FORD TOPS RECALLS LIST
Company adds quality control processes to address the problems
Ford employee Charles Temple inspects 2020 Ford explorer bodies in the body shop at Chicago assembly plant in 2019.
The Ford Maverick compact pickup (above) is one of the models with the most projected recalls, while the Mercedes-Benz G 580 (below) is among the models with the least expected recalls.
BUSINESS
A new study analyzing vehicle recalls shows Ford Motor Co. recalled 19.6 million vehicles in the past 12 months — more vehicles than the rest of the auto industry combined — and many vehicles made by Ford and its luxury brand, Lincoln, have a high number of recalls during their lifespan.
It's no secret that Ford has had a lot of recalls in recent years, even setting a record in 2025 with 152 recalls, according to the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration.
Now, a study by iSeeCars.com, published April 8, shows Ford had both the highest number of recalled vehicles and its vehicles made up nearly half of the top 25 models with the most projected lifetime recalls based on data analyzed from April 1, 2025, through March 31.
On the flip side, Mercedes-Benz models dominated the list of vehicles that had the fewest recalls.
Electric-vehicle maker Tesla had the biggest improvement in recalls. It dropped to 83,265 vehicles recalled between April 2025 to March 2026 compared with 3.4 million recalled in same period a year earlier.
That's likely due to Tesla being able to do more over-the-air fixes and not having to physically recall a vehicle to a repair facility, Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars, told the Detroit Free Press.
He said the team conducted the study to help car shoppers because recalls are a time-consuming inconvenience and could pose a safety risk.
Road to improvement
The study showed the Lincoln Aviator, Lincoln Corsair, Ford Maverick and Ford Bronco make up four of the top five models with the most projected recalls.
"It doesn't reflect well on a premium brand to be in that group," Brauer said. "It further proves that, under the skin, which is where recalls happen, there are as many Lincolns as Fordbranded vehicles being recalled. You have genuine quality problems, whether it's in the engine or the quality of manufacturing or software."
Ford leaders say many of those recalls reflect older models and the automaker's quality ratings on its more recently launched vehicles improved. Also, during the study period, 15 recalls were responsible for about 75% of the vehicle volume, or about 15 million vehicles. For example, the February software recall for Ford's Integrated Trailer Control Module affected nearly 4 million vehicles. In that recall, the vehicle's integrated trailer module could lose communication with the car, causing "a loss of brake and turn signal lights, or a loss of brake function."
Ford implemented several new quality control processes to address a high number of recalls. These changes include stricter vehicle launch procedures, hiring manufacturing and engineering specialists, and benchmarking Toyota's manufacturing practices to implement the "lean manufacturing" process across Ford's plants to catch defects early and fix them before a vehicle leaves the factory.
Josh Halliburton, Ford's executive director of quality, said 90% of the recalls it had in the past 12 months involved vehicle model years 2015 to 2022, which were engineered between 2013 and 2020. He said the automaker continues to work to identify past errors so to fix them quickly for customers and added: "The quality of what we're producing today — what is leaving our factories today — is improving."
"We are making meaningful and measurable progress improving vehicle quality that has become clear over the last 12 months," he said. "Earning four spots on the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, combined with two of Consumer Reports' Top 10 Picks in New Cars and our best reliability finish in 15 years this past fall, shows we are moving in the right direction."
"For us, one recall is one recall too many and our goal is zero," he said. "If you look at this year, January to now, it's about 9.75 million vehicles recalled to date and 80% of that we can fix with software. So we're using over-the-air or mobile repair … to make it as pain-free as possible."
Settlement has role
For the full year 2025, Ford issued 152 recalls affecting 12.96 million vehicles, Brauer said. In the past 12 months between April 2025 to March 2026, Ford recalled 19.6 million vehicles, more than all of the 22 other automakers on the list combined.
Toyota was in second place for the most recalls with 4.1 million vehicles.
Stellantis, which makes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Fiat brands, was in third place with 3.4 million vehicles and General Motors was in seventh place with 1.2 million vehicles, the iSeeCars.com study showed.
Brauer noted that some of Ford's recalls happened in conjunction with a consent order, or settlement, that NHTSA and Ford agreed to in November 2024. It required Ford to look back at all of its vehicle recalls over the past three years to make sure Ford covered the right number of affected vehicles, and if not, expand the scope of recalls to include more vehicles.
Some safety experts said the consent order's requirement is partly driving Ford's high recall number.
NHTSA data showed Ford led in the most vehicle recalls each year going back to 2020.
Brauer said regulators applied pressure and closer scrutiny across the board on all automakers, which is why some are more proactive in recalling vehicles than others.
High costs
For automakers, recalls are expensive. Ford paid $1.5 billion in warranty claims in the first quarter of 2025, and $1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2025, publication Warranty Week data showed.
GM paid $1.2 billion in warranty claims in the first quarter of 2025 and Tesla paid $392 million.
In the fourth quarter 2024, Ford spent $500 million less in warranty costs than in the third quarter, Ford's CFO Sherry House said at the time.
For all of 2025, Ford was able to take another $500 million out of its warranty costs.
Brauer said the high number of recalls beg the questions: "What's the nature of these recalls? Are they supplier parts? Are they due to manufacturing, where certain bolts weren't tightened correctly?"
Still, he said just because a vehicle might have a history of recalls does not mean a person shouldn't buy it if it is what they want and has other benefits. But he said if a consumer is giving equal consideration to two different vehicles, he would steer toward one that is not on the recall list.
Another solution is to consider the brands and models that are most likely to get a fix through a convenient over-the-air update in your own garage.
TOP 25 MODELS WITH THE MOST PREDICTED SAFETY RECALLS
■ Lincoln Aviator
■ Lincoln Corsair
■ Porsche aycan
■ Ford Maverick
■ Ford Explorer
■ Ford Bronco
■ Rivian R1S
■ Lincoln Navigator L
■ Lincoln Navigator
■ Ford F-150
■ Porsche Panamera
■ Ford Bronco Sport
■ Rivian R1T
■ Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid
■ Ram 1500
■ Ram 1500 Classic
■ Ford Escape
■ Alfa Romeo Giulia
■ Jeep Grand Cherokee
■ Genesis GV60
■ Jeep Grand Cherokee L
■ Alfa Romeo Stelvio
■ BMW i5
■ Jeep Wrangler
■ Lincoln Nautilus
TOP 10 MODELS WITH THE FEWEST PREDICTED RECALLS
■ Mercedes-Benz G-Class
■ Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
■ Mercedes-Benz E-Class
■ Mercedes-Benz CLA
■ Mercedes-Benz GLC
■ Mercedes-Benz GLS
■ Mercedes-Benz GLE
■ Mercedes-Benz S-Class
■ Mercedes-Benz AMG GT
■ Mini Convertible
