The Ford F-150 got off to a rocky start in Australia as the American pickup is now affected by a second sales freeze and customer deliveries have stopped.
Deliveries of the F-150 to dealers from RMA Automotive – which converts the pickup from left-hand to right-hand drive in Melbourne – were paused last week due to an undisclosed fault.
While dealers were able to continue selling stock vehicles, today’s sales halt has resulted in an immediate pause in customer deliveries of the Ford F-150 due to the pickup truck failing to comply with certain undisclosed Australian Design Rules (ADRs).
“Ford Australia has temporarily suspended the sale and supply of all remanufactured F-150s because we have determined that the specifications of certain lighting features do not meet Australian regulatory requirements,” a Ford Australia spokesperson said CarExpert.
“Affected vehicles can only be delivered to customers once the relevant repair work has been completed.”
As partial compensation for Australian F-150 owners, Ford is offering free maintenance for the first five years or 75,000km (whichever comes first) to those who have received or signed contracts for their pickups by May 6, 2024 .
This replaces the existing four-year/60,000km service program where each visit cost $429.
It is the second pause in deliveries of the F-150 to customers since its local launch began in December 2023.
Sales and customer deliveries were suspended on January 1, 2024 after a turbocharger fault was discovered during the overhaul process that could cause the pickup to enter limp mode.
The pickup has also been affected by three recalls in the last six months.
In January, the F-150 was recalled due to a steering problem. The owners were instructed to stop driving immediately as there was a risk of the rack becoming detached from the intermediate shaft.
In the following weeks there was a second recall due to a defect in the clock spring, which could result in the driver’s airbag not functioning in an accident.
The third and most recent recall occurred last month, this time due to the fact that the F-150’s side direction indicators did not comply with Australian Design Rules (ADRs).
Unlike its North American pickup truck competitors like the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado, the F-150 is converted from left-hand to right-hand drive by Ford’s Thai partner RMA Automotive, not Walkinshaw Automotive Group.
Ram 1500s delivered in Australia were converted to right-hand drive by Walkinshaw – the former parent company of Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) – and its importer Ateco in a company branded American Special Vehicles (ASV).
The Chevrolet Silverado was also rebuilt for a time in the same building as the Ram 1500, but demand for the latter led to the former operation moving to a smaller facility in 2022.
Walkinshaw was also commissioned by Toyota to carry out the Tundra modifications. The pickup is currently being leased to a limited number of customers to ensure the third-party provider’s processes meet the auto giant’s strict standards.
MORE: All Ford F-150s