NHTSA Complaint #11623949 — 2017 FORD F-250

2 years ago both batteries needed replacement on my 2017 diesel f250. I noticed passenger positive battery cable at battery had a large amount of what I can only describe as large amount of gray cottage cheese on the passenger positive battery connector and cable. Dealer suggested a wire new battery cable which is actually a wiring harness ($2300) if they could not repair the issue. Luckily they were able to clean the cable connector and down the cable which was also affected. They also treated the cable and connector so it would not corrode further. Unfortunately the design of the cable is flawed as approximately 1 to 2 inches of bare cable before the connector is exposed without the red rubber coating to the battery gasses which causes the corrosion to travel down the cable/harness. During the last 2 years I monitored the cables for corrosion and they have held up well with no corrosion. Recently I noticed starting becoming a little sluggish plus I got an alert that said Adaptive Steering Fault Service Required. This also caused the steering wheel to turn to the left to the 10 o’clock position when going straight. Noticed on google that voltage could affect the adaptive steering component. Assuming my batteries need replaced luckily under warranty the dealer inspected the truck. Their verdict so far is that I need a new Positive Battery Cable Wire Harness at an outrageous cost of $4596.59! A price increase of $2296 in 2 years. They also want to charge $465.88 to diagnose the Adaptive Steering Fault alert. I contacted Ford Consumer on the issue because this is a known issue on other models and years but not mine. I’ve actually known others with same battery harness issues going back years. Unacceptable! The truck has approximately 75k miles.