Ford Motor Co. has filed three new recalls with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the biggest affecting some 148,663 vehicles in the United States that may contain faulty wiring resulting in the loss of headlights and windshield washing system functions posing a threat to visibility while driving.
The other two recalls impact a total 10,024 vehicles and are related to improperly tightened joints and improperly installed engine piston domes.
The recalls filed with NHTSA, come as Ford CEO Jim Farley has been pushing the automaker to improve quality over the past few years. Ford has led the industry in recalls every year for the past five years and is in the lead again this year with 67 recalls so far. The second highest
manufacturer for recalls this year is Chrysler — owned by Stellantis — at 30, followed by General Motors at 22, according to NHTSA's data.
The vehicles impacted across the three recalls include:
- Certain 2024-2026 Mustang cars (recalled: 148,663).
- Certain 2026 Explorer, Bronco, Bronco Sport, Mustang, and Ranger vehicles (recalled: 10,001).
- Certain 2026 Maverick, F-150, and Bronco Sport (recalled: 23).
A recall of Mustangs
In the recall impacting 148,000-plus vehicles, Ford's filing with NHTSA states that engine compartment wiring harness ground connections in certain 2024-2026 Mustang vehicles may break. This could result in a "loss of drive power, or a loss of function in the windshield washing system, headlights, air conditioning, or engine cooling fan."
NHTSA said a loss of driver power increases the risk of a crash, and additionally, a loss of headlight function orwindshield washing system function can reduce visibility, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
In its filing with NHTSA, Ford said it is not aware of any crashes or injuries related to the problem. Ford said its dealers will replace the engine compartment wiring harness ground terminals free of charge and owners will receiveletters, mailed Aug. 31, notifying them of the safety risk. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, which Ford anticipates will be in March 2027.
Improperly installed parts
Ford also is recalling certain 2026 Explorer, Bronco, Bronco Sport, Mustang, and Ranger vehicles in a different recall that says the engine piston domes may have been manufactured incorrectly. This could result in piston dome failure and lead to a loss of drive power, the recall notice stated.
Ford stated in its filing that in come cases a driver may experience a Check Engine Light, engine noise, or misfire as a warning that the engine piston dome may malfunction and cut power. Ford said it is not aware of any accidents or injuries due to the problem.
Ford said the number of vehicles, all 2026 model year, that could have this defect is 10,001. Of those impacted, Ford said 5,199 are Bronco Sport SUVs, 3,071 are Explorers SUVs, 237 are Mustangs, 432 are Rangers, and 1,062 are Bronco SUVs.
Owners will get a letter to be mailed Sept. 4 notifying them of the safety risk. Dealers will inspect the engine pistons and replace the engine long block, if necessary, free of charge. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, which Ford estimates to be in December.
Finally, Ford is recalling just 23 of the 2026 Maverick, F-150, and Bronco Sport vehicles saying some vehicle joints may be improperly tightened and if the come loose it can lead to detached parts, unsecured cargo, degraded crash protection, electrical system failure, or a loss of vehicle stability.
Again, Ford is not aware of any reports of accidents or injuries related to the issue and letters to impacted owners went out Aug. 26 with a remedy expected starting Sept. 21. Ford said dealers will inspect the affected joint and fix it free of charge if necessary.
Ford's quality issues
For the past few years, Ford has put in several new processes, procedures, manufacturing fixes and leaders to help mitigate the recall problem its had.
Ford appears to be on the right path for those cars coming off the line today, having been ranked first by JD Power in an Intial Quality Survey this year among mainstream brands for the top quality in the first 90 days of vehicle ownership.
But the recalls continue. As the Detroit Free Press reported in April, for the full year 2025, Ford issued 152 recalls affecting 12.96 million vehicles. But, in the 12 months between April 2025 to March 2026, Ford recalled 19.6 million vehicles, more than all of the 22 other automakers on the list combined.
Ford leaders say many of those recalls reflect older Ford models and the automaker's quality ratings on its more recently launched vehicles has been improving. But in these newest recalls, the models include 2026.
Ford did not immediately provide a comment asking about why newer models are still being recalled given all its efforts at quality improvement.
But it's an issue that continues to plague Farley, who sat down with the Detroit Free Press to talk about it recently, where he said he is confident everyone working at Ford today wants to build a company that can sustain high quality and the leadership team has put in many new processes to ensure it happens.
"I've been here long enough now where I've seen Ford gain it and lose it," Farley said. "I don't want that to happen ever again. I don't want to go through that cycle. It's very painful. It's time to change the cycle. It's time for us to go from repeating to winning, and that takes the team to be committed to sustainment and never being kind of done."
Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer for USA TODAY Co. who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford files 3 new recalls impacting 159,000 vehicles, including Mustang
