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Ford and its subsidiary Lincoln have announced a new safety recall for nearly 80,000 of their vehicles. This includes the popular three-row SUV models ‘Ford Explorer’ and ‘Lincoln Aviator’. In these vehicles, the driver’s seat has been found to suddenly and completely recline back without any prior warning.

Which and how many vehicles are affected?

According to the American safety agency NHTSA, a total of 79,579 vehicles are likely to have this technical problem:

2026 – 2027 Ford Explorer: 64,409 units

2026 – 2027 Lincoln Aviator: 15,170 units

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What is the exact problem?

According to Ford, this problem is caused by the backframe structure of the driver’s seat and its reclining motor. The hardware of this motor, which was included in the product after November 2025, was changed.

When the driver uses the ‘memory seat’ function, this motor incorrectly estimates the position of the seat. Instead of the seat being in the position set by the driver, it is pushed all the way back.

When can this problem occur?

When unlocking the car remotely with the key fob or mobile app.

When activating the remote start.

When approaching the car with the key in the pocket using the passive welcome feature.

When manually pressing the memory seat button

Is passenger safety at risk?

In this technical fault, the sensors that detect obstacles behind the seat do not work. This creates a high possibility of the legs or body of the passenger sitting in the second row behind the driver being crushed under the seat and injured.

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A comforting fact

This memory system automatically switches off when the speed of the vehicle exceeds 5 kmph. Therefore, there is no risk of this seat automatically reclining while driving.

Complaints and company clarification

The company started receiving complaints in this regard in early June 2026. Till the end of June, 133 such incidents were reported. Fortunately, no one has been seriously injured due to this problem so far.

What will be the solution?

Ford is currently working on a complete solution to this problem. It is likely that the seat memory logic will be re-calibrated by updating the software. If necessary, the backframe assembly of the driver’s seat will be replaced. The company will soon send an official notification to the customers to get the car repaired free of charge.