Looks like another win for “Team Chevy” in the eternal battle between Chevy and Ford trucks.
Not too long ago, a number of Ford F-150s were recalled because their electronic parking breaks could randomly engage. Doesn’t seem like that would be a very helpful feature with your brand new, state-of-the-art truck, which is why over 900,000 F-150s were a part of the recall.
Having your big ole’ truck suddenly stop as you are driving 70 miles per hour down the interstate would definitely be inconvenient, but it would be even worse if right before that happened, unbearable sound was blasting through your speakers. You’d have to be pretty unlucky for both of those things to happen simultaneously…
Though there aren’t any reports of any Ford drivers dealing with both of those things at the same time, there have been a good amount of people notify the manufacturers that the speakers of their F-150 have played a loud, static-like sound that cannot be shut off. Drivers have even reported that the sound persists even after the truck is shut off.
Ford has recognized the over 100 complaints and states that they believe that they have developed a fix for the issue. F-150 owners should soon be able to download a software update that hopefully resolves the annoying noise, and though it is clearly a widespread problem, the manufacturer said in a statement that they won’t issue a recall:
“We know it may be startling and frustrating for customers who have had the problem, but, based on what we’ve analyzed to this point, we don’t believe it rises to the level of a recallable safety defect.”
The issue has mainly been seen in models of the Ford truck between 2021 and 2023, including both the hybrid and gas versions of the truck.
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration even made it public that they were aware of the potential defect, saying:
“The agency is aware of the issue and to date has received multiple vehicle owner complaints. We will continue to closely monitor and evaluate the issue for safety and take action if necessary.”
According to a Wall Street Journal report, which first broke the story, some F-150 owners recorded the ear-piercing static sound to be as loud as 109 decibels.
For reference, that type of sound level is usually found at loud music concerts.
That kind of noise contained in the cab of your truck, for what some owners are saying goes on for longer than 15 minutes, would have to be unbearable…
