The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2023 Transit vehicles equipped with the Special Vehicle Operations Accessory Service Kit #1 or #2 with a High Specification Vehicle Interface Connector. When the accessory kit is installed, the auxiliary wire harness will disable the heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation (HVAC) including the defrost and defog systems. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 103, "Windshield Defrosting and Defogging Systems."
The risk
An inoperative windshield defrosting and defogging system may decrease the driver's visibility under certain driving conditions, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will repair the auxiliary wire harness by modifying the wire harness to include the necessary twisted loop, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 20, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 23C02.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ford Transit | 2023 |
Components: VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Transit | 2023 | 60 | 18 |
Other visibility recalls in 2023
20 of the 894 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2023 concerned the visibility; Ford Motor Company filed 737 campaigns in all.
| 23V856000 17 Dec 2023 | Bombardier Recreational Products, Inc. |
| 23V812000 4 Dec 2023 | Gillig, LLC |
| 23V783000 21 Nov 2023 | Rivian Automotive, LLC |
| 23V733000 1 Nov 2023 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC |
| 23V688000 13 Oct 2023 | Ford Motor Company |
| 23V681000 12 Oct 2023 | General Motors, LLC |
| 23V518000 27 Jul 2023 | Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC |
| 23V511000 24 Jul 2023 | Volvo Trucks North America |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2023