Ford is recalling nearly 300,000 Super Duty and Medium trucks due to complications stemming from—and we really can’t make this up—the COVID-19 pandemic. The impacted trucks shipped with 6.7-liter diesel engines equipped with a high-pressure fuel pump (HPFP) that is sensitive to the buildup of deposits found in biodiesel that has sat too long, like during the long supply-chain disruptions that resulted from the outbreak of COVID. Over time, these deposits accelerate wear on the pump, leading to eventual failure.
The recall applies to the 2020-2022 Ford F-Series Super Duty and Medium Truck lineup (F250, F350, F450, F550, F600) equipped with the 6.7L Power Stroke.
The recall report is rather matter-of-fact about the nature of the failure. After all, it’s a fairly mundane issue. Ford says the deposits will form on the pump drivetrain roller and inside the tappet body cooling passages, where they’ll increase wear on the pump components and introduce debris into the fuel system. Partial pump failure may result in long cranks, poor power delivery, and a “check engine” light. Once the HPFP fails entirely, you’re stranded.
It took Ford a while to track this one down. The company first noted an uptick in warranty work on the high-pressure fuel pumps in trucks equipped with the 6.7-liter “Scorpion” engine in September of 2021. Initially, Ford suspected a bad batch of fuel pumps—the infamous Bosch CP4 HPFP, no less. After replacing the part with a newer, more robust unit in production, Ford (in communication with NHTSA) observed that many of the initial part failures could be traced to a single cause:
“Between February 2022 and October 2022, Ford continued to evaluate warranty data trends, review returned parts from the field, interview customers and analyze connected vehicle data,” Ford’s chronology said. “Based on this analysis, Ford determined that the failed pumps were a result of aged biodiesel caused by fuel sitting for extended periods of time during COVID shutdowns.”
As for the owners of the 295,449 trucks already in circulation, Ford has not only updated the part but reprogrammed its trucks to improve cooling of the HPFP, which will reduce the buildup of aged biodiesel deposits. Customers with the old parts will receive the same updates and anybody who has already had their fuel pump serviced or replaced due to this problem will be eligible for compensation from Ford.
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