David J. Johnson
Director
Service Engineering Operations
Ford Customer Service Division

Ford Motor Company
P. O. Box 1904
Dearborn, Michigan 48121

March 2, 2021
TO:

All U.S. Ford and Lincoln Dealers

SUBJECT:

Customer Satisfaction Program 21N03
Certain 2017-2020 Model Year F-150 Equipped with a 3.5L GTDI Engine
Cam Phaser Replacement

PROGRAM TERMS
This program extends the warranty coverage of the engine cam phasers until September 1, 2022
provided the Repair Order (RO) date of Powertrain Control Module reflash under Customer
Satisfaction Program 21B10 occurs on or before August 31, 2021.
Ford will cover the repair or refund costs following the proration table below using the mileage shown
on the RO.
Ford Vehicles
Mileage
Ford Will Cover
Up to 69,999
100%
70,000 – 79,999
66%
80,000 – 89,999
33%
90,000 or higher
0%
This is a one-time repair program.
Coverage is automatically transferred to subsequent owners.
VEHICLES COVERED BY THIS PROGRAM
Vehicle
Model Year
Assembly Plant
F-150*

Build Dates

Dearborn

March 10, 2016 through November 30, 2019

Kansas

April 15, 2016 through November 30, 2019

2017-2020

Note: This program does NOT include the F-150 Raptor/Limited variants.
Affected vehicles are identified in OASIS.
REASON FOR PROVIDING EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE
In some of the affected vehicles, an undesirable noise may develop from the cam phasers in the 3.5L
GTDI engine. This noise might occur as a rattle when starting the engine after the vehicle was turned
off for an extended period of time or as a knocking noise when the engine is idling after it is warmed
up.
A cam phaser that has developed an undesirable noise does not affect the vehicle safet y,
performance, or emissions.

© Copyright 2021 Ford Motor Company

SERVICE ACTION
If an affected vehicle exhibits this condition, dealers are to replace all four cam phasers. This service
will be covered by Ford Motor Company following the proration table contained within the term and
conditions.
OWNER NOTIFICATION MAILING SCHEDULE
Owner Letters are expected to be mailed the week of March 15, 2021. Dealers should repair any
affected vehicles that experience undesirable cam phaser noise after field service action 21B10,
whether or not the customer has received a letter.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment I:
Administrative Information
Attachment II:
Labor Allowances and Parts Ordering Information
Attachment III:
Technical Information
Owner Notification Letters
QUESTIONS & ASSISTANCE
For questions and assistance, contact the Special Service Support Center (SSSC) via the SSSC Web
Contact Site. The SSSC Web Contact Site can be accessed through the Professional Technician
Society (PTS) website using the SSSC link listed at the bottom of the OASIS VIN report screen or
listed under the SSSC tab.
Sincerely,

David J. Johnson

© Copyright 2021 Ford Motor Company

ATTACHMENT I
Page 1 of 4
Customer Satisfaction Program 21N03
Certain 2017-2020 Model Year F-150 Equipped with a 3.5L GTDI Engine
Cam Phaser Replacement
OASIS ACTIVATION
OASIS will be activated on March 2, 2021. Vehicles will not show FSA 21N03 until FSA 21B10 has
been completed and processed.
FSA VIN LISTS ACTIVATION
FSA VIN Lists will not be activated for this service action.
SOLD VEHICLES
• Only owners with affected vehicles that exhibit the covered condition will be directed to dealers
for repairs.
• Dealers are to prioritize repairs of customer vehicles over repairs of new and used vehicle
inventory.
STOCK VEHICLES
• Do not perform this program unless the affected vehicle exhibits the covered condition.
TITLE BRANDED / SALVAGED VEHICLES
Vehicles with cancelled warranties are not eligible for this service action.

OWNER REFUNDS
• Ford Motor Company is offering a refund for owner-paid repairs covered by this program if the
repair was performed before the date of the Owner Notification Letter. This refund offer expires
September 1, 2021.
• Dealers are also pre-approved to refund owner-paid emergency repairs that were performed
away from an authorized servicing dealer after the date of the Owner Notification Letter. Noncovered repairs, or those judged by Ford to be excessive, will not be reimbursed.
•
•

Refunds will only be provided for the cost associated with cam phaser replacement due to
unacceptable noise.
To ensure that the correct proration is applied follow the directions in the Refund Claiming
section.

RENTAL VEHICLES
Dealers are pre-approved for up to 1 day for a rental vehicle. Follow Extended Service Plan (ESP)
guidelines for dollar amounts. Rentals will only be reimbursed for the day(s) the vehicle is at the
dealership for part replacement. Prior approval for more than 1 rental day is required from the SSSC
via the SSSC Web Contact Site.

