Multiple Recalls Shows Ford’s Backup Camera Issues Are Not In The Rearview Yet

Ford is probably having trouble not looking back in anger, as quality woes from the last decade continue to bite it in the posterior in the present day. Though it may not be having as much trouble as owners of some of its most popular vehicles, as Ford has just announced two new recalls covering Bronco, Super Duty trucks, and full-sized SUVs, both of which are for unrelated failures of their respective rearview camera systems.

The Dearborn-based automaker has had a run of camera recalls in the last few years. Nearly 400,000 were recalled in 2023, 70,000 earlier this year, and others, including around 80,000, were recalled to fix their original recall fix.

Bronco 360 Cameras May Only Offer 270 Degrees Of Visibility

Ford’s Bronco SUV is the subject of the first of today’s recalls. Ford is recalling 128,889 copies of the 2022-2023 Bronco, only those with the 360 camera system. The problem is a backup camera where no image will be displayed. The cause dates back to 2023, when Ford launched a service action for Explorer, Aviator, and Corsair camera problems. It eventually learned that some other vehicles shared the same hardware and monitored those vehicles to see if the issue appeared.

It found out that it did. Ford initially stated that the projected failure rate was five percent at 120 months of service, describing it as “a statistically significant lower warranty rate” at the time. Since then, Ford says, the number of warranty fixes has gone up.

Related

Don’t Let The Headlines Fool You, Ford’s Finally Fixing Its Recall Problems

Ford has had dozens of recalls, but things may not be as bad as they seem.

More fixes mean a larger safety issue and a new recall. Ford said it was not aware of any injuries, but that there were allegations of two “minor crashes” because of camera failure. The fix is a new camera, and customers will be notified starting next week.

2015 Super Duty, Expedition, Navigator Camera Connection Failures

The second is a recall of 2015 model year Super Duty pickups, including F-250, F-350, and F-450, as well as the Expedition. The Lincoln Navigator and MKC are also included. Ford says that a connector in the camera may be loose or damaged, leading to a distorted or blank camera image on the screen. Again, the fix is a new camera, and owners will be notified starting next week.

Both of these recalls are attributed to issues with the camera suppliers. In the first, Ford says “fretting corrosion” is to blame, but also that internal connector misalignments happened during manufacturing. In the second, Ford said an issue with a solder oven at the camera supplier and an unauthorized circuit board change at a sub-supplier were the causes.

Related

Ford Recalled Nearly 150,000 Vehicles Last Week

Three separate recalls affect the Ford F-150, Explorer, and Ranger, as well as the Lincoln Nautilus.

Ford has been a leader when it comes to recalls in the past few years. For having the most, that is, not the fewest. Although this is frustrating for owners, Ford has been working to address its quality issues. In 2022, CEO Jim Farley first said that Ford’s quality issues had been worsening for years, and called it his number one priority. At the time, he acknowledged it would not be a quick fix.

In December 2024, the automaker was reportedly looking for a new VP in charge of quality. It also announced it had been using AI’s pattern-spotting abilities to catch quality errors before they became an issue. One of those was a problem with bad oil pump seals, which could have been massively expensive for the company.

Source: NHTSA (1, 2)