Some 412,000 Ford Explorer SUVs, ranging from model years 2017 to 2019, are being recalled due to a risk of sudden steering loss, the automaker announced Friday.

 

The culprit is the rear toe link on these vehicles, which is vulnerable to fracture. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall report, affected SUVs utilize cross-axis ball joint parts supplied by SAF, and in “certain loading conditions,” the defective toe links can break. The ball joint itself may seize, resulting in what the recall report describes as “a bending moment” on the link, causing it to fail.