Hazard Flashing Warning Light Unit Problems of Ford F-150

We purchased our 2001 f150 supercrew used. I am a mechanic, so the first thing I do when buying a used vehicle is inspect it thoroughly. There were a few minor issues, but one stood out as a major safety hazard. Upon further research, it seems to be extremely common to all 1997-2003 F-150s. Symptoms - this issue mainly affects the rear left and right brake lights, turn signals, and hazard lights. These lights, particularly brake lights, can cease to function entirely, intermittently and unknown to the driver. Cause - there is a wire harness which connects to the "multi - function switch". This wire harness is pulled when the steering wheel is tilted down. As a result, the connector or individual terminals can become loose or disconnected. This problem is most prevalent with the steering wheel in the down position, but once loose can happen at any position and any driving situation. Solution - repair or replace with motorcraft part# wpt607, and ensure the harness has enough slack to allow steering wheel tilt without tension on the harness. In our case, I replaced the connector and pulled the wires enough to allow slack for steering wheel tilt. There are numerous reports of this issue online, and it is well documented by f150 owners. I have pictures but the file sizes are over 5mb.

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Rear lights, including brake, turn signals, and hazard lights quit working. This issue can be found on many online Ford F-150 forums. The steering column wiring is too short, and breakage in the wire, or connectors can occur with the tilt steering mechanism. The tilt steering mechanism and short wiring has caused the connection to break inside the steering column trim on our vehicle, which caused the lights to stop functioning properly. I inspected the problem, and found the connector can move freely. I feel this is an issue since I am able to locate many others that have had the same issue from 1997 up to 2001 Ford F-150s.