Ford recalls nearly 1 million vehicles for safety defects including Broncos and Explorers

Ford Motor Co. has touted recent initial quality gains, yet it has recalled close to 1 million vehicles ― including 2026 and 2027 models ― in just the week ending July 24.

On Monday, July 20, Ford issued a recall for 387,911 vehicles due to a potential problem with seats that could raise a risk for injury.

On Friday, July 24, Ford issued a recall for 565,691 Ford Bronco SUVs model years 2021-26 citing an increased risk of a fire, according the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration.

In fact, since the beginning of the month, the Dearborn-based automaker has recalled close to 2 million total vehicles, but Ford said its recall number is improving compared with the same time a year ago and it is finding fewer problems on newer designed models.

It all follows Ford’s launch of an aggressive new marketing campaign on July 4 touting how it has moved its initial quality ranking to the top on one third-party survey.

Ford had grabbed the No. 1 spot among mainstream brands June 25 when JD Power‘s Initial Quality Survey was released. That win fueled the new ad campaign, with the tagline: “We put quality first. Now Ford is first in quality.” Ford plans for the messaging to appear broadly.

Ford spokesman Mike Levine said despite the recent recalls, Ford is making progress on its quality problems, that mainly impact older-designed vehicles.

Ford believes it is on the right track

On July 23, Ford posted a blog on its From The Road site promoting that it also moved up 11 points on the JD Power 2026 U.S. APEAL Study. Ford moved from the 12th to ninth place in mainstream brand rankings, putting it above average.

The APEAL Study stands for Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout. It measures a customer’s emotional attachment and excitement with their new car’s design, performance, safety, usability, and comfort after the first 90 days of owning it.

“I’m proud of the consistency we are seeing in our passion products. Two of the nameplates that carried Ford to the APEAL podium last year did it again this year: the Ford Mustang was named the most appealing Sporty Car for the second year running, and the Ford Super Duty was named the most appealing Large Heavy-Duty Pickup for the third consecutive year,” wrote Josh Halliburton, Ford’s executive director of quality, in the blog.

Halliburton said Ford is building checks and balances to ensure quality improvements have durability, but “these latest results show that our focus on what you actually experience behind the wheel is paying off. We still have work to do, but we are absolutely on the right track.”

Levine told the Detroit Free Press that while some of the recent recalls impact newer model-year cars, it is because those vehicles were designed in the 2013 to 2020 time frame before Ford put more rigorous testing and quality checks in place. Since then, Ford had also added modems on cars, starting in 2019 and uses that data gathered from those modems ― data customers agree to share ― to find issues before they impact large numbers of customers and to help with Ford’s new designs.

Levine noted that last year, through the end of June, Ford had 83 recall campaigns. In the same time period this year, Ford has had 52, a 38% decline.

“So what that is saying is we are finding fewer unique defects today, but the ones we do catch are applying to largely older vehicle populations,” Levine said. “We’re now getting ahead of those problems, but still have challenges with vehicles that were designed in the 2013 to 2020 timeframe.”

According to the NHTSA recalls dashboard, Ford continues to lead the industry in recalls this year with 60 compared with second-place Chrysler at 24 and General Motors in third place at 19.

Levine noted that software-only campaigns account for 8.4 million of the affected vehicles recalled this year. About three-fourths of those software campaigns, or 6.3 million vehicles, can be fixed with an over-the-air update.

“Looking forward, we are hardwiring quality into our culture so these defects don’t happen in the first place,” Levine said. “JD Power Initial Quality Study and data shows it’s working. Our newest 2026 and 2027 models make up just 3.3% of this year’s recall volume, through June.”

Safety seat issue recall

About the recall of 387,911 vehicles that was reported Monday, NHTSA said certain vehicles may have a defect that could lead to occupants not being properly restrained during impact and increase the risk for injury.

The models involved in this recall are 160,391 Lincoln Aviator SUVs model years 2020-27 and 227,520 Ford Explorer SUVS model years 2020-26, according to NHTSA documents.

The safety recall report describes the defect as: “On affected vehicles, it is possible that the easy entry seat tip and slide switch on second row outboard seats may intermittently bind or become stuck in the down position. This binding or sticking may result in the seat tipping, and/or sliding unexpectedly, potentially while driving.”

The report continues to state that, “A seat that unexpectedly tips or slides while driving could increase the risk of injury, particularly in a crash.”

Half a million Broncos recalled

According to the recall notice on www.NHTSA.gov for the 565,691 Ford Bronco SUVS reported on Friday, the problem is in the wiring harness in the engine. The harness could become damaged from movement between the wiring harness and surrounding parts in the engine compartment, then create heat or spark, raising the risk for a fire. The report cites a lack of protection from abrasion could expose wires, increasing the risk of a short circuit.

NHTSA shows there were 15 reports filed between Oct. 15, 2024, and June 20, 2026, in which Ford has evidence of a fire originating from the engine compartment wiring harness. It said seven of the fires were reported in Bronco Raptors, while eight were reported in base model Bronco vehicles. There were no injuries.

Vehicle owners impacted in any of the recalls will be notified by mail and can get their vehicles repaired at dealerships at no cost. Owners can also call Ford’s customer service at 866-436-7332.

Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer for USA TODAY Co. who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Latest Ford recall roundup includes defects that could cause injury.

Reporting by Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press; distributed by USA Today network via Reuters Connect.