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Recall Date: 7/14/2026
NHTSA ID: 26V451
MFr. Campaign Number: 26S52
Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Affected Components: Second-row easy entry seat tip-and-slide switch bezel
Potential Number of Units Affected: 387,911
Which Ford vehicles are affected?
Both vehicles use a second-row outboard seat with an easy entry tip-and-slide feature operated by a switch. The bezel around that switch can become misaligned or unseated during normal use, and when it does, it can interfere with the switch button and cause the button to bind or stick in the down position. A stuck-down button can make the seat tip or slide unexpectedly, and Ford states this can happen while the vehicle is being driven. Ford estimates the defect is present across the full recalled population. The company points to broken bezel tabs found on returned field parts as a driver of the misalignment.
There is a warning owners can notice. If the button sticks down, the customer may lose the ability to use the easy entry feature or to return the seat to its normal position after using it.
What drivers need to know
This is a mechanical repair handled at a Ford or Lincoln dealer at no charge to the owner. The dealer replaces the second-row easy entry switch bezel and housing with a revised design that holds the bezel with a higher retention force than the recalled part. Because parts are physically swapped, the fix requires a dealer visit and cannot be delivered over the air.
The NHTSA report lists Do Not Drive and Park Outside advisories for this action, so owners should treat it with urgency and follow the guidance in their notification letter. Ford plans to notify dealers on July 16, 2026, with VINs searchable the same day. Interim owner letters are scheduled to mail July 27 through 30, 2026, and remedy letters are scheduled for January 5 through 8, 2027, under a phased rollout. Owners can confirm whether a specific vehicle is included by entering the VIN at NHTSA.gov/recalls or by calling Ford's recall line at 1-866-436-7332.
Ford recall background
This action is a direct expansion of recall 25V393 (Ford campaign 25S67), approved in June 2025 to address the same unrequested second-row seat movement on 2020-2025 Explorer and Aviator vehicles. That earlier remedy had dealers inspect the bezel for correct installation and replace damaged or missing bezels, and field data at the time suggested the supplier's containment had solved the problem.
The picture changed this spring. In late April 2026, Ford's Critical Concern Review Group reviewed newer vehicles built after the original recall and found reports of unrequested seat movement, then opened a new investigation on May 5. Reviewers also found the condition reappearing on vehicles that had already been repaired under 25V393. As of June 16, 2026, Ford had identified 14 total reports of unintended second-row seat movement while driving tied to a stuck button, split between vehicles never covered by the original recall and vehicles where the original remedy had already been completed. The new recall folds in both groups and extends coverage through June 24, 2026, the date the original bezel left production. Ford reports one related owner questionnaire and no accidents or injuries.
The pattern is the part that matters for dealers. A remedy that depends on inspection and reinstallation only holds if the replacement part resists the same failure, and this expanded action moves to a higher-retention bezel for exactly that reason. Vehicles fixed the first time are back on the list, so reaching every affected owner, not most of them, is what closes this recall for good. For a deeper look into Ford's recall history, check out our Quarterly Recall Report.
How BizzyCar can help
A 387,911-unit recall on two high-volume family SUVs is a service-drive opportunity, but only for the dealers who actually reach those owners. That challenge is sharper here because a share of these vehicles were already serviced under the earlier recall, and those owners have no reason to expect a second letter about the same seat. A mailer lands in the same stack as everything else and asks the owner to do the work of calling in.
BizzyCar's Recall Outreach product identifies vehicles in a dealer's market with open recalls and books the service appointment automatically through two-way SMS, so the conversation happens where owners actually respond. That turns a recall notice into scheduled shop hours, puts your store in front of Explorer and Aviator owners before they drift elsewhere, and opens the door to the maintenance and declined-service work that rides along with every visit. Book a demo.