Ford already fixed these cars — but the problem is back: nearly 130,000 vehicles head to service

© A. Krivonosov

Ford is dealing with five fresh recall campaigns in the US at once, and the unpleasant detail isn't the number of vehicles. The carmaker had already carried out repairs under earlier recalls, but some of the cars may have been logged as fixed without the correct software actually installed. SPEEDME experts went through the NHTSA filings and figured out what happened to the American cars this time.

The new campaigns cover 129,761 vehicles in total. The largest recall — 91,198 Ford F-150 pickups from the 2018–2020 model years: the daytime running lights may fail to dim when the low beams are switched on, blinding other drivers (campaign 26V373, a repeat of 20V097). Another 10,742 F-150s from 2018 with the 3.3-liter engine, six-speed gearbox and column-mounted shifter can briefly engage Reverse or Neutral instead of Drive when the lever is moved quickly from Park to Drive — with the gear indicator dropping off the instrument cluster. In the worst case the truck lurches in the wrong direction.

There are other cases too. On 4,445 F-150s from 2017, the instrument cluster image can disappear entirely after a cold start — anywhere from two seconds to several minutes, including the selected gear indication. On 18,124 Ford Escapes from 2017, the power windows may close with excessive force during remote operation — a violation of FMVSS 118 and a pinch risk. Another 5,252 Ford Focus 2015–2018 and Fusion 2013–2016 models with the 1.0-liter Fox GTDI and the B6 manual gearbox are being recalled over clutch slip and pressure plate fracture: a transmission fluid leak near hot exhaust components raises the risk of fire.

The common cause is especially awkward for the brand: Ford uncovered the discrepancies during an audit of older software repairs. Cars could be marked as «fixed» while the correct software version was either not confirmed or installed incorrectly — a consequence of the transition between the IDS and FDRS service tools and gaps in the historical records. For used Ford buyers this matters more than the defect list itself: a dealer service history doesn't always mean the right firmware is actually sitting in the module.

The fix is free of charge: dealers will update the software in the relevant modules — instrument cluster, BCM, PCM, power window controller or clutch protection module — with mandatory validation of the software part numbers via the Software Validation Form before the campaign is closed. Owner notification letters start going out on July 6, 2026, and the VINs should appear in the NHTSA lookup on the same date.

The story matters outside the US as well: F-150, Escape, Focus and Fusion are routinely brought in privately, often from the States. For those cars the main risk isn't the recall itself but the absence of a clear dealer route. Sometimes one skipped firmware update costs more than the dry NHTSA wording suggests.