The U.S. Ford Motor Company has announced a recall of approximately 388,000 vehicles due to a defect in the rear seat switch, which can cause the seat to tilt or slide unexpectedly.
According to the official website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the recall primarily involves Lincoln Aviator models from 2020 to 2027 and Ford Explorer models from 2020 to 2026.
Of these, 160,391 are Lincoln Aviators and 227,520 are Ford Explorers. Ford Motor Company stated that the root cause of the defect is still under investigation.
NHTSA indicated that the recall was initiated because of a defect in the switch on the second-row seats, causing intermittent sticking or sticking in the pressed position, resulting in the seat tilting or sliding unexpectedly, thereby increasing the risk of passenger injury, especially during a collision.
According to data from Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group, as of June 16, 14 cases of second-row seat unintended movement while driving have been confirmed. Eight of these reports involved vehicles in North America that are not within the scope of the 2025 recall. Another six reports were for vehicles that had already undergone recall repairs.
As per the recall documents, Ford will provide free inspection and repair services for affected vehicle owners. Dealers are expected to receive notifications by July 16, with owner notification letters set to be mailed from July 27 onwards.
Once the repair plan is finalized, a second letter will be sent out in January of next year.
The recall number is 26S52. Vehicle owners can call Ford customer service at 866-436-7332 for more information or enter their vehicle identification number on the NHTSA website to check if their vehicle is affected.
Defects related to car seats often involve issues with loose tracks and malfunctioning locking mechanisms, which may weaken passenger protection in the event of a collision. The NHTSA typically categorizes such problems as medium to high risk, requiring companies to complete repair deployments within 60 to 90 days.