Ford Motor Company: Seat Belts
Ford Motor Company reported this defect to federal regulators on Mar 17, 2026 and put the number of vehicles at risk at 561. The repair is free for as long as the recall stands.
The defect
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.
The risk
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.
14 model years covered
Newest first| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Crashes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Ford Explorer | 44 | 14 | 0 | 3 |
| 2026 Lincoln Aviator | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 Ford Explorer | 107 | 20 | 0 | 8 |
| 2025 Lincoln Aviator | 18 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 Ford Explorer | 21 | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| 2024 Lincoln Aviator | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 Ford Explorer | 113 | 15 | 2 | 7 |
| 2023 Lincoln Aviator | 24 | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| 2022 Ford Explorer | 271 | 24 | 1 | 17 |
| 2022 Lincoln Aviator | 49 | 21 | 1 | 4 |
| 2021 Ford Explorer | 452 | 26 | 6 | 14 |
| 2021 Lincoln Aviator | 41 | 28 | 1 | 1 |
| 2020 Ford Explorer | 1,249 | 33 | 10 | 37 |
| 2020 Lincoln Aviator | 110 | 30 | 1 | 2 |
What this page is, and what to do next
A recall is not an opinion. It is a Part 573 report a manufacturer is required by federal law to file once it decides a defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety, and it commits them to repairing the vehicle at no cost to the owner. The three passages above are the manufacturer’s own wording as published by NHTSA.
This page describes the campaign. It cannot tell you whether one particular car has already been through the shop — that is tracked by VIN, and only the manufacturer knows it. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a franchised dealer, quoting campaign number 26V159000.
Full record for the 2026 Ford Explorer → · Recalls carrying a do-not-drive advisory → · Where this data comes from →