Ford is recalling 200,061 vehicles in the United States because of a software fault that can knock out the rearview camera. Owners may see a blank screen when they shift into reverse. Or the image may hang on the display after they stop backing up.
Ford told U.S. safety regulators that either symptom raises the chance of a crash and injury. The frozen image is a distraction. The blank one leaves the driver with a worse view of what is behind the vehicle.
Which vehicles
The recall spans Ford and Lincoln models built for the 2018 to 2024 model years, though the exact range differs by vehicle. The Ford list includes the Transit Connect, F-150, Explorer, Bronco Sport, Maverick, Ranger, Mustang, Expedition, EcoSport, Escape, Fusion, Edge, F-250 Super Duty and Corsair. On the Lincoln side it takes in the Continental, Navigator, Nautilus and Aviator.
What goes wrong inside
According to the recall report, the trouble sits in the SYNC 3 software that runs the infotainment system. A log file routine interferes with the SYNC Accessory Protocol Interface Module, known as the APIM, and eats up its free memory. Once the memory is gone, the module cannot write new files, and the camera display starts to misbehave.
The report says the same error can produce symptoms with no safety angle, such as the wrong language setting or trouble receiving software updates.
How Ford found it
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation notified Ford on Jan. 17 that owners of 2021 to 2023 Bronco Sport models had complained about the camera image. On March 27, Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group took up the issue. From April through May, the group went through warranty data for every rearview camera component on the affected vehicles.
It found a rise in image complaints on vehicles built from March 2023 through November 2023. Those build dates matched the rollout of one particular SYNC 3 software release.
The fix
Dealers will update the camera software at no charge. Ford expects to mail owner notification letters starting July 28. The recall number is 25S72. Owners can call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332, or reach NHTSA’s vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236.
Sources
- Ford recalls more than 200,000 vehicles over malfunctioning rearview camera
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Sources
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