Ford is back where it says it does not want to be, recalling another large swath of vehicles due to a factory mistake.
Ford (F) is having a banner year otherwise.
The company reported a record-setting sales pace in the first half of the year, as the fear of tariff pricing, mixed with opportunistic incentive pricing, helped the company sell more vehicles than ever in the first six months of the year.
However, a definite cloud hung over the company’s second-quarter earnings call, and executives addressed it.
“We are not satisfied with the current level of recalls or the number of vehicles impacted. We are working to reduce the cost of these recalls,” said Chief Operating Officer Kuman Galhorta.
Since then, Ford has seemingly had a major recall every other week, and Sept. 9 brought another, affecting over a million vehicles.
Earlier this year, Ford said a nearly 700,000 vehicle recall would cost it about $570 million. While that number is large, it is only one of the more than 90 recalls Ford has already issued in 2025.
Ford earned an ignominious distinction this year after it issued its 89th recall of the year — before July. The Blue Oval shattered General Motors’ record from 2014 when it issued 77 recalls during the whole year.
Ford’s latest recall affects 1.9 million vehicles.
Image source: Pugliano/Getty Images
Ford recalls nearly 2 million vehicles over faulty rearview camera
On Sept. 9, Ford announced that it is recalling 1.9 million vehicles worldwide due to faulty rearview cameras.
The recall involves 1.45 million vehicles in the U.S., 122,000 in Canada, and about 300,000 across the rest of the world. Ford said it was aware of 44,123 warranty claims worldwide and 18 accidents related to the issue, but it hasn’t seen any injuries.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration submitted its recall report on Sept. 3, saying that it believes nearly 3% of the recalled vehicles have the potentially dangerous defect.
Ford vehicles affected by the recall include:
2015-2019 Lincoln MKC2015-2017 Lincoln Navigator2019 Ford Ranger2015-2018 Ford Edge2017-2019 Ford Econoline2015-2019 Ford Mustang2015-2017 Ford Expedition2015-2019 Ford F-350 SD2016-2019 Ford Transit2016-2019 Ford F-550 SD2015-2019 Ford F-250 SD2015-2018 Ford Transit Connect2015-2019 Ford F-450 SD
Ford shares were down 1.4% in morning trading on Sept. 9.
Related: Ford recalls over 200,000 cars over major crash concerns
In a separate notice, Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International announced it is recalling more than 250,000 rearview cameras fitted in Select Ford and Stellantis vehicles, Reuters reported.
This is the second time in just over eight weeks that Ford has issued a recall for a defective rear camera. In July, the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker recalled over 200,000 vehicles due to a software failure that could cause the back camera to malfunction.
Experts say Ford’s reliability is failing
Reliability is a huge selling point for any car buyer, so it’s no surprise that foreign brands with good reliability ratings, such as Toyota, Honda, and BMW, do well in the U.S.
Lexus, Toyota’s luxury arm, is ranked second in Consumer Reports’ reliability index; Toyota is third, Honda is fourth, and Acura is fifth. Subaru has the top spot.
Related: Ford Motor Co. has a much bigger issue than tariffs at its door
Meanwhile, Ford is way down in 13th place with a “predicted reliability” rating of 44.
“Ford’s problematic F-150 Hybrid is the least reliable model in our survey. Like last year, it scores worse than the also unreliable conventional F-150, continuing to exhibit problems with its transmission and hybrid battery,” CR said. “The Ford Escape Hybrid is also among the least-reliable models.”
Consumer Reports says that the Ford F-150 Lightning EV pickup is below or well-below average. Despite being in its fourth year of production, its reliability hasn’t improved.
“Since EV technology is still relatively new, automakers continue to work the bugs out of their powertrains and platforms,” Steven Elek, auto data analytics expert at CR, said. “But we also see issues with their non-EV components, such as the latest infotainment and electronic features.”
Related: Ford Motor Co. is still haunted by this one, costly issue
