Detroit automaker Ford issued its first recall of the year on Wednesday, after topping all automakers in 2025 with 153 notices.
For comparison, the manufacturer with the second-most recalls in the United States last year was Honda, with 24 notices.
On the other hand, Tesla had eleven recalls while the smaller-scale EV rivals Lucid and Rivian recorded three and six, respectively — National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data showed.
Automakers are required to investigate and notify consumers when a vehicle fails to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, aiming to avoid any injuries or accidents.
By October, and according to a report by the Kelley Blue Book, Ford had already surpassed the previous annual record of 77 recalls, set by General Motors more than a decade ago.
The significance of recalls depends on the number of vehicles affected: a small number of recalls may be unimportant if few vehicles are involved, while a single notice may be more serious when it affects a large number of cars.
General Motors issued 28 recalls last year, according to NHTSA.
However, one of them, issued in April due to engine issues, affected over 721,000 vehicles worldwide, with nearly 600,000 of them being in the US.
These notices also distinguish between the need for a physical recall or a software-based update, as they impact owners differently.
The latter are typically addressed with over-the-air (OTA) software updates. In some cases, they may still require a visit to a service center.
First 2026 Recall
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on Wednesday that Ford is recalling 119,075 vehicles due to a faulty engine block heater.
According to the notice, the engine block heater may crack and leak coolant, which could potentially cause a short circuit and increase the risk of fire if the heater is plugged in.
The recall affects certain units of the Ford Focus, the Escape and Explorer SUVs, and Lincoln’s luxury compact MKC SUV — models that are powered by internal combustion engines (ICE), although some offer hybrid powertrains.
Owners are advised not to use the block heater until their dealer replaces it, free of charge.
Ford Recalls of BEV Models
Last Summer, Ford recalled 197,432 Mustang Mach-E SUVs, produced between 2021 and 2025, due to a battery risk that could cause electronic door locks to trap passengers inside the vehicle.
The fix required visiting a dealer’s service center to have the software modules updated at no cost.
Then, in mid-December, another recall was issued on 2025 to 2026 Mustang Mach-E vehicles due to a headlight failure.
It affected over 45,000 SUVs and the company said an OTA update would fix the issue.
Another 272,645 vehicles were recalled that month due to the loss of park function, causing the vehicle to roll away and increasing the risk of a crash.
According to the NHTSA, the integrated park module could fail to lock into the park position when the driver shifts into that mode.
This notice affected 2022-2026 F-150 Lightning vehicles, 2024-2026 Mustang Mach-Es, and 2025-2026 hybrid Maverick pick-ups.
Ford said the park module software would be updated OTA or by a dealer, free of charge.
Rearview Camera Recalls
Last year, Ford recalled over 1.9 million vehicles worldwide due to a rearview camera that displayed distorted, intermittent or blank images when the car was in reserve — which could increase the risk of a crash.
The notice followed two similar ones issued in the US, in May and October.
The company initially recalled 1 million vehicles produced between 2021 and 2025, covering nearly its entire lineup, including the Bronco, Corsair, Edge, Escape, Expedition, F-150, Super Duty trucks, Navigator, Ranger, Transit vans, as well as the Mustang and Lincoln models.
Later in the year, the company recalled an additional 1.4 million cars manufactured between 2015 and 2020, including Explorer, Escape, Mustang, Flex, Fiesta, C-Max, Taurus, Fusion and Lincoln MKT and MKZ vehicles.
Owners were notified to schedule appointments with dealers, which would inspect and replace the rearview cameras as necessary, free of charge.
A year before, Ford had agreed to a $165 million civil penalty after a NHTSA investigation found the automaker failed to recall vehicles with defective rearview cameras on time.
Ford had already recalled 620,246 vehicles for that issue in 2020.
When approached by Fox Business last October, Ford emphasized that its commitment to vehicle quality and customer safety “is paramount.”
The company added that “the number of vehicles recalled reflects our intensive strategy to quickly find and fix hardware and software issues and go the extra mile to help protect customers.”
Ford also noted that it has more than doubled its team of safety and technical experts over the past two years.
