Ford leads all carmakers in recalls. Is your Blue Oval car safe?

Ford has recalled cars more often than any other automaker by far this year, according to data compiled by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Dearborn, Michigan-based manufacturer has issued 53 recalls since January 1, 2026, according to the agency. The nearest manufacturer to Ford's recall pace is Chrysler, which has issued 19 recalls so far this year, NHTSA said. This year marks the third year in which Ford has far outpaced its competitors in recalls.

Ford defended the safety of its vehicles, despite the large number of recalls it has issued. Sharyn Ghacham, a Ford spokesperson, said the large number of recalls is a sign of the company's commitment to safety.

"At Ford, customer safety is our top priority," Ghacham said. "More than 80% of our recalls this year are resolved through convenient, software-only updates."

Why does Ford have so many vehicle recalls?

NHTSA says on its website that recalls are issued "when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle, equipment, car seat, or tire creates an unreasonable safety risk or fails to meet minimum safety standards."

"Most decisions to conduct a recall and remedy a safety defect are made voluntarily by manufacturers prior to any involvement by NHTSA," the agency said. "Manufacturers are required to fix the problem by repairing it, replacing it, offering a refund, or in rare cases repurchasing the vehicle."

Michael Brooks, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Auto Safety, which advocates for stringent regulation, said Ford likely leads among U.S. car manufacturers on recalls because it "remains subject to the 2024 consent order they agreed to with NHTSA, which engaged an independent third party to oversee their recall issues, required safety expenditures, and cited Safety Act violations."

"Ford's recall numbers started creeping up to significant levels right about the time the consent order was in the works," Brooks said. "This has resulted in Ford far outpacing other vehicle manufacturers in number of recalls for 2024, 2025, and 2026."

Is my Ford car safe to drive?

Ford's recalls so far in 2026 have impacted more than 12 million cars, although there is often overlap among models and model years on various recalls.

The company sold 2.2 million cars in 2025, which was up 6 percent over its 2024 sales of a little over 2 million cars.

Ford officials insisted their cars are safe to drive, despite the large number of recalls the company has issued.

Ghacham, the Ford spokesperson, attributed the company's recall challenges to the number of older vehicles it still has on U.S. roads. NHTSA says the average age of a car on U.S. roads is almost 13 years old.

Ghacham also noted that the company has made improvements to its production process on newer vehicles in recent years.

"While our overall recall volume is high, more than 90% of them are for older vehicles built between 2013 and 2020," she said. "Quality improvements on newer vehicles helped reduce our warranty costs by $500 million in 2025 vs. 2024 and helped earn us our best Consumer Reports reliability ranking in 15 years along with the most segment winners of any brand in the J.D. Power 2025 Initial Quality Study."

"We are fully committed to building on this strong momentum, continuously raising our standards to deliver the world-class quality and peace of mind our customers expect," Ghacham said.

What are Ford's biggest recalls this year?

Ford's largest recall this year was a February call-back that impacted 4.3 million cars that had trailer lights or brakes that could malfunction and cause drivers to possibly lose control of their trailers and decrease visibility of trailers to other cars on the road. Ford said the recall impacted certain 2021-2026 F-150, 2022-2026 F-250 SD, F-350 SD, F-450 SD, F-550 SD, Maverick, 2024-2026 Ranger, 2023-2026 F-600 SD, 2022-2027 Lincoln Navigator, Expedition, and 2026 E-Transit vehicles.

Here are the rest of the top-five biggest recalls Ford has had this year:

• An April recall that impacted 1.3 million cars that Ford said were at risk of unexpectedly downshifting into second gear, which the company said could result in a loss of vehicle control and increased crash risks.
• A March recall that impacted nearly 900,000 cars that Ford said had an incorrectly displayed rearview image that could reduce driver's views of the rear of their vehicles.
• A March recall that impacted nearly 850,000 cars that Ford said had rearview cameras that could fail to display a rearview camera image, which could decrease driver's view of the rear of their vehicles.
• A June recall that impacted more than 741,000 cars that Ford said had parking system damage that might result in a vehicle rollaway.

How can you check if your car has an open recall?

You can check if your car has any open recalls by entering your VIN number or make and model on the NHTSA website: Check for Recalls: Vehicle, Car Seat, Tire, Equipment | NHTSA

You can also call the service center at your local dealership to check for potential recalls.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ford leads all carmakers in recalls. Is your Blue Oval car safe?

Reporting by Keith Laing, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 1:11 PM.