Safety Recall 22S20 – Windshield Reseal – 2016 & 2020 Ford Transit Connect

March 25, 2022 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 22V192000

Inadequate Front Windshield Adhesion

During a crash, the windshield may detach from the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V192

Manufacturer Ford Motor Company

Components VISIBILITY

Potential Number of Units Affected 39,720

 

Summary

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016 and 2020 Transit Connect vehicles. The front windshield may have been manufactured with inadequate adhesion to the vehicle body structure.

 

Remedy

Dealers will inspect the windshield and, if necessary, remove and reinstall the windshield, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed April 18, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford’s number for this recall is 22S20.

 

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

 

Check if your Vehicle has a Recall

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AFFECTED VEHICLES

 

 

REASON FOR THIS SAFETY RECALL

On some of the affected vehicles, inadequate urethane adhesion may exist between the windshield and the vehicle around significant portions of the glass. An improperly adhered windshield may not stay adequately retained in a crash, which may increase the risk of injury to an occupant.  Affected vehicles could experience increased wind noise, water leaks or looseness of the windshield glass.

 

SERVICE ACTION

DO NOT DEMONSTRATE OR DELIVER any new in-stock vehicles involved in this safety recall. A complete Dealer Bulletin will be provided to dealers the early to mid-2nd qtr. 2022 when it is anticipated that parts ordering information and repair instructions will be available to support this safety recall.

IMPORTANT: Dealers should open a Repair Order (RO) only when a full dealer bulletin is published. Opening an RO against an Awareness or Advance Notice will result in warranty rejections against a recall.

 

CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION

Owners of record will be notified via first-class mail after repair instructions and parts ordering information have been provided to dealers.

PLEASE NOTE:

Federal law requires dealers to complete this recall service before a new vehicle is delivered to the buyer or lessee. Violation of this requirement by a dealer could result in a civil penalty of up to $21,000 per vehicle. Correct all vehicles in your new vehicle inventory prior to delivery.

 

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22S20 Chronology
Ford Motor Company
Date of Submission:  March 25, 2022
FSA Number:  22S20

Title:  2016, 2020 Transit Connect Windshield Inadequate Adhesion

 

On July 31, 2019, due to an increase in field claims related to 2016-2018MY Transit Connect windshield water leak, wind noise,and looseness Ford Manufacturing and Engineering brought this concern to Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group (CCRG) for review.

 

From July 2019-January 2021 Ford’s CCRG investigated field reports and field return windshields with Engineering.  Claims primarily described instances of water leak with a smaller number of claims describing wind noise or windshield glass looseness. There were no reports of windshield glass detachment from the vehicle.  CCRG and Engineering also collected six 20152016 model year windshield samples from customers who had reported symptoms of water leak or glass looseness.   After reviewing field reports and returned parts, CCRG determined that the failures primarily related to minor wind noise and water leaks associated with limited adhesion issues and were not safety-related.

 

From February 2021-April 2021, Ford’s Technical Review Group (TRG) reviewed available claim data and assessments of the vehicles’ performance to requirements for windshield mounting.  The six field return windshields analyzed, along with details of field claims reviewed, led TRG to conclude the degree of inadequate urethane adhesion observed in the six field return windshields was not adequately representative of the overall population of vehicles.  CCRG’s detailed review of hundreds of claims described limited portions of the windshield periphery that experienced inadequate adhesion, whereas the field return parts show a greater degree of inadequate urethane adhesion.  Based upon the assessment of all of the available information, the CCRG determined that an unreasonable risk to safety did not exist and put the investigation  into monitor status for regular review of any subsequent related claims which were received.

 

From April 2021-September 2021 the investigation was in monitor status.

 

In September 2021, during a monitor data review, CCRG observed an increase in warranty claims related to windshield water leak or glass looseness for 2020MY vehicles at 12 months in service.  A review of warranty claim data for the 2020MY vehicles described similar symptoms as the previously studied population of 2015-2016MY vehicles of primarily water leak with a smaller number of claims describing wind noise or looseness of the glass.  There were no reports of windshield glass detachment from the vehicle.

 

From September 2021-January 2022 Ford’s CCRG investigated the 2020MY claims with Engineering.  CCRG and Engineering also collected one 2020MY windshield sample from a customer repaired under vehicle warranty who reported water leakage.

 

From January 2021-March 2022 Ford’s TRG reviewed additional claim data and both supplier and Ford manufacturing processes and controls during the period of elevated 2020MY warranty claims.  TRG reevaluated all field return samples and claim details collected during the course of the investigation, confirmed samples were randomly selected, and concluded the assessment of field return samples may be representative of the larger population of vehicles produced during periods of elevated claims for this condition.

 

2016MY Affected Population Warranty and Field Reports:

As of February 8, 2022, there are approximately 217 warranty claims describing windshield adhesion issues.  The earliest warranty report describing a windshield adhesion issue was from August 2016.

Ford has received approximately 325 field reports from August 2016-October 2021.

 

2020MY Affected Population Warranty and Field Reports:

As of February 8, 2022, there are approximately 146 warranty claims describing  windshield adhesion issues.  The earliest warranty report describing a windshield adhesion issue was from March 2020.

Ford has received approximately 64 field reports from December 2020-February 2022

 

On March 18, 2022, Ford’s Field Review Committee reviewed the concern and approved a field action.

 

Ford is not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to this condition.

 

The supplier details for the windshield primer and urethane are as follows:

Company Name:  DUPONT SPECIALTY PRODUCTS GmbH& CO.

Address 1: Strabe B, 13
Address 2:
City: Schkopau
State:
Zip Code: 06258
Country: Germany

Company Contact Information

First Name: Jessica
Last Name: Grund
Position: Quality Specialist
Phone: +49 34 612446387
E-mail: [email protected]

 

Involved Components

If the defect or non compliance involves a specific component(s), identify that component(s) below.

Component Name:  Windshield Urethane
Component Description: Betaseal 1858-1 Windshield Urethane
Component Part Number: WSS-M2G316-B5

 

Involved Components

If the defect or non compliance involves a specific component(s), identify that component(s) below.

Component Name: Glass Primer
Component Description: Betaprime 5550 Glass Primer
Component Part Number: WSS-M2G314-B2

 

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2 Affected Products

Vehicle

 

 

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4 Associated Documents

Manufacturer Notices(to Dealers,etc) – NEW VEHICLE DEMONSTRATION / DELIVERY HOLD – Advance Notice – Safety Recall 22S20 Certain 2016 and 2020 Model Year Transit Connect Vehicles Windshield Reseal

RCMN-22V192-1181.pdf 157.329KB

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-22V192-5167.PDF 216.08KB

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Miscellaneous Document – Chronology

RMISC-22V192-5696.pdf 326.796KB

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-22V192-1718.pdf 645.186KB

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Latest Recalls Documents

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=22V192&docType=RCL

 

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