Recall, recall, recall! That is the word of the day for legacy automaker Ford (F), who finds itself looking at multiple product recalls going into the last day of the year. From hybrid SUVs to its biggest trucks, everybody is taking them back to the dealership for one fix or another. But investors are apparently used to this sort of thing by now, as Ford shares notched fractionally higher in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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The first major recall features just under 12,000 F-150 Lightning electric vehicles due to what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) called “an increased risk of crashing.” Prompting this increased risk of crashing is a nut in the front upper control arm’s ball joint, which may not have been tightened properly at the factory, the report noted.
Should this nut fail, the front upper arm control could actually detach from the knuckle assembly, which in turn would cause what WHTM called “…the loss of vehicle steering and control.” The fix I, apparently, quite simple. Just take your truck back to the dealership, who will then inspect it, and replace either the nut or the entire knuckle assembly at no charge.
And Then The Hybrids Got Involved
Hybrids are big business for Ford right now, so keeping a particular eye on their quality would seem to be the smart play. Sadly, there was a miss on quality that led to 20,484 vehicles getting recalled. At issue here are the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair models from 2020 to 2024, which feature “…a manufacturing defect in one or more of the high voltage battery cells….”
This issue, if left unresolved, could “…result in an internal short circuit and battery failure.” The process once more requires drivers to return to the dealership, where they will perform a software update on the battery energy control module. From there, the battery pack will be replaced, where needed, at no charge, notes the NHTSA.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on three Buys, eight Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 12.9% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $10.73 per share implies 8.49% upside potential.
