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Deliveries of the new Ford F-150 have been placed on pause due to a fault discovered under the bonnet after the pick-ups were converted from left- to right-hand drive.
A ‘stop-sale’ notice has been issued for the new Ford F-150 pick-up in Australia while a suspected fault related to the turbocharger is investigated.
Customer deliveries of the F-150 – which is ‘re-manufactured’ from left- to right-hand drive in Melbourne by Thai company RMA Automotive, with Ford’s backing – have only been underway since late November 2023.
Ford Australia dealers have been advised to pause deliveries on vehicles in stock or en route to showrooms until the issue – described only as related to the engine’s turbocharger” – is fixed.
“Out of an abundance of caution Ford Australia has placed a temporary hold on F-150s that are on their way to dealers or in dealer stock, after three re-manufactured vehicles presented with a turbo-charger related concern,” a Ford Australia spokesperson said in a written statement to Drive.
“Customers who have taken delivery can continue to drive their vehicle. We are committed to delivering the highest quality vehicle for our customers, and are working quickly to investigate and resolve the issue.
“We understand the inconvenience it will cause those who are waiting for their vehicle to be delivered and we thank them for their patience.”
It is the first time RMA – which has to date specialised in modifying Ford Ranger utes for use by police and military in Asia – has undertaken a vehicle conversion program on this scale.
It is conducted with the backing – and under the supervision of – Ford in Australia and Detroit, and the vehicles are sold through Ford Australia dealers with full factory warranties.
US pick-ups sold in Australian showrooms from Ram, Chevrolet and soon Toyota are also remanufactured from left- to right-hand drive in Melbourne, by the Walkinshaw Automotive Group – the engineering firm formerly behind Holden Special Vehicles.
All Ford F-150 pick-ups in Australia are powered by 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 engines with 298kW and 678Nm, matched with a 10-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive.
At present it is the only turbocharged V6 in a class of non-turbo petrol V8s.
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