If you're confident Ford will fix it than what's to worry about?

 

The worst-case is that the diff is already damaged to where it will die an early death. If that occurs within warranty (or extended warranty), it should be covered by Ford. If you get outside of warranty and it dies, others here have quoted ~$1500 for the TrueTrac diff - which is an improvement.

I've had vehicles with bad differentials before. We had a 2000 Dodge Durango that went through three of them. It never let us stranded from the diff issues; just crazy noisy and Dodge replaced them on the extended warranty. Annoying, but... to be expected on that POS vehicle.

I'm not sweating it on our 2023. 🤷‍♀️

 

Dealers doing recalls are following the written instructions by Ford. If they check the magnetic plug and no metal is found, they are directed to top it off w lube. Too much metal on the plug and they get authorized by Ford to rebuild or replace, depending on disassembly observations.

If it makes noise over time, while still in warranty, then its warranty work.

So you have recall coverage and possibly warranty coverage.

 

When I checked for that particular recall at Ford dot com there was no indication that my '23 T350HD AWD was affected. Brought it to a Ford Service Center for an early preventative maintenance oil change at 5,400K miles (Oil sensor read oil life @ 52%) and asked service writer why no recall for my VIN. He checked on his end and did not see it right away... but sure enough, he confirmed it was completed by a mobile service company while under possession of the original Dealership that took delivery of my Transit.

Being a bit on the OCD side, I asked the service writer for a quote on changing the rear diff oil, and to confirm they had friction modifier in stock. I saw no itemized charge for a new diff cover gasket on the printed estimate. When I asked him if that was because of my low milage... he said, "No, we just put a hose in there and pump it out, and refill".

Needless to say, I paid for piece of mind... rear diff cover removal, complete oil drain, visual inspection, new gasket (spendy item), oil and modifier refill. All was good, zero metal shavings or unusual looking oil.

 

What did that cost roughly?

 

Parts... Labor... Disposal Fees... Tax.... Warm Fuzzies... about $500.00