Australian Ford F-150 Pickups Face New Compliance Issue

May 7, 2024 9:37 am

Back in March 2022, The Blue Oval announced that the Ford F-150 would be heading to Australia, where a third-party company called RMA Automotive in Mickleham, Victoria, was slated to complete the right-hand drive conversion on those pickups. Australian deliveries of the Ford F-150 were originally expected to begin in October 2023, but following a bit of a delay, that process actually began one month later. Trouble is, over the past few months, Aussie Ford F-150 buyers have faced a number of issues, including a stop-sale related to a turbo problem with the 3.5L V6 EcoBoost powerplant, a recall for a faulty steering intermediate shaft, another recall issued over airbag woes, a third recall pertaining to non-compliant side direction indicator lamps, and a stop-sale over an undisclosed issue. Now, the Australian Ford F-150 is facing a new compliance issue, according to CarExpert.

As part of the previous stop-sale, shipments from RMA to dealers were paused, but the latter entities were still allowed to sell existing inventory. However, this new stop-sale places an immediate hold on deliveries due to the fact that the pickup doesn’t comply with Australian Design Rules (ADRs) pertaining to some sort of lighting. Ford did announce that it will provide owners with complimentary service for a longer period of time as compensation for this latest delay – extending it from four years and 60k kilometers to five years or 75k kilometers for those that received or signed a contract prior to May 6^th.

“Ford Australia has placed a temporary hold on the sale and delivery of all re-manufactured F-150s, as we have identified that specifications of certain lighting features do not conform to Australian regulatory requirements,” a Ford Australia spokesman said. “Affected vehicles cannot be delivered to customers until appropriate rectification work is complete.”

In Australia, customers can choose from either the XLT or Lariat trims, in both short- and long-wheelbase form. However, only one engine choice is available – the twin-turbocharged 3.5L V6 EcoBoost. Pricing for the popular pickup starts out at $106,950 AUS ($69,998 USD) for the XLT, while the Lariat touts a sticker price of $140,945 AUS ($92,234 USD).

We’ll have more on the Ford F-150 soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series news, Ford F-150 news, and continuous Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.