Ford dominated the American automotive industry in 2025 with 153 recall campaigns, an all-time record the Dearborn automaker would rather forget. In total, more than 12.9 million Ford and Lincoln vehicles were called back to dealerships, a figure that dwarfs the 3.2 million Toyota and Lexus models, or the 2.8 million Stellantis products affected over the same period.
Ford launched 153 campaigns in 2025, an all-time record.
Since January 1, the company has launched 17 recalls.
Already, 7.3 million Ford and Lincoln vehicles have been recalled in 2026.
As for the number of campaigns, Ford far outpaced Stellantis with 53 and General Motors with 27.
Ford is aware of its problems, but appears slow to react. And 2026 is shaping up, sadly, to follow the same pattern. Just two months into the new year, the company has already recalled 7.3 million vehicles. That is nearly three-quarters of all models recalled in the United States since January 1, across all brands. As of March 3, 2026, the American industry as a whole had launched 61 recall campaigns. Ford alone announced 17 of them, accounting for 27.9% of the total.
To put things in perspective, here is the ranking of the five most active automakers in terms of recalls since the start of 2026: Ford/Lincoln leads the pack with 17 campaigns (27.9%), followed by Toyota/Lexus and Hyundai/Genesis, tied at 5 campaigns each (8.2%), then General Motors and the BMW Group with 4 each (6.6%). In other words, Ford is issuing recalls at a rate roughly three times higher than its nearest rivals.
Ford Issued 153 Recalls in 2025, More Than the Following Nine Brands Combined
How can we explain it?
Part of the responsibility lies with the company itself, of course, particularly when assembly quality is an issue. That said, it is also worth noting that the automaker sells enormous volumes of trucks and SUVs, and a single defect affecting a popular model like the F-150 can quickly inflate the numbers to staggering levels. That holds true for the number of vehicles recalled. When it comes to the number of independent campaigns, however, Ford remains its own worst enemy.
The issues identified so far in 2026 are wide-ranging: faulty rear-view cameras affecting 1.74 million vehicles, a towing software defect impacting 4.3 million Fords, Lincoln Navigator seats that may unexpectedly slide during driving, and hybrid Escape SUVs recalled for a third time due to a battery problem.
Ford CEO Jim Farley says the company is making progress on quality and intends to prove it. Ford has even announced enhanced employee bonuses tied to quality improvements. Commendable. But the numbers continue to tell a different story.
At the current pace, 2026 will look like 2025. Last year’s record is already within reach.
