Ford has hit an unfortunate milestone in 2025, issuing 88 official safety recalls between January and June, more than any other automaker has ever recorded in a full calendar year. And we’re only halfway through.
For comparison, second-place Forest River, a recreational vehicle manufacturer, reported just 19 recalls in the same time frame. A significant portion of Ford’s recall surge stems from an internal audit initiated as part of a 2022 consent agreement with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The sweeping review, which covered all recall campaigns up to November 2021, aimed to uncover any previously missed issues. As a result, 33 new recalls were launched, while nine extended past campaigns to fix lingering problems.
Software updates have been a major stumbling block. Dealership technicians often applied patches to engine control, infotainment, or driver-assistance systems incorrectly or incompletely. In response, Ford issued follow-up recalls and has since tightened its update procedures and implemented additional training for its service staff.
Despite the alarming headline numbers, Ford executives frame the situation as a proactive shift in quality control strategy. “The increase in recalls reflects our aggressive efforts to detect and fix hardware and software issues early, and to protect our customers at all costs,” said Ford COO Kumar Galhotra. “We believe this approach will lead to long-term, systemic improvements and help us achieve world-class levels of safety, quality, and customer satisfaction”.
Alongside the spike in recalls, Ford is also reporting improvements in early quality metrics. Internal surveys show fewer warranty claims and a decline in customer complaints compared to the same period last year.
Industry analysts expect the audit to wrap up by fall, and the number of recalls should normalize afterward. Still, given the rising complexity of software-driven vehicle components, recalls may become a more frequent reality, especially for high-volume automakers like Ford.
