Ford has once again topped a statistic that no automaker wants to brag about. Since the start of 2026, the company has issued 17 recall campaigns, affecting 7.3 million vehicles. That figure represents 72.6% of all cars recalled in the U.S. over the first two months of the year. As a result, Ford's recall activity nearly triples that of its closest competitor, cementing its position as the leading source of mass recalls and continuing a trend established in 2025.

Industry data shows that Ford and Lincoln already account for nearly 28% of all recall campaigns. This far exceeds the figures for Toyota, Hyundai, and GM, which hover between 6% and 8%. Scale is part of the reason. Popular models like the F-150 and Explorer can instantly create multi-million-unit recall volumes, even when a relatively minor defect is identified.

So far in 2026, Ford has recalled vehicles for issues including faulty rearview cameras, a risk of spontaneous seat movement in the Lincoln Navigator, software errors in towing systems, and yet more problems with hybrid batteries in the Escape.

Despite CEO Jim Farley's statements that quality is improving, the statistics suggest otherwise. In just two months, Ford has already executed more than half of last year's record-breaking recall volume.

Overall, 10 million vehicles have been affected by recalls in 2026 across the entire market, with nearly three-quarters of them being Fords. The sheer scale of the problem is leading analysts to a clear conclusion: for the automaker, this is a systemic crisis of processes, not just a collection of isolated incidents.