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin January 20, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S48.

Reported to NHTSA Dec 4, 2019 by Ford Motor Company, owners notified Jan 22, 2020.

Which vehicles are covered

Source: NHTSA campaign 19V864000

Vehicles built Oct 8, 2015 to Nov 3, 2019 — a VIN outside that window is not part of this campaign even if the year, make and model match.

Model yearClassSafety SignalRecalls on file
2017 Ford F-250 Super DutyPickup truckF14
2018 Ford F-250 Super DutyPickup truckF9
2019 Ford F-250 Super DutyPickup truckF11
2017 Ford F-350 Super DutyPickup truckF13
2018 Ford F-350 Super DutyPickup truckF9
2019 Ford F-350 Super DutyPickup truckF11
2017 Ford F-450 Super DutyPickup truckF15
2018 Ford F-450 Super DutyPickup truckF10
2019 Ford F-450 Super DutyPickup truckF13

Those are the model years inside WhichTrim's range, 2016 onward. The campaign may cover others outside it, and the only thing that settles whether one specific vehicle is included is its VIN.

How much of it has been fixed

Source: manufacturer quarterly report, 49 CFR 573.7
Reported repaired77%

of the campaign

The final figure: the six quarters of reporting that 49 cfr 573.7 requires have closed.

This is the manufacturer's own cumulative count of vehicles it has inspected and repaired, divided by the vehicles the campaign covers. It files that count with NHTSA every quarter for six consecutive quarters, starting from the quarter in which owners were told a remedy was ready, and then the obligation ends — so a figure on an older campaign is where the count stopped, not where it stands today.

It rarely reaches 100%, and not because the work was not done. The same report asks manufacturers to count vehicles they could not reach at all — exported, stolen, scrapped, or simply never located — and those stay in the denominator. A low number means a lot of these vehicles are still out there unrepaired; it does not tell you which ones.

The federal paperwork

Source: nhtsa.gov

Filed documents

NHTSA has not published the scanned filings for this campaign, or has not published them yet. The campaign record itself is on their site.

Check one specific vehicle

A recall applies to a build range, so year, make and model cannot settle it. NHTSA checks a VIN against the manufacturer's own list and tells you whether the repair is still outstanding on that vehicle.

NHTSA VIN recall lookup →

Campaign 19V864000 · the manufacturer calls it 19S48

Common questions

Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR Part 573

Does this recall repair cost anything?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to remedy a safety defect or a compliance failure at no charge, for vehicles up to 15 years old measured from the date of first sale. A dealer that asks you to pay for a recall repair is in the wrong.

How do I know whether my vehicle is included?

By VIN, not by model year. This campaign covers vehicles built Oct 8, 2015 to Nov 3, 2019. The manufacturer files a build range with NHTSA and only vehicles inside it are covered, so two identical-looking cars from the same year can differ. NHTSA's own lookup checks a VIN against the manufacturer's list.

What if the repair is not available yet?

It happens, and often. Manufacturers must notify owners when a defect is found even if the parts or the software are not ready, then notify them a second time once the remedy exists. The remedy filed for this campaign is described above.

What did the manufacturer say was wrong?

The problem, risk and fix quoted on this page are the manufacturer's own words as filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR Part 573. WhichTrim does not paraphrase them.

Who started this recall?

NHTSA's record credits NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. A recall can begin with the manufacturer's own testing, with a defect investigation, or with a compliance test against a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.