Ford recalls Edge, Fusion, Lincoln MKZ for transmission gremlins
Approximately 6,000 vehicles are affected in North America.
It's never a great time when your gas pedal stops providing forward motion. That's the reason behind Ford's latest recall.
Ford issued a recall for 5,914 examples of the 2017 Ford Edge, 2017 Ford Fusion and 2017 Lincoln MKZ. The Edges have build dates between April 25 and June 20, 2017. The Fusions have build dates between May 4 and June 15, 2017, and the MKZs have build dates between May 4 and June 19, 2017.
Thankfully, Park still works, so if you experience a loss of motive force, just pull over and put it in Park.
All the vehicles in question are equipped with 6F35 six-speed automatic transmissions. The torque converter is what's causing the problem here. In the affected vehicles, welded studs may detach, causing the torque converter to lose its connection to the engine's flexplate.
If that happens, the vehicle may lose all motive force, resulting in a gas pedal that won't do anything. All the rest of the vehicle's systems -- power steering, windows, airbags -- will still work. And the engine will rev, it just won't move the vehicle anywhere. The transmission will still work when placed into Park, too.
Ford's solution involves replacing the entire torque converter, which it will do for customers once their vehicles are brought back to dealerships. Ford is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this issue.