Ford Is Finally Tackling Its Recall Issues—Ignore the Noise

Something’s earnestly incorrect astatine Ford. The company’s recall issues aren’t slowing down—in fact, they look to beryllium picking up speed.

Many person been skeptical of Ford's handling of these situations, often seeming to prioritize ineligible strategy implicit lawsuit safety. But with recalls being costly and atrocious for the brand, you’d deliberation there’d beryllium a stronger propulsion for change.

Yet present we are successful April 2025, and Ford has already logged 40 recalls, according to NHTSA information compiled by Motor1. That includes 149,434 F-150s recalled a fewer weeks ago, and adjacent a “recall of a recall” connected the Lincoln Navigator.

Ford’s Turning a Corner—Just Not astatine Full Speed

Ford is averaging astir 1 callback each 3 days—that’s a chaotic pace, adjacent by manufacture standards. But here’s the astonishing part: the full fig of vehicles recalled truthful acold successful 2025 is really down by astir a cardinal compared to this clip past year.

A large crushed for that drop? About fractional of these recalls are coming from Ford’s ain interior audits, not extracurricular investigations.

In a March 2025 property release, Ford said it’s been reviewing past software-related recalls to amended however they’re handled. Some of these caller recalls are fundamentally double-checks—precautionary moves to marque definite earlier fixes were done right.

It’s Not All Bad—but It’s Not All Good Either

That audit softens the stroke a bit, but not by much. Ford told Motor1 that the 18 recalls tied to the audit person present climbed to 21.

Even if you subtract those, Ford tops the 2025 callback database with 19. That’s up of Volkswagen with 12, GM with 9, and some Honda and Stellantis with 8.

Ford inactive leads with implicit a cardinal vehicles recalled, followed by Tesla. Sure, Ford’s dealing with superior issues similar brake strategy issues, but astatine slightest it’s not assemblage panels flying disconnected similar with the Cybertruck, wherever trucks indispensable beryllium glued backmost together.

Detroit’s Heavyweights Go Head-to-Head

Looking astatine the data, General Motors inactive leads the callback charts, with 1,680 recalls to Ford’s 1,560. Chrysler is 3rd with 1,446, portion Volkswagen trails with conscionable 571. There’s a noticeable drop-off erstwhile you permission the apical three, unless you number RV shaper Forest River.

There has not been a immense quality betwixt Ford and GM implicit time, truthful this caller spike successful Ford’s recalls is astir apt conscionable a impermanent blip. However, erstwhile we look astatine Ford specifically, substance systems apical the database with 175 recalls, followed by powertrains (155) and electrical systems (124).

There’s been a noticeable displacement from 2020 to 2025, with electrical strategy issues (46) astir matching powertrain problems (52). That’s a large woody considering however overmuch bundle and electrical systems person evolved successful that time.

Source: Motor1, CarBuzz