Ford is not having a particularly good year in 2026.
The automaker has issued yet another recall for its vehicles, bringing its total to53 for the year to date. That’s more than two-and-a-half times as many as General Motors, which has the second largest total of recalls this year.
Thelatest is for 741,195 vehicles in the U.S. A transmission defect can damage the vehicles’ park system, which would result in them rolling away and crashing, says the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Affected in the recall are certain 2018 to 2021 Navigator and Expedition vehicles as well as 2020 to 2021 Explorers and Lincoln Aviators and 2021 F-150s. More than 313,000 Explorers and 246,000 Expeditions are being recalled, making up the bulk of the recalled vehicles.
Transmission woes
Here’s how the problems came to light: In April of this year, the NHTSA contacted Ford after receiving multiple reports of vehicles moving after they were put in park or drivers being unable to shift into or out of park.
Ford opened an investigation and concluded that the problems could be related to damage to the transmission park system, an issue that had been brought to the company’s attention a few years ago but deemed not worthy of a recall.
The company did a deeper dive and identified the problem, a detailed issue with the transmission restricting fluid flow.
To date, Ford has identified more than 280 reports of the roll away happening. That has resulted in 24 allegations of property damage and nine alleged injuries (two of which are emotional injuries,the company says).
The company will notify owners via mail within 60 days, but those customers may have to wait a while for a fix. Dealers, who will repair the issue for free, should receive instructions for doing so by June 21, 2027, the company says.
The recall for the rolling cars comes less than a month after Fordissued a rare “Do Not Drive” warning to owners of 4,653 Bronco Sport and Maverick vehicles on concerns about the suspension assembly. A suspension defect, it said, could result in a loss of vehicle control, leading to wrecks.
Year to date, Ford has recalled more than 1.75 million vehicles.
If you’re curious if your Ford is included in one of the 53 recalls so far this year, the automaker suggests you enter your 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN) on this site. Alternatively, you can call Ford’s Customer Service Center at 1-833-807-3673 for assistance.
Chris Morris is a US based veteran journalist with more than 35 years of experience at many of the biggest digital news outlets. In addition to his activities as a writer, reporter and editor, Chris is also a frequent moderator and speaker at major conferences, including CES and South by Southwest.
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