It’s becoming a disappointing cliché- another day, another Ford Mustang Mach-E recall. Whether brought to the market too quickly, or assembly line quality lapses are sneaking by, Ford is having recall problems with many of its new releases. The problem for the Mach-E this time causing a recall is broken half-shafts.  And the sequence of events leading up to the National Highway Traffic Safety recall is curious. 

Why did Ford issue a recall for the Mustang Mach-E?

Ford first knew about the issue in late July. At the Cuautitlan Assembly Plant in Mexico, two Mach-E Mustangs were found to have broken right rear half-shafts. One was found in a noise validation test, while the other was discovered during shipping inspection. 

Ford looked into the issue and found that the half-shaft in question only came online on July 18, 2022. It was manufactured by the new tier-2 supplier Neapco. But one operation in the manufacturing of the part was handled by Yecheng. So the American EV built in Mexico had an issue with a part made in China.

Why are the Mustang Mach-E Half-Shafts defective?

“Yecheng suspended its 100 percent inspection of the bottom wall thickness of the rear-right half shaft outer race production line due to labor shortages caused by the Chinese New Year,” according to Neapco. Not to be judgemental, but it would appear that Yecheng maybe shouldn’t be involved in making automobile components. 

The NHTSA discovered that “a thin wall on the outer race, allowed the half-shaft stem to break under load. Improper placement during the green turning in the lathe caused too much material to be removed, exceeding the specified minimum wall thickness of 9.1 millimeters (0.35 inches). In other words, Yengheng took off too much of the weld while machining it down. Even with excellent penetration, if the weld is too thin, it will break. 

Of the 4,608 half-shafts made, 504 were shipped to Ford’s Cuautitlan Assembly Plant. Once sorted and inspected, Neapco found seven non-compliant half-shafts. As of now, Ford is unaware of any accidents or warranty claims. 

How many Mach-E Mustangs are recalled?

NHTSA has recalled 1,175 Mach-E Mustangs, manufactured between July 18 and July 29. Owners will receive recall notices later this month. The fix is to replace the right rear half-shaft. Ford is also inspecting half-shafts as they come into the assembly plant. For more information, you can go to Ford’s recall site

This is the third recall for the 2022 Mach-E. Overall, there have been nine recalls since the Mach-E was launched. The two for 2022 models were for rear seat belts not being secured to the floor (22V412000). A second recall was for the high voltage battery main-contactors overheating (21V979000). This was issued in June.

The six recalls issued for the 2021 Mach-E included loose front subframe bolts (21V140000), panoramic roof panels blowing off due to insufficient bonding (21V712000), poorly bonded windshields (21V711000), Rear seat belts not anchored to the floor (21V979000), unintended acceleration due to a software problem on all-wheel-drive models (22V333000), and overheating high voltage battery main contactors (22V412000). 

RELATED: Lead Feet Cause Ford to Issue Another Mach-E Recall, This Time for a Relay

Related post url: