The “Blue Oval” automaker has 31 recalls covering almost 3.7 million vehicles in the U.S. in the last six months
- Ford issued more recalls than any other automaker for three consecutive years in 2023 and is already on track for a fourth in the U.S.
- Its half-year numbers for 2024 are higher than GM, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen, and BMW combined
- Ford’s CEO recently revealed a plan to hold vehicles for extra quality control before shipping them to dealers
That quality-versus-safety-items must be taken into account, of course, but while Ford was top of the list for recalls and recalled vehicles, it ranked a relatively high ninth among all automakers on J.D. Power’s list for initial quality. Stellantis, which was third for recalls, was broken down by J.D. Power into its brands — and Ram ranked first place for initial quality. Other nameplates didn’t do as well, though: Jeep was 19, directly below the industry average; while Dodge ranked last. Tesla wasn’t ranked among automakers because it doesn’t meet the study’s criteria — some states require an automaker’s permission before survey companies can contact its customers, and Tesla won’t allow that in any state that does — but if it had, its score of 266 PP100 would have put it one step up from last-place Dodge.
Recalls are a fact of life with vehicles, sadly. Every automaker has them, but the goal is to have as few as possible, and Ford’s numbers are extraordinary, especially since it was the most-recalled automaker for three years in a row in 2023 and it looks like it could hold onto that crown this time around too.
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