NHTSA campaign 21V983000 · Part 573 safety recall report

Ford Motor Company: Latches/Locks/Linkages › Tailgate › Latch

Ford Motor Company reported this defect to federal regulators on Dec 16, 2021 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 57,591. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.

The defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-150 vehicles with manual and power release tailgates. The tailgate latches may unlatch unexpectedly while driving.

The risk

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

The remedy

Dealers will replace the left-hand and right-hand tailgate latches, free of charge. An interim notification letter was mailed January 31, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 31, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S53.

1 model year covered

Newest first
VehicleComplaintsRecallsFiresCrashes
2018 Ford F-1502,327193364

What this page is, and what to do next

A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.

This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 21V983000.

Full record for the 2018 Ford F-150 → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →