Ford Motor Co. is recalling almost 420,000 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs because of a seat belt defect that could leave occupants unprotected in a crash, and separately warning thousands of Bronco Sport and Maverick owners not to drive their vehicles at all until a suspension problem is fixed.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration disclosed the seat belt recall in a report Tuesday, covering certain Expedition and Navigator models from the 2018 through 2022 model years. Ford is also aware of one injury tied to the defect, the Associated Press reported.
The twin actions add to a growing list of large-scale Ford recalls that raise basic questions about quality control at one of America's legacy automakers, and about how long it takes for defects to reach the attention of regulators and consumers.
The NHTSA report states that front seat belt retractors in the affected Expeditions and Navigators may lock up without warning. Once locked, the belt will not retract or extend properly. A driver or passenger strapped in with a malfunctioning belt faces a higher risk of injury in a collision, the belt may not restrain them correctly, or may retract rapidly and cause injury on its own.
Ford says it knows of two warranty claims and two field reports connected to the problem, plus the single reported injury. The nature and severity of that injury were not disclosed.
This recall replaces and expands two previous NHTSA recalls, meaning regulators had already flagged related seat belt issues in these vehicles before Ford widened the scope to nearly 420,000 units. That progression, from narrower recall to broader one, suggests the original fix or the original count did not capture the full extent of the problem.
Owners will receive a notification by mail. Ford and Lincoln dealers will inspect both front seat belt retractors and replace any that are part of the recall, free of charge.
The second action is more urgent. Ford issued a do-not-drive warning for roughly 4,600 Bronco Sport and Maverick vehicles, a step automakers reserve for defects considered immediately dangerous.
The Bronco Sport models covered span model years 2021 through 2026. The Maverick models span 2022 through 2026. That range means some of the affected trucks are brand new.
The problem involves front lower control arm ball joints that may have been incorrectly installed or incorrectly repaired at an assembly plant, the NHTSA said. If the control arm disconnects from the front wheel knuckle, the driver could lose steering control, raising the chances of a crash with little or no warning.
Dealers will inspect and repair the front lower control arm ball joints at no cost. But until that work is done, Ford is telling owners to keep the vehicles parked.
A do-not-drive order is not routine. It signals that the automaker and federal regulators believe the defect poses an active hazard every time the vehicle is on the road. Ford's willingness to issue one here tells you how serious the suspension flaw is.
This is far from the first time Ford has called back large numbers of vehicles over safety defects in recent months. The company previously recalled nearly 1.4 million F-150 trucks over a gearshift defect tied to crash risk.
Seat belts, gearshifts, suspension joints, these are not exotic electronic systems or cutting-edge software glitches. They are fundamental mechanical components that have been part of automobile design for decades. When an automaker with Ford's history and resources ships vehicles with seat belts that lock up or ball joints that were installed wrong at the factory, the issue is not technological complexity. It is execution.
Ford also recalled more than 179,000 Bronco and Ranger vehicles over a loose seat bolt that raised crash injury risk, another basic assembly failure in a high-volume product line.
Consumers who spend $40,000 or more on a new truck or SUV are entitled to expect that the seat belts work and the wheels stay attached. The frequency of these recalls suggests that Ford's quality-assurance processes are not catching problems before vehicles reach driveways.
Owners of 2018, 2022 Ford Expedition or Lincoln Navigator vehicles should watch for a mailed recall notice and take their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer for a free inspection and, if needed, replacement of the front seat belt retractors.
Owners of affected 2021, 2026 Bronco Sport or 2022, 2026 Maverick vehicles should stop driving immediately and contact a dealer to arrange inspection and repair of the front lower control arm ball joints.
Ford customer service can be reached at 1-866-436-7332. The NHTSA's vehicle safety hotline is 1-888-327-4236.
The recall landscape extends well beyond Ford. Tesla recently recalled Cybertrucks over a wheel stud defect that could cause detachment, and Waymo recalled nearly 3,800 robotaxis after a self-driving car drove into floodwater. Across the industry, federal regulators are processing a steady stream of safety actions, a reminder that the NHTSA's role as a watchdog matters, and that consumers need to take recall notices seriously rather than tossing them in the junk-mail pile.
Ford has not disclosed which assembly plant or plants are responsible for the incorrectly installed ball joints. The NHTSA report did not specify where the reported seat belt injury occurred or how severe it was. Those gaps matter. Consumers deserve to know whether a single facility is the source of repeated problems, or whether the failures are systemic.
The fact that the seat belt recall expands two prior recalls is particularly telling. Regulators flagged the issue before. Ford acted before. And yet the problem grew large enough to require a third, wider action covering nearly 420,000 vehicles across five model years. That is not a story of swift correction. It is a story of incremental discovery, and of consumers driving vehicles with a known category of defect while the scope kept widening.
None of this means Ford vehicles are uniquely dangerous. Every major automaker issues recalls. But the sheer volume, the mechanical simplicity of the defects, and the escalation from prior recalls to broader ones paint a picture of a company that needs to tighten its manufacturing discipline before the next round of bad news.
When the fix is free but the defect can cost you your life, the real question is why the problem existed in the first place.