Ford’s reputation has taken a bit of a hit in the last couple of years. The company broke the record in 2025 for the number of recalls issued by an OEM, and 2026 doesn’t seem to be shaping up much better. In fact, there is only one Ford vehicle produced between 2020 and 2026 that was not recalled at all during that six-year period.
That vehicle is the Ford GT, the incredibly rare, mid-engine, two-seater sports car Ford built as a tribute to its racing models of the 1960s. Only 1,350 Ford GTs were built between 2020 and the vehicle’s return to hiatus in 2024.
So you could argue the relative scarcity (over 5 million Ford F-150s were built in that time), coupled with the high price tag that sometimes went into the millions, made it less likely to suffer from a fault. Ford is going to take a lot of care with something like a GT, and with so few vehicles doing so few miles, faults are less likely to show up.
With that said, some model years of Ford GT, including 2006 and 2017, have faced recalls. While the vehicle is arguably less likely to face a recall, a recall of a Ford GT is far from impossible. However, the GTs built in the last four years of the sports car’s run are incredibly reliable.
However, there is more than one type of recall. You have “serious recalls,” the kind that come with a “do not drive” warning, as affected cars have a good chance of causing an accident, and then there are other recalls which aren’t as urgent. The less serious ones won’t make your suspension collapse, wheel fly off, or your airbag randomly explode in your face. Instead, this category is for things like typos in the owner’s manual, leaks on things like doors or window seals, and software glitches that might tarnish your infotainment experience.
If we only count actual, serious recalls Ford does not fare much better. Essentially every vehicle Ford produces has seen a serious recall every year aside from the Ford GT and one other vehicle comes close. The V8 version of the Ford Mustang.
Between 2020 and early 2026, the Mustang has only received recalls that were a bit inconvenient. Nothing that required you to get it to a dealership ASAP, park it outside, or not drive it anywhere. This changed in 2026, when a few Mustangs formed part of a 2.0L/2.3L EcoBoost recall that cited a risk of the cylinder head catching fire. As if there wasn’t already enough of a reason to opt for the V8 when buying a ‘Stang.
In Ford’s defense, while the Dearborn-based manufacturer may have the record in terms of raw recall numbers, other manufacturers aren’t exactly a lot better.
Despite Ford’s headlines, other OEMs aren’t much better
When it comes to vehicles manufactured between 2020 and 2026 that haven’t had any “serious” recalls, the list is essentially non-existent. Even notoriously safe Toyota’s flagship vehicle sounds like an absolute deathtrap if you spend a few minutes on the NHTSA. The 2024 RAV4 had a recall related to faulty brake caliper/wheel hub bolts. Which isn’t the sort of thing you want letting you down while you’re doing 80 on the interstate.
The 2026 Buick Encore GX 2026 Honda Accord are both recall free, having dodged a chaotic start to the year. However, both vehicles have only been on the road for a few months. So you may be reading this a few months after publication and calling me a bit of an idiot since it turns out Honda likes making its CV joints out of tempered chocolate or something.
The 2025 Chevrolet Malibu and the 2025 Kia Soul are also recall-free, though like 2026 models it may be down to relative time spent on the road rather than the vehicles being mechanically “perfect.” Ironically enough, both the Malibu and the Soul were discontinued going into 2026 as well, so they went out on a bit of a high.
I’ve done a good amount of digging for this piece, and the only true survivor I can find is the 2022 Lexus IS. It’s now around four years old and does not seem to be subject to a single recall.
When we opt not to count the less serious recalls, the list expands a fair bit. You can add the 2023 Mazda CX-5, the 2022 Mazda 3, the 2020 Subaru Forester, the 2020 Subaru BRZ, and the 2022 Honda Civic to the list. These vehicles suffered from minor recalls issued by their respective manufacturers, but none of them faced a full on NHTSA safety recall.
So yes, Ford’s recall record isn’t anything to be proud of. But they’re actually a lot better than most other companies. At least they managed to ship one (admittedly very low production) vehicle for a four-year period without messing anything up.
