Recall Date: 6/30/2026
NHTSA ID: 26V415
MFr. Campaign Number: 26S51
Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Affected Components: Digital Signal Processing Module, Pedestrian Alert System
Potential Number of Units Affected: 66,383
This recall covers two hybrid models that share the same audio hardware and software logic: the 2025-2027 Ford Explorer HEV, with 18,242 vehicles involved, and the 2024-2027 Lincoln Nautilus HEV, with 48,141 vehicles involved, for a combined 66,383 vehicles across Ford's and Lincoln's dealer networks.
A software error in the audio processing system can silence the pedestrian warning sound these hybrids are required to emit while driving below 30 kph in electric mode. The condition can occur randomly, with no input from the driver. Because pedestrians rely on that sound to know a vehicle is nearby, a silent approach at low speed raises the risk of pedestrian injury.
Drivers may see an Instrument Panel Cluster message reading “Pedestrian Sounder Fault. Service Now,” though the fault can also occur without any visible warning. Ford has not issued a Do Not Drive or Park Outside advisory for this campaign.
The fix is arriving in two parts. Owners of 28-speaker Nautilus HEV vehicles will be notified to bring their vehicle in for a DSP module replacement running software version 2.24 or higher, at no charge. Owners of every other affected Nautilus HEV and Explorer HEV will be notified that Ford is still developing a remedy for the remaining, non-DSP-related causes of the condition.
Ford expects to notify dealers by July 7, 2026, with interim owner letters going out between August 3 and August 7, 2026. VINs have been searchable since July 7, 2026, and remedy owner notification dates will follow once the second fix is finalized.
This campaign traces back to Ford's earlier Safety Recall 25SA2, a software update the company made available in October 2025 to fix a separate loss of pedestrian alert function. Complaints about the same Pedestrian Sounder Fault message kept arriving after that fix went out, and Ford's Critical Concern Review Group paused the remedy's rollout in February 2026 to investigate. By June 2026, the group had traced part of the problem to the 24-channel DSP system on Nautilus HEVs, plus a separate communication issue between the audio control module and the accessory protocol interface module that appears to affect Explorer HEVs and Nautilus HEVs alike. Ford's Field Review Committee approved this expanded field action on June 23, 2026.
As of May 1, 2026, Ford had logged 65 warranty claims on Nautilus HEV and 7 on Explorer HEV against a combined population of 66,383 vehicles, and the automaker says it is not aware of any accidents or injuries tied to the condition. This is at least the twelfth Ford or Lincoln Recall Radar entry BizzyCar has tracked in 2026, following [insert link: previous Ford Recall Radar post], underscoring how active the brand's recall pace has been this year.
A recall with a remedy that is still partly in development is one of the harder campaigns for a service department to manage, since the message to customers has to change as the fix becomes available.
BizzyCar Recall Outreach flags affected Explorer HEV and Nautilus HEV owners automatically and keeps the conversation open over two-way SMS, so dealers can update customers the moment the DSP replacement ships or the follow-up remedy is finalized, instead of relying on a single mailer to carry the whole story.
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