Dearborn, MI – July 30, 2026 – Ford (NYSE:F) is recalling 10,742 2018 Ford F-150 pickups that may move in an unintended direction. This defect increases the risk of a crash and injury.

This is the newest in the ongoing string of Ford’s recalls of vehicles whose previous repairs were not performed successfully. 

It also comes on the heels of an agreement between the U.S. government and the manufacturer that requires the latter to take a closer look at previous recalls after failing to “prioritize the safety of the American public.”

Recall summary

In the affected trucks, the right gear selection may not get recognized by the vehicle software due to an error. This may cause the car to back up instead of moving forward.

Recall risks

A vehicle that shifts into the wrong gear may move in an unwanted direction and crash into surrounding pedestrians or objects. 

Background of the recall

Ford recalled more than 12,000 F-150 trucks in October 2017 to update their transmission control modules, which should have prevented wrongful gear selections. 

The said software update, however, was not completed on all of them due to an internal issue. 

Ford scrutiny

The recall also comes at a time when Ford is under increased scrutiny from the U.S. auto safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) after entering into a so-called consent order in November 2024, as reported.

Under the terms of the order, the manufacturer is required to pay a hefty $165 million penalty for violating the federal safety standards and failing to provide “accurate and complete recall information.” As part of the agreement, Ford is to overhaul its “recall decision-making process,” up the “speed of its recall decisions,”  and reexamine previous recalls to ensure that they included all vehicles with the defect.

Other Ford recalls

In keeping up with the order, just earlier this month, Ford recalled over 255,000 Focus cars for stall issues that were supposed to be addressed back in 2018 but somehow fell through the cracks, as reported.

In June 2026, Ford recalled Fusion and Focus vehicles that were also incorrectly repaired in 2018 and could catch on fire.

The repair

The dealers will update the vehicle software free of charge. 

Notifications to the owners will be mailed between July 6, 2026 and July 10, 2026.  

Is your vehicle a part of this recall?

This repeated Ford transmission recall affects more than 10,700 cars. To do a Ford recall check and see if yours is one of them, please use MotorSafety’s free vehicle lookup tool.