A new large-scale recall impacts Ford truck, SUV and van owners.
Ford Motor Company issued a new recall campaign covering more than 4.3 million vehicles for an issue that could lead to loss of trailer lights or braking function. According to documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on February 20, this problem impacts the Ford F-150, F-250 (though not other Super Duty models), Maverick, Ranger, Expedition and E-Transit, as well as the Lincoln Navigator between Model Years 2021 and 2026, depending on the vehicle.
In the recall report (NHTSA recall number 26V-104), Ford says, “On affected vehicles, the Integrated Trailer Module (ITRM) may lose communication with the vehicle. If a loss of communication condition occurs when a trailer is connected to the vehicle, it would result in the loss of stop lamps and turn signal indicators for both High and Low series ITRMs as well as trailer brake function for High series only.”
The automaker further elaborated that a software vulnerability within the ITRM is the culprit. The fault could trigger a “race condition” (a bug where the system’s behavior is dependent on the sequence or timing of uncontrollable events, leading to unexpected or inconsistent results). In this case, the module remains powered on, but communication between the ITRM and the CAN Standy Control bit (STBCC) during initial power-up will be lost.
Even if it just caused the lamp issue, affected trucks are out of compliance with federal safety standards, necessitating the recall. The added loss of brake function on High package-equipped trucks, however, further presents a safety issue by increasing the risk of a crash, depending on when the loss of communication occurs.
Ford says impacted owners will see a pop-up message on the instrument cluster, indicating a “Trailer brake module fault”. A blind-spot assist fault may also appear in the cluster.
How many of each model are affected?
Since this is such a large-scale recall effort, odds are you’ll want to check your VIN against the NHTSA database or Ford’s own recall website on or after March 17 if you’ve purchased a Ford truck (lower than the F-350, at least) within the last few years. Here’s a full breakdown of affected vehicles according to the NHTSA report:
| Model | Affected model years | Production dates | Number of affected units |
|---|---|---|---|
| F-150 | 2021 – 2026 | 1/8/20 – 2/6/26 | 2,297,857 |
| F-250 | 2022 – 2026 | 4/5/21 – 2/6/26 | 1,135,063 |
| Maverick | 2022 – 2026 | 2/3/21 – 2/6/26 | 412,105 |
| Ranger | 2024 – 2026 | 12/9/22 – 2/6/26 | 129,836 |
| Expedition | 2022 – 2026 | 4/15/21 – 2/6/26 | 317,604 |
| E-Transit | 2026 | 2/25/25 – 2/6/26 | 13,115 |
| Lincoln Navigator | 2022 – 2026 | 4/15/21 – 2/6/26 | 75,029 |
What’s the fix?
Ford first became aware of the problem on October 21, 2025, when a software anomaly was brought to the company’s internal safety group for review. The resulting investigation uncovered that the software bug could trigger a loss-of-communication whether a trailer was connected to the vehicle or not, though the problem is obviously more impactful if it happens while a trailer is connected.
The company says it is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the condition.
To fix the issue, Ford will roll out an ITRM software update, free of charge. By and large, the company is planning to deploy the remedy through an over-the-air update in May. Most owners shouldn’t need to take their vehicles into their local dealer, though that option is still available (and also free of charge).
Affected owners should be notified of the recall and the over-the-air update to repair it between March 17 and March 23, 2026. Ford also expects to have all affected trucks and SUVs VIN-searchable on March 17.
Ford’s number for this recall campaign is 26C10.
