Ford’s reputation for quality control has taken a beating in recent years, and 2023 will be another year to forget for the carmaker. For the third year straight, Ford leads the industry in terms of both the number of U.S. recalls, and the number of vehicles involved in those campaigns.
All in, Ford was forced to fix more than 5.6 million vehicles, more than double the vehicles recalled by Kia, which finished in second place. Ford’s achievement came thanks to a total of 54 recall campaigns through December 18, the largest of which involved 1.3 million Fusion and Lincoln MKZ models for rupturing brake hoses.
Despite leading the industry with a comfortable margin, Ford could find some consolation in the fact that it was forced to fix 21 percent fewer vehicles in 2023 compared to 2022. Meanwhile, Ford told Autonews that it is in the midst of efforts to fix its quality issues. Unfortunately, that will likely be a project that takes time to bear fruit.
Top 10 U.S. Recalls By Brand, 2023
Read: Ford Recalls 1.3 Million Fusions And MKZ Sedans Over Braking Issue
“We’re constantly working to improve vehicle quality and deliver the best experience for our customers,” a spokesperson said. “Voluntary recalls are one of the ways we proactively protect customers from experiencing an issue. Our initial quality is improving, and customers with our latest vehicles are benefiting from it.”
The title for the biggest recall of 2023 however, goes to Tesla, which recalled 2 million vehicles across its entire lineup after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determined that the Autosteer function in its ADAS tech was too easy to misuse.
It plans to remedy the issue with a free over-the-air update that will add extra alerts to ensure that drivers remain focused on the task of driving when Autopilot is engaged. In addition, it will more readily disable the function for drivers who use the system dangerously.
