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2020 Ford F-53 Recalls & Complaints

1

open safety recall on record

Critical

28 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.00 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Critical21V202000

Suspension:Rear

Failure of the rear axle or driveshaft may cause the loss of motive power, failure of the parking brake, and the inability to shift the transmission into "PARK," raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the rear wheel bearings, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 12, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S17.

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2021 F-53 Motorhome Stripped Chassis and F-59 Commercial Stripped Chassis vehicles. An inadequate amount of rear axle lubricant may cause rear wheel bearing damage and bearing seizure, and rear axle or driveshaft failure.

Complaint volume

28 this model-year 6 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

0Crashes
0Fires
0Injuries
0Deaths

Across 28 complaints. Severity Index 0.00.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Suspension7 · 25%Power Train5 · 18%Service Brakes5 · 18%Electrical System2 · 7%Structure2 · 7%Wheels1 · 4%Engine And Engine Cooling…1 · 4%Vehicle Speed Control1 · 4%
  1. Suspension — 7 reports
  2. Power Train — 5 reports
  3. Service Brakes — 5 reports
  4. Electrical System — 2 reports
  5. Structure — 2 reports
  6. Wheels — 1 reports
  7. Engine And Engine Cooling:Exhaust System — 1 reports
  8. Vehicle Speed Control — 1 reports
  9. Unknown Or Other — 1 reports
  10. Equipment:Recreational Vehicle/Trailer — 1 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

1995 (2) · 1996 (2) · 1997 (2) · 2011 (1) · 2012 (1) · 2013 (1) · 2014 (1) · 2015 · 2016 (1) · 2017 (1) · 2018 · 2019 · 2020 · 2021 (1) · 2022 (2) · 2023 (1) · 2024 (1) · 2025 (3)

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.

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