Ford recently launched a recall of over 242,600 Maverick trucks, citing an issue that may lead to their tail lights not lighting up.

The Michigan-based automaker said in a safety recall report filed Friday to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that if the tail lights on the recalled pickups fail to light up, it could “cause reduced visibility to other drivers in dark conditions, increasing the risk of a collision.” 

The 242,669 total Maverick trucks subject to recall are part of the model years 2022-2024, according to the recall report. They were manufactured between February 2021 and March of this year.

In the report, Ford linked the tail light illumination failure to the Body Control Modules in the recalled trucks. That component “may falsely detect a current overload on one of both of the rear position lamp circuits” and deactivate them, it explained.

FEDS INVESTIGATION FORD MUSTANG MACH-E HANDS-FREE TECH AFTER FATAL CRASHES

Ford first learned of the problem, which has not led to any wrecks or injuries, in early February. 

The issue “does not affect headlights, stop lamps (including Center High Mount Stop Lamp), or turn sign functions,” the report also said.

As a remedy, the affected trucks will need to get their Body Control Module calibration “updated to the latest level” through a software update. Ford and Lincoln dealership locations will do that service for free.

Ford is letting its dealers know about the recall later Wednesday. 

FORD RECALLS OVER 450,000 VEHICLES DUE TO LOSS OF DRIVE POWER

The automaker told FOX Business the software update “will be ready then so customers can come in to get their fix as early as tomorrow.” 

The remedy “is mobile service eligible meaning customers can find a participating dealership that will send a technician to their home, work or anywhere they’d like to perform the software update,” according to Ford.

The company will send out letters to Maverick owners impacted by the recall later in the month, the NHTSA report said. 

FORD SALES JUMPED IN FEBRUARY, LED BY GAINS IN HYBRIDS AND EVS

Ford first introduced the Maverick truck nearly three years ago.

Over the course of 2023, it sold over 94,000 Maverick trucks in the U.S. That marked a 26.5% percent increase from the prior year.

Read More 

The discovery of tens of thousands of racy advertisements for artificial intelligence-generated “girlfriends” across Meta apps prompted the social media giant to scrub its platforms of the explicit content in recent days.

An investigation by Wired published last week found more than 29,000 instances in Meta’s ad library of ads for “AI girlfriend” apps on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. The ads were for chatbots that engage in sexually explicit messaging and feature AI-generated images of scantily-clad women in suggestive positions.

The report said more than half the ads included the acronym “NSFW,” which means “not safe for work,” warning people that it is not suitable to view the content while at a place of employment.

ZUCKERBERG SAYS PAYOFF FOR META’S AI PUSH COULD BE A FEW YEARS AWAY

Wired said the ads appear to violate Meta’s policies prohibiting adult content, and said around 2,700 of the ads were active when it contacted Meta about the issue the week prior.

“When we identify violating ads we work quickly to remove them, as we’re doing here,” Meta spokesperson Ryan Daniels told the outlet. “We continue to improve our systems, including how we detect ads and behavior that go against our policies.”

META ROLLS OUT UPGRADED AI ASSISTANT ACROSS FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND WHATSAPP

Daniels supplied the same statement Wednesday when contacted by FOX Business, and added that Meta reviewed the ads and is removing them for violating its adult content ads policy.

Meta prohibits ads containing adult content, including “nudity, depictions of people in explicit or suggestive positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative.”

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

The Meta spokesperson also said the company often sees instances of groups or individuals taking on new tactics to avoid detection and evade its policies and enforcement, which is why they are constantly evaluating and updating their approach.

Read More