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Ford leads U.S. recalls again — and the numbers are staggering
Ford Motor Company, the maker of the Model T and the Mustang, topped the list of automakers with the most recalls in the United States for the fifth consecutive year. In 2025, the company issued 153 safety recalls, a tally that underscores persistent quality and safety challenges across a wide range of models and systems.
What triggered so many campaigns?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) logged several large-scale campaigns in 2025, including three separate recalls affecting more than a million vehicles each. One of the earliest was a September 2025 action addressing blank or distorted rearview camera displays. Camera-related defects alone produced multiple campaigns—two separate recalls impacted roughly 1.4 million vehicles each, and another affected 1,076,138 unibody and body-on-frame units.
Common fault categories included:
- Back-over prevention system failures (the most frequent issue)
- Software and electrical system anomalies
- Fuel system defects
- Steering component and suspension problems
Those categories highlight an industry trend: modern vehicles increasingly depend on complex software and electronic networks, and when those systems fail the consequences ripple across many models.
Models most affected
Ford’s F-Series was the standout for recalls in 2025. The F-Series family recorded 41 recall campaigns, representing about 3.8 million trucks. Other heavily affected nameplates included the Bronco and Bronco Sport, Explorer, Mustang (including the Mustang Mach-E), Expedition, Escape, and Maverick. Both Ford and its luxury sibling Lincoln contributed to the total: together they accounted for more than 12.9 million recalled vehicles in the U.S. last year.
Highlights:
- F-Series: 41 recalls, ~3.8 million trucks impacted
- Major campaigns for camera and back-over prevention systems
- Broad spread across SUVs, crossovers, vans and pickups
Industry context and competitors
Ford wasn’t alone. Toyota finished second with around 3.2 million recalled vehicles in 2025, while Stellantis reported about 2.7 million. Completing the top 10 were Honda, Hyundai, General Motors, Kia, Tesla, the Volkswagen Group, and the BMW Group.
A look at deliveries shows the financial and operational scale of these campaigns: General Motors delivered roughly 2.8 million vehicles and still issued nearly a million recalls. Toyota Motor North America reported 2,518,071 deliveries, while Ford posted 2,204,124 U.S. sales—about 6.0 percent higher than its 2024 deliveries. Kia America sold 852,155 units. Toyota and Hyundai posted the largest year-over-year gains at roughly 8.0 percent each.
Market trends: SUVs and crossovers remain dominant
Beyond recalls, market dynamics in 2025 continued to favor SUVs and crossovers. These segments are expected to retain dominance into 2026. Pickup trucks made up roughly 20 percent of new vehicle deliveries last year, passenger cars represented about 16 percent, and vans and other vehicle types comprised the remaining 4 percent.
This product mix matters because different vehicle types face different engineering challenges. For example, pickup trucks and body-on-frame SUVs often have different electrical and mechanical architectures than unibody crossovers, and that diversity can complicate fleet-wide fixes.
What owners should know
If you own a Ford or Lincoln vehicle from recent model years, check NHTSA’s recall database or your manufacturer’s website for open campaigns. Recalls are typically repaired free of charge at authorized dealerships. Given the prevalence of software and camera-related faults, updates or module replacements can be part of many remedies.
Quote: "As vehicles get smarter, recalls increasingly involve software and electronic systems rather than just mechanical parts," said one industry analyst, underscoring why modern recalls often cover millions of vehicles at once.
The 2025 recall picture is a reminder that even legacy automakers must continually invest in quality control, software validation and supplier oversight. For buyers and enthusiasts, the takeaway is simple: stay informed, register your vehicle with the manufacturer, and address recalls promptly to keep the car—and its occupants—safe on the road.
Source: autoevolution
Comments
v8rider
Had a Bronco recall, dealer said parts backordered 2 weeks then more delays. Repairs free but took forever, srsly frustrating. Keep checking NHTSA
mechbyte
Wait 153 recalls?? Is that legit or are they just counting tiny software patches and camera glitches? Did NHTSA change the counting, idk...
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