Ford Issued 58 Recalls Totaling 6.1 Million Vehicles in 2023, Honda Recalled Even More

Rather than the 54 campaigns reported by fellow automotive publications, the final count is 58 campaigns. In other words, the Ford Motor Company issued 16 percent of all vehicle recalls last year in the United States of America. The Ford and Lincoln vehicles in question range from subcompacts to body-on-frame leviathans, with NHTSA's database showing no fewer than 6,152,614 recalled vehicles.

Ford's largest campaign for 2023 was published in March 2023. Back then, Dearborn's favorite son recalled the now-discontinued Fusion and Lincoln MKZ to the tune of 1,280,726 units due to a potential rupture in the front brake jounce hose. The NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened a recall query into this problem back in August 2022 due to 50 vehicle owner questionnaires alleging front brake hose failures on the Fusion and MKZ. The remedy front brake hoses feature a different material braid.

As far as FoMoCo is concerned, the second largest recall for 2023 was issued in July 2023 for 2021 through 2023 model year Ford F-150 pickup trucks equipped with a single exit exhaust. What's the matter with said trucks? According to documents published on the federal watchdog's portal, the rear axle wiring harness may contact the rear axle housing, resulting in the unexpected activation of the electric parking brake while driving. 870,701 units of the half-tonner were recalled in the US market.

Ford may have issued the most recalls in 2023, which means that Ford leads the industry for the third year straight, but Honda recalled more vehicles than its American rival. The Japanese automaker is listed with only 19 recalls to its name, totaling 6,334,825 vehicles. The largest one concerns 2,539,902 vehicles equipped with Denso fuel pumps. Honda also recalled 1,209,673 vehicles with TE Connectivity-supplied MOST cable harnesses.

NHTSA's data further shows that Chrysler issued 45 recalls for 2,732,398 vehicles in 2023, followed by the folks at BMW (32 recalls and 340,249 vehicles), Mercedes-Benz (31 recalls and 478,173 vehicles), General Motors (25 recalls and 2,021,008 vehicles), Daimler Trucks (23 recalls and 261,959 vehicles), and Nissan (23 recalls and 1,804,443 vehicles). The list of shame includes Jaguar Land Rover with 21 campaigns and a little over 85,000 Jags and LRs.

Kia also issued 21 campaigns, but as opposed to JLR, the South Korean automaker recalled a little over 3.1 million vehicles last year. The Volkswagen Group also reported 19 recalls with the NHTSA, totaling 453,763 vehicles. For reference, the Volkswagen brand couldn't do better than 329,029 deliveries in 2023, split between 54,223 cars and 242,387 sport utility vehicles. The Tiguan was the German brand's most popular nameplate last year, but on the other hand, the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport sold a combined 95,675 vehicles in the United States market.

Turning our attention back to recalls, a staggering 211 campaigns totaling 7,697,151 vehicles were for electrical system-related problems. Given the increased complexity of modern cars, beginning with OTA-capable infotainment systems and touch controls instead of buttons, you shouldn't be surprised that electrical problems are so prevalent.

Did your vehicle get recalled in 2023? If so, tell us about your dealership experience and the effectiveness of the remedy in the comments section below.