Pending Bilstein Shock Recall

Bluestreak57

Got my letter today… yay!

I am feeling left out!

After spending several hours first on costumer service chat the on the phone. Gotta say, everyone I spoke to was very nice and understanding. Unfortunately, nobody had enough “horsepower” to get anything done. Whenever they tried to connect me with someone who could I would get disconnected or sent to someone who had nothing to do with Struts , recalls or in one case Ford. I was also connected to a parts counter at a ford dealership in Michigan…..? What I did learn was they hope to have a resolution by September. That’s it.

I stopped by the Bilstein booth at Hammer Town and chatted up their guys about this and they actually had the replacement for the Bronco’s on display not a lot of difference. They said that these have been around for a while and that the Bronco is the only vehicle with the issue. Especially in the areas with salted roads. I also saw their upgraded offering for those looking to really update the suspension.

TK1215

I stopped by the Bilstein booth at Hammer Town and chatted up their guys about this and they actually had the replacement for the Bronco’s on display not a lot of difference. They said that these have been around for a while and that the Bronco is the only vehicle with the issue. Especially in the areas with salted roads. I also saw their upgraded offering for those looking to really update the suspension.

Yeah , I gotta call BS on blaming salt. This isn’t a corrosion issue. It’s what happens when little Chinese children are “tack welding “ reservoirs.

J.bell

Yeah , I gotta call BS on blaming salt. This isn’t a corrosion issue. It’s what happens when little Chinese children are “tack welding “ reservoirs.

They asked me where I live and when I told them Arizona they said, “don’t worry you won’t have a problem, it pretty much only happens in areas that put salt down on the roads.“ I tried pretty hard to get them to fall apart this weekend with no luck. 🤣

J.bell

Yeah , I gotta call BS on blaming salt. This isn’t a corrosion issue. It’s what happens when little Chinese children are “tack welding “ reservoirs.

Back when we were all waiting on our Broncos it seems like I saw a video on how they were made all in house. Could have been a LiteBrite video but can't remember.

Rydfree

Back when we were all waiting on our Broncos it seems like I saw a video on how they were made all in house. Could have been a LiteBrite video but can't remember.

LiteBrite doesn’t know sh!t. She talks out of her a$$ all the time.

Also, got my letter today!

TechnicalDisaster

LiteBrite doesn’t know sh!t. She talks out of her a$$ all the time.

Also, got my letter today!

I really got to go check the mail…

Bluestreak57

Got my letter today… yay!

I got mine a few days ago. It was a formality as nothing could be done about it until the second half of the year. 😣

I’m thinking about putting a schrader. Valve in and pressing to put a little rebound in it since ford doesn’t want to do anything. And wait for the remedy. I don’t see any corrosion here. Just a piss poor welding job. I’ll clean it for a better view.

BuckYeah

Thanks for the heads-up, Tim. It's discouraging news. So, I guess there's no point in worrying about talking to my dealer about this until July, the start of Q3.

I suppose those in the rustbelt should be especially concerned. 😳

Or September , Q3 doesn`t mean day 1 .

C6ZZGT

Or September , Q3 doesn`t mean day 1 .

I’m an optimist. 🤪

I propose the “recall libation game “. It always seems like we’re waiting for Ford to do something.

From what I’m getting from ford guys and bilstein, Ive deduced the recall will be a bilstein product. That being said, I bought a pair of 5100s. I’ll keep my receipt. What could possibly go wrong?

Quick Update...I wrote a bad Google review for Don Hinds Ford in Fishers on February 4th after they turned me away with no recourse for fixing my already failed shock. One of their glad hand social media folks replied pretty promptly (as they do, to make it look like they're actually doing something), asking me to reach out to the service manager. I emailed the Service Manager on 02/04/25. On 02/10 (six days later) I finally got a reply from the service manager, stating that he had been working with Ford to find a remedy and hadn't had much luck yet. I pointed out that the recall page specifically states that HE should be reaching out to the SSSC (whatever that is) for guidance on what to do. He suggested that I call. But, if someone who works for Ford can't reach out to someone ELSE from Ford, and get an answer on this...what does he think Ford Corporate is going to do for me? They canceled my original color! They took away my standard modular bumper and made me buy it back. They have shown me that customers are the lowest priority possible. And I'm not going to sit on the phone for god knows how long, to advocate for myself. Ford Dealerships are the customer interface for Ford, and they should be advocating for their customers.

Well...since the dealership suggested it, I reached out to Ford support through Facebook. Their response was the same garbage I already know. "sometime in Q3....blah blah blah". So I guess I'm going to be submitting a complaint to the NHTSA. According to the NHTSA letter in response to the original recall notification (found here: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2025/RCAK-25V025-4413.pdf)

"Please be reminded that under 49 U.S.C. § 30112(a)(3), it is illegal for a manufacturer, to sell, offer for sale, import, or introduce or deliver into interstate commerce, a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment that contains a safety defect once the manufacturer has notified NHTSA about that safety defect. This prohibition does not apply once the motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment has been remedied according to the manufacturer's instructions."

I would argue that, since I had it at the dealership, and it was given back to me in defective order, that would fall under "introduce or deliver into interstate commerce, a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment that contains a safety defect once the manufacturer has notified NHTSA about that safety defect.".

nrlucas

Well...since the dealership suggested it, I reached out to Ford support through Facebook. Their response was the same garbage I already know. "sometime in Q3....blah blah blah". So I guess I'm going to be submitting a complaint to the NHTSA. According to the NHTSA letter in response to the original recall notification (found here: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2025/RCAK-25V025-4413.pdf)

"Please be reminded that under 49 U.S.C. § 30112(a)(3), it is illegal for a manufacturer, to sell, offer for sale, import, or introduce or deliver into interstate commerce, a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment that contains a safety defect once the manufacturer has notified NHTSA about that safety defect. This prohibition does not apply once the motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment has been remedied according to the manufacturer's instructions."

I would argue that, since I had it at the dealership, and it was given back to me in defective order, that would fall under "introduce or deliver into interstate commerce, a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment that contains a safety defect once the manufacturer has notified NHTSA about that safety defect.".

Good luck, but your interpretation of the statute isn’t correct. Your vehicle was already part of interstate commerce once it left the factory.

Update: I put a set of 5100s on the rear. 100% better than the originals ever were. Left was completely flat, probably because the reservoir was missing. Just a guess. The right that had already been replaced was corroded and seeping fluid. So I looked at the fronts, they’re also in sorry shape.
Hey @Ford Motor Company any thoughts? Not like these aren’t important like a backup camera.