This may be one of the biggest recalls in history, with Ford Motor Company having announced the need to recall one million vehicles across its U.S. lineup, ranging from model years 2021 to 2025. The reason behind such a big-scale recall is a software flaw that affects the rearview camera system, thus posing a risk to safety.
This flaw had initially been found in Ford’s SYNC 4 infotainment system and is said to cause the rearview camera image to freeze, delay, or not display at all when the vehicle is in reverse, making the risk of a collision very possible, more so in tight spaces.
Understanding the glitch causing such a huge Ford recall
The glitch is said to stem from a badly coded accessory protocol interface module software within respective versions 1,7 to 1,9 of Ford’s SYNC 4 system. Due to this, the versions can lead to incorrect sequencing in the system’s wireless communication functions, resulting in the loss of camera display. The failure mode was only discovered after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contacted Ford in January 2025 as a result of many motor owners’ complaints.
Ford stated their SYNC engineering team reproduced the flaw on April 2, 2025, and confirmed that all vehicles using SYNC versions earlier than 1,7 or later than 1,9 did not experience these technical issues. The fix is a software update that Ford is offering over-the-air (OTA) or through dealerships.
The mail notifications to all affected drivers will go out between June 16 and June 20, 2025, and will outline how the software update will fix the affected system.
The long list of affected vehicles
While waiting to receive a notice from Ford, it is a good suggestion to look at the range of Ford Lincoln brand models and other models that will be called back. Below is a comprehensive list of affected models:
- 2021–2023 Ford F-150
- 2021 Ford Bronco
- 2021 Ford Edge
- 2021 Mustang Mach-E (manufactured in Mexico)
- 2021 Lincoln Nautilus
- 2022 Ford Expedition
- 2022 Lincoln Navigator
- 2022 Ford Transit
- 2023 Ford Escape
- 2023 Lincoln Corsair
- 2024 Ford Ranger
- 2024 Ford Mustang
- 2025 Ford Transit (as recently built as March 13, 2025)
The recalled vehicle fleet is made up of the F-150, including its Super Duty variants like the F-250 through to F-600. So far, the SYNC system flaw has led to 37 owner complaints that were all submitted to the NHTSA. There have also been 15 reports of frozen images and 4 reports of complete image loss on the camera. The recall is said to happen at the right time, as thus far only one minor crash involving damaged property has been reported. There were no injuries or fatalities reported as yet due to this flaw.
This is, however, not Ford’s first huge car recall. Ford recalled several vehicles over fire risk, rather recently, too.
The onus is on the vehicle’s owner
Ford has done its part by making it clear that all owners must take their affected vehicles to a Ford dealership to have the issue resolved. The necessary steps entail:
- Waiting for the official notification that will be received via mail, or citizens can check their vehicle’s status through Ford’s website or NHTSA’s recall lookup tool.
- Scheduling the visit with the local dealer thereafter. The other option is to install the OTA software update once prompted.
- Not waiting any longer since a flaw in the rearview camera poses a safety risk.
This recall has come about just when Ford is stepping up its game in the performance truck sector. Luckily, Ford is reacting quickly enough to solve the problem identified. Check your camera on your Ford 2021–2025 or Lincoln model, as you may need to visit Ford today. Software updates for vehicles like Ford are very important.
For more information about this recall, you can check the 25V-315 recall from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
This article was published Ecoticias
