Federal regulators have logged more than 300 vehicle recalls this year, and two Fords say do not drive

The pace of vehicle recalls in the United States has kept climbing through 2026, and a handful of them now carry a warning stronger than the usual “schedule a repair”: do not drive the vehicle at all. Two separate Ford campaigns opened this year with that exact instruction, and they sit inside a recall count from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that has grown far larger than it looked at midyear.

Regulators do not issue a park-it order lightly. It is reserved for defects where continuing to operate the vehicle, even for a short trip, creates an immediate risk of losing control or catching fire, and 2026 has already produced more than one.

The Ball Joint Recall That Grounded Fewer Than 5,000 Trucks

The narrower of Ford’s two do-not-drive campaigns, NHTSA campaign 26V-340, covers 2,296 Bronco Sport SUVs built between March 2020 and April 2026 and 2,357 Maverick pickups built between March 2021 and March 2026, for a combined 4,653 vehicles. Ford found that the front lower control arm ball joint on these units may have been installed or repaired incorrectly at the factory, which can let the control arm separate from the wheel knuckle. A separation of that kind can cause a driver to lose steering control while the vehicle is moving. Because the fix requires inspecting and, where necessary, reattaching the joint, Ford told owners to leave the affected trucks and SUVs parked until a dealer completes the repair rather than risk driving them in.

A Second Do-Not-Drive Order, This Time Under the Hood

The second campaign is smaller still but reaches a different failure point. Ford identified about 1,536 examples of the 2025-2026 Explorer, Ranger and Bronco built with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine in which a camshaft roller finger follower may have been installed incorrectly, allowing it to dislodge from the valve stem. A dislodged follower can cause the engine to stall or fail outright, cutting motive power in traffic. Ford has said it is aware of nine warranty claims and three field reports tied to the defect so far, a small number relative to the size of most recalls, but the company began notifying owners by mail in mid-June anyway rather than wait. A permanent parts fix is not expected until close to the end of November, leaving a stretch of months in which affected owners are asked to keep the vehicle off the road rather than drive it intermittently while waiting for a repair slot.

A Rust Recall Aimed Squarely at Winter-Salt States

Not every major 2026 campaign involves a park-it order, but several affect far more vehicles than either Ford recall. American Honda issued a June recall, NHTSA campaign 26V367, covering 880,514 vehicles: the 2016-2022 Pilot, 2017-2023 Ridgeline, 2019-2023 Passport and 2014-2020 Acura MDX. Honda found that improperly specified coating on the rear subframe mounting points can corrode in states that spread de-icing salt on winter roads, eventually weakening the suspension mount. The recall is geographically limited to 23 salt-belt states plus Washington, D.C., and the remedy is a dealer inspection followed by installation of a reinforcement kit rather than a full subframe replacement. Honda notified dealers in early June and began mailing owner letters in early July; as of late May, the company had recorded no warranty claims and no reports of injury tied to the corrosion issue in the United States, which suggests the recall is aimed at heading off a slow-developing failure rather than responding to crashes already on the books.

Where This Year’s Volume Is Actually Coming From

A midyear tally reported more than 300 campaigns from over 100 manufacturers. By early September, an independent tracker built on NHTSA’s own public recall file put the 2026 campaign count at 622, spread across 167 manufacturers, roughly double where the count stood a few months earlier. Ford leads the list with 67 separate campaigns filed so far this year, more than double the next-closest manufacturer, followed by Chrysler’s FCA US with 32 and General Motors with 22. That Chrysler total includes the year’s single largest individual recall by vehicle count tied to a fire risk, the more than 1 million Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator vehicles recalled in June over a power-steering wiring fault, a case detailed on its own given the scale of the investigation behind it. Toyota, Forest River and Hyundai round out the next tier of the most-active manufacturers, a mix that spans everything from mass-market SUVs to towable trailers.

Checking Whether a Specific Vehicle Is Included

None of these campaigns show up automatically to an owner unless a notification letter has already arrived, and mailing schedules can run weeks or months behind the initial announcement. NHTSA’s own recall lookup tool lets drivers enter a 17-character vehicle identification number to see every open safety recall tied to that specific vehicle, independent of make-specific timelines. Dealerships can also run the same check. For any vehicle flagged with a do-not-drive advisory, safety officials treat the language as absolute rather than advisory in the everyday sense, and recommend arranging a tow or manufacturer-provided transportation rather than continuing to use the vehicle until the repair is done.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

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