NHTSA Complaint #11577374 — 2022 FORD F-150

After a recurring dashboard alert to tell me that front sensors and rear braking were offline, I took the vehicle for warranty repair. The Ford dealer indicated that the repair would cost $519, because it was a wiring failure and not a failure in a part. According to the service advisor, the failure is a common failure that occurs at a tee where the wiring branches to a sensor just behind the rear bumper. He said that it is not covered by Ford's "bumper to bumper" warranty because it's a wiring failure and not a part failure (although the subject wiring harness does carry a Ford part number). Since my 2022 truck had only about 14,000 miles and had been lightly used (no off-road use), I balked at the notion that it should not be Ford's responsibility to replace the wiring harness. I paid only the diagnosis fee ($155) and took the truck home. On investigation, I found the harness and sensor wire he described to be easily accessible and easily damaged by any sort of road debris. I also found the wiring from the harness to the sensor to be unsupported, leading me to conclude that resonance due to normal road vibrations could have led to metal fatigue in the wire. It's my view that Ford's conclusion that this is normal wear and tear on a truck is ludicrous. I expressed this view in a letter to Ford's Consumer Relationship Center, but the response was simply to back the dealer's determination. They did provide the option to seek a second dealer opinion, but my concern is more about the long-term vulnerability as I am capable of repairing or replacing the harness myself. It's my conclusion that the joint should be shielded from road hazards and the wires to the sensors should be separately supported to reduce stress on the joint in the harness. My belief that this is a matter for NHTSB is based on the fact that the harness failure compromises rear emergency braking.