Microchips

[ETN]

Forgive me if covered elsewhere, but wanted to inquire about specifics of microchips. I learned yesterday that my truck has been built, and sitting at the plant in a "microchip hold", but what does this mean? How many chips go onto a base F150, for example? Numbers given online range from a couple dozen to a couple thousand. Does anyone know if the shortage is for chips in general (multiple types/applications), or have F150's been mostly impacted by a certain type(s)? And if a truck is completed otherwise, and sitting on a lot awaiting install, how invasive is the typical install? Products are most conforming when fully assembled "in-line", and the more things that happen to them "off-line" via assembly deviations, the more problems you're likely to encounter. Any input highly appreciated.

 

[TJE]

I personally can't answer a lot of these questions, but I know you're not alone. Seems like higher trim packages (KR and Platinum) are most affected from what I've seen, but even XLT's are effected as well. I've seen several places on the GEN14 forums where people are being told by Ford that chips will be in by May 3rd. That being said, I believe Ford was telling people chips would be in by the end of February earlier in the year. Not sure if that happened and they ran out, of if they never actually got them.

 

[hotrodmex]

"Chips" is shorthand for "Modules" as it pertains to your truck. Ford is not waiting for a microcontroller to come in via FedEx to plug into a socket in a little black box, they are waiting for the box to plug into your vehicles harness.

However, last month Ford had 30 vendors miss their delivery dates on components, so take your pick on what might be short or what module's vendor shit the bed. The "couple hundred thousand" number comes from counting each resistor or capacitor as a "chip," which is fair considering even being short one means the board is useless. Production of those little grains of electric rice were getting constrained before the pandemic. Whole companies were dropping customers to just build for giants like Samsung (lots of phones=lots of bits)

Truth is you don't know which module might be causing the holdup unless you keep your ear to the ground and follow multiple boards like a nutjob (), and even then it might not even be a computerized module. On another board one Ford line employee mentioned there was a shortage of windshield wiper motors two weeks ago. That would just get listed as "Chip Hold."

 

[FaKtor34]

Various parts are in shortage, windshield wiper motor, brake caliper, brake pads, linkages, I've even seen doors being listed as being in short supply, it's not just chips that are in short supply. My wife some how busted her driver's side axel boot on her new 22 explorer timberline, took 3 weeks to get it in. Thank God they are covering it under warranty.

 

[ETN]

Appreciate the info, @hotrodmex. Yeah, surprising sometimes what becomes unavailable lately. The company I work for was even short on plastic beads at one point, for injection molded components we make. Literally couldn't buy plastic, or at least one form of it anyway. Wait till all of the Shanghai and Eastern Europe stuff floats on downstream..

 

[SoCalEd]

Resin production (for plastic pellets) took a hit when there was the big freeze in Texas last year and the plants weren’t winterized after the 2011 freeze. Get ready for higher food prices if Ukraine is unable to plant and grow wheat crops now for next year.

 

[ETN]

Resin production (for plastic pellets) took a hit when there was the big freeze in Texas last year and the plants weren’t winterized after the 2011 freeze. Get ready for higher food prices if Ukraine is unable to plant and grow wheat crops now for next year.

Ukraine not planting or exporting (not just wheat, but also iron, nickel, etc), Russia not exporting (fertilizer), Shanghai not exporting (everything). Buckle up.