© Copyright 2021 Ford Motor Company

ATTACHMENT I
Page 2 of 4
Customer Satisfaction Program 21N03
Certain 2017-2020 Model Year F-150 Equipped with a 3.5L GTDI Engine
Cam Phaser Replacement
ADDITIONAL REPAIR (LABOR TIME AND/OR PARTS)
Additional repairs identified as necessary to complete the FSA should be managed as follows:
• For related damage and access time requirements, refer to the Warranty and Policy Manual –
Section 6 – Ford & Lincoln Program Policies / General Information & Special Circumstances
for FSA’s / Related Damage.
• For vehicles within new vehicle bumper-to-bumper warranty coverage, no SSSC approval is
required, although related damage must be on a separate repair line with the Related Damage
radio button checked.
o Ford vehicles – 3 years or 36,000 miles
o Lincoln vehicles – 4 years or 50,000 miles
• For vehicles outside new vehicle bumper-to-bumper warranty coverage, submit an Approval
Request to the SSSC Web Contact Site prior to completing the repair.
CLAIMS PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION
• Claim Entry: Enter claims using Dealer Management System (DMS) or One Warranty
Solution (OWS) online.
o When entering claims:
▪ Claim type 31: Field Service Action. The FSA number 21N03 is the sub code.
▪ Customer Concern Code (CCC): N09
▪ Condition Code (CC): 42
▪ Causal Part Number: 6256
▪ Part Quantity: 0
o For additional claims preparation and submission information, refer to the Recall and
Customer Satisfaction Program (CSP) Repairs in the OWS User Guide.
• Related Damage/Additional labor and/or parts: Must be claimed as Related Damage on a
separate repair line from the FSA with same claim type and sub code as described in Claim
Entry above.
• IMPORTANT: Click the Related Damage Indicator radio button.
•

Rentals: For rental vehicle claiming, follow Extended Service Plan (ESP) guidelines for dollar
amounts. Enter the total amount of the rental expense under Miscellaneous Expense code
RENTAL.

© Copyright 2021 Ford Motor Company

ATTACHMENT I
Page 3 of 4
Customer Satisfaction Program 21N03
Certain 2017-2020 Model Year F-150 Equipped with a 3.5L GTDI Engine
Cam Phaser Replacement
•

Refunds: Submit each unique refund on a separate repair order.
- Program Code: 21N03
- Misc. Expense: ADMIN
- Misc. Expense: REFUND
- Misc. Expense: 0.2 Hrs.
o To ensure that the correct proration is applied. OWS will automatically do the prorate
calculations. See below.
▪ Step 1 – Claim Repair Order write up in dealer DMS

▪

•
•

Open separate RO from 21B10 in the dealer DMS
NO OTHER REPAIR LINES ALLOWED

•
•

Check that original repair receipt provided matches vehicle owner
Check original repair mileage qualifies for the prorate.

•
•
•

Use the CURRENT DATE and MILEAGE on this Repair Order
Customer Concern field. Enter (Requests Refund for Program 21N03)
Tech comment section- Provide Date of Repair, Mileage, Full Dollar
Amount of Original Repair

•
•

Refund amount is only for the CAM PHASER repairs.
Do a misc. expense at ZERO dollars.

• Close RO – Ensure REFUND is at zero dollars
• Do NOT submit via DMS
Step 2 – Claim submittal into OWS
• MANUALLY ENTER THIS CLAIM
• Enter the DATE and MILEAGE FROM THE ORIGINAL REPAIR
RECEIPT
• Enter the CURRENT RO NUMBER
• Submit for the FULL amount of the refund. OWS will AUTOMATICALLY
prorate the refund for you based on the original mileage from the
customer repair invoice provided to you.
•
•

PRE-VALIDATE and SUBMIT
When claim pays perform necessary accounting adjustments depending
on your DMS.

•

Provide customer with refund check

© Copyright 2021 Ford Motor Company

ATTACHMENT I
Page 4 of 4
Customer Satisfaction Program 21N03
Certain 2017-2020 Model Year F-150 Equipped with a 3.5L GTDI Engine
Cam Phaser Replacement
o

Proration Table
Ford Vehicles
Mileage
Ford Will Cover
Up to 69,999
70,000 – 79,999
80,000 – 89,999
90,000 or higher

100%
66%
33%
0%

© Copyright 2021 Ford Motor Company

ATTACHMENT II
Page 1 of 3
Customer Satisfaction Program 21N03
Certain 2017-2020 Model Year F-150 Equipped with a 3.5L GTDI Engine
Cam Phaser Replacement
LABOR ALLOWANCES
Description
Replace all four (4) VCT units – F-150 (excluding Raptor)

Labor Operation

Labor Time

21N03B

9.5 Hours

PARTS REQUIREMENTS / ORDERING INFORMATION
Order
Quantity

Claim
Quantity

Intake VCT Unit - Package Contains 1 Piece, 2 Pieces
Required

2

2

HL3Z-6C525-CD

Exhaust VCT Unit - Package Contains 1 Piece, 2
Pieces Required

2

2

HL3Z-6279-A

VCT Unit Bolt Package Contains 1 Piece, 4 Pieces
Required

4

4

ML3Z-6584-G

Left Valve Cover Gasket

1

1