Ford is telling some electric vehicle customers to stop using the North American Charging Standard (NACS) adapters it provided for charging at Tesla Supercharger stations.
Ford led the industry last year in announcing a shift to the Tesla charge port, and in February it announced that it would ship free adapters to customers in late March. But last week the automaker issued a bulletin warning some customers not to use the adapters due to a "potential issue" that could result in reduced charging speeds, or potentially even damage to a vehicle's charge port.
Ford Mustang Mach-E at Tesla Supercharger station
The issue applies to a specific batch of NACS adapters, which will be replaced free of charge in what Ford is classifying as a customer service action rather than a full recall, reports InsideEVs.
"Ford identified a potential issue with a batch of adapters sent earlier in the year where over time, continued usage may result in reduced charging speeds," the automaker said in a statement to InsideEVs. "Ford does not recommend using the identified adapter."
2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Flash
The automaker plans to begin shipping replacement adapters the week of Oct. 28, so that customers have time to check their shipping addresses. Retail customers should check the listed address in their FordPass accounts and update, if necessary, by Oct. 24. If the address is correct, no action is required. Fleet customers will be notified and asked to confirm their address directly by their National Account Manager.
As of Friday, InsideEVs reported that General Motors and Rivian have not experienced such issues with their Tesla NACS adapters, with Rivian confirming via a spokesperson that "drivers may continue to use their NACS adapters normally at this time." While most other EV brands are shifting to the NACS port, only Ford, GM, and Rivian have shipped adapters so far.
