NHTSA recall 26V159000
A recall listed here may apply to a vehicle of this year, make and model. Only the manufacturer can say whether it applies to one vehicle: check the VIN with the official lookups.
| Published by | NHTSA (United States) |
|---|---|
| Campaign number | 26V159000 |
| Manufacturer's number | 26C18 |
| Manufacturer | Ford Motor Company |
| Reported | 2026-03-17 |
| Owners notified | 2026-03-30 |
| Component | SEAT BELTS |
| Units potentially affected | 561 |
| Part numbers | W505275-S439 |
| Report | Quarterly report 2, for 2026 quarter 2 |
|---|---|
| Filed with NHTSA | 2026-07-21 |
| Vehicles in the campaign | 561 |
| Reported remedied | 177 (31%) |
| Reported unreachable | 13 |
| Reported removed | 0 |
These are the manufacturer's totals for the whole campaign at the end of 2026 quarter 2, as filed with NHTSA. They do not say whether one vehicle has been remedied: check the VIN with the official lookups. The reports are from data as of 2026-10-19.
What is wrong
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2026 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles. The seat belt anchor bolts at the second-row outer seating positions may be improperly secured.
What can happen
A loose seat belt buckle may not properly restrain an occupant during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect the second-row outer seat belt lower anchor bolts and replace or repair them as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 30, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C18. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on March 19, 2026.
| 2020 FORD EXPLORER | Built from 2019-06-10. |
|---|---|
| 2021 FORD EXPLORER | |
| 2022 FORD EXPLORER | |
| 2023 FORD EXPLORER | |
| 2024 FORD EXPLORER | |
| 2025 FORD EXPLORER | |
| 2026 FORD EXPLORER | Built to 2026-01-21. |
| 2020 LINCOLN AVIATOR | Built from 2019-05-09. |
| 2021 LINCOLN AVIATOR | |
| 2022 LINCOLN AVIATOR | |
| 2023 LINCOLN AVIATOR | |
| 2024 LINCOLN AVIATOR | |
| 2025 LINCOLN AVIATOR | |
| 2026 LINCOLN AVIATOR | Built to 2026-02-12. |
A vehicle with no link is not in this site's catalog, which covers cars, multipurpose vehicles and trucks by model year. The campaign is from data as of 2026-10-19.
Bulletins for the same vehicles and component
| RCM-26.4.2.1 Explorer | 2026-05-01. Over-the-air update. Quality improvements include: -Updates the Restraint Control Module to prevent a potential internal fault that may cause a warning light to illuminate for one key cycle |
|---|
A bulletin is the manufacturer's note to its dealers. It is not part of this recall.