# Ford recalling nearly 243,000 Maverick small pickup trucks in the U.S. because the tail lights may not illuminate

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/ford-recalling-nearly-243-000-maverick-small-pickup-trucks-in-the-u-s-because-the-tail-lights-may-not-illuminate/194826>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [May 1, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ford-recalling-nearly-243-000-maverick-small-pickup-trucks-in-the-u-s-because-the-tail-lights-may-not-illuminate/194826 "2024-05-01T16:15:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ford-recalling-nearly-243-000-maverick-small-pickup-trucks-in-the-u-s-because-the-tail-lights-may-not-illuminate/194826/1 "2024-05-01T16:15:22Z")

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> **[Ford recalls Maverick trucks over faulty tail lights](https://www.9news.com/article/news/nation-world/ford-recalls-maverick-pickups-over-faulty-headlights/507-59e83d32-7917-4953-8c98-1ed566b814d0)**
>
> The recall covers certain pickups from the 2022 through 2024 model years.

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**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 10:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ford-recalling-nearly-243-000-maverick-small-pickup-trucks-in-the-u-s-because-the-tail-lights-may-not-illuminate/194826/2 "2024-05-01T22:11:02Z")

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Apparently the body control computer decides (incorrectly) that the current to the taillights is over-spec. So in response it turns the tail lights off completely. It would be interesting to know the reason why the body control computer makes that mistake? Computer fault? Broken solder joint? Wrong part installed?

I can see why Ford engineers might want to add a safety function to have the body computer check for short circuits developing , b/c a short circuit could cause a car fire. But if that causes the taillights to turn off when there’s no short circuit, seems worse than not having the short circuit detecting safety function. Another example of the complexity vs reliability compromise maybe?

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**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 1:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ford-recalling-nearly-243-000-maverick-small-pickup-trucks-in-the-u-s-because-the-tail-lights-may-not-illuminate/194826/3 "2024-05-02T01:50:55Z")

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> [@George\_San\_Jose1](#):
>
> It would be interesting to know the reason why the body control computer makes that mistake?

Visit [NHTSA.gov](http://NHTSA.gov) and check the recall for the Mavericks. They might tell you why. I’d guess that level of detail might not be posted for a while if at all. Still, they coordinate recalls and could have your answer.