NHTSA campaign number
26V159000
Safety restraint issue — affecting 12 model years across Ford, Lincoln.
- Issued
- Manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Model years
- 2020–2025
- System
- Seat belts
Elevated severity
This campaign addresses a defect NHTSA classifies as carrying elevated crash or injury risk.
What the defect is
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.
Why it matters
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.
What this page does not include
NHTSA's public recall feed does not supply an affected-population count, the manufacturer's own campaign number, owner-notification dates or a defect chronology for this campaign. Rather than estimate them, we omit them. Confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected — and whether the repair has already been done — using its VIN.
Check a VINVehicles affected by this campaign
12 model years in our index. Coverage reflects the vehicles VerifyTheVehicle tracks, which may be narrower than the full campaign population.