It’s been a bad year in terms of recalls for the outgoing Ford Escape and its upmarket corporate cousin, the Lincoln Corsair, and it’s not getting much better. So far this year, the crossovers have been subject to recalls for misbehaving backup cameras (and not just once) and faulty fuel injectors that could lead to fire. Plug-in hybrid variants have also faced a fire risk due to issues with the battery. Most recently, the Escape PHEV was recalled over a relatively minor issue, where trim pieces could detach from the liftgates, which is arguably a minor problem. But now we’re back to issues that could cause occupant injury or worse, as noted in a new recall filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Faulty Seat Belt Systems Could Cause Harm
Ford
According to the NHTSA recall report, the issue lies with rear seat belt retractor bolts that may not have been properly torqued. This happened at offline repair stations in the vehicle assembly plant. The fact that this problem is in the second row will be especially worrying for parents of young children, but the relatively good news is that this oversight doesn’t affect a large number of vehicles. In fact, 636 Ford Escape vehicles from the 2025 and 2026 model years have been recalled, along with 144 Lincoln Corsair crossovers, also from the abovementioned two-year model span. The documentation reveals that “left rear and/or right rear seatbelt retractor bolts may be improperly secured to the vehicle body,” so unfortunately, one cannot be sure which side of their vehicle could be considered safe, though it seems that the right side is what triggered an investigation. Happily, as of December 8, Ford was not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the recalled vehicles.
What to Expect in the Future
Ford
As always with a recall, dealers will inspect and secure or replace the faulty bolts as required at no cost to the owner. Both sides will be checked. Dealers are currently being notified, and so are owners, so check your mail if you own one of these vehicles. Alternatively, one can use their VIN to search nhtsa.gov to determine whether their vehicle is on the list. This year, Ford has been the most recalled automaker by a long way, claiming an unwanted record for the most individual recalls in a single calendar year by only the middle of 2025. Since then, the Blue Oval’s products have extended that record, with 145 recalls for the year currently listed on the NHTSA’s site. Hopefully, Ford’s all-new products will be better built.
