Ford Says Certain Mustangs Were Recorded as Repaired Under a Recall When the Remedy Was Not Installed Correctly

On February 14, 2025, Ford Motor Company submitted a Part 573 Safety Recall Report to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA Recall No. 25V-096. It covers 332 vehicles, certain 2022-2023 model-year Mustangs produced between September 16, 2022 and April 4, 2023. Parts of the report follow, not the whole.

The Record and the Vehicle

Certain vehicles, the report says, "did not have the remedy for Safety Recall 24S44 / 24V-493 installed correctly on their vehicles but were recorded as having received the repair successfully completed in Ford's records."

In the affected vehicles, it says, the secondary digital torque sensor in the steering gear "was originally calibrated with an inverted polarity." Because the correct software update remedy was not installed, the underlying condition still exists. If the primary steering torque sensor experiences a failure or fault and the secondary sensor's polarity is inverted, "the steering wheel may begin oscillating without warning" when the driver attempts to steer. Ford described that safety risk, the report says, as "Unintended steering assist can lead to loss of vehicle control while driving, increasing the risk of a crash."

The dealer instructions to complete the recall tell the technician to upload the latest software using the service tool, which downloads the latest software from Ford for installation on the vehicle. "For these vehicles, the software tool did not upload the correct software to the vehicle." Under the heading for any warning that can occur, the report says: None.

The Chronology

On November 26, 2024, the report's chronology says, an issue "pertaining to incomplete software recall remedies" was brought to Ford's Critical Concern Group for review. It was first identified in a Quality Office forum, "where an audit was requested for software part numbers" applied to vehicles remedied under a sample of field service actions, or FSAs. An initial review of three of them "revealed insufficient data to confirm correct software application across all FSAs using the FDRS service tool."

In December 2024, a cross-functional team was formed "to audit all software FSAs that used the FDRS service tool," with its first focus on safety and compliance FSAs. On December 19, Ford told NHTSA that the service tool data "confirmed that the software state on the service tool at the time of installation matches the FSA software release for most vehicles. However, there are vehicles that do not have a match between the software state on the service tool and the FSA software release."

In January 2025, the team created database records to store all software lineage part numbers for previously launched FSAs, and began auditing the current software level for every vehicle repaired under 24S44 and other FSAs. On February 4, 2025, the report says, "the cross-functional team completed the audit of 24S44," concluding that 98.0% of the repairs conducted under that recall had the correct software installed. The team identified the specific vehicles that were recorded as receiving the remedy but have software that does not remedy the noncompliance. Ford's Field Review Committee approved a field action on February 7. "Ford is not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to this condition."

The Remedy

Owners will be notified by mail, the report says, and instructed to take the vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the power steering control module software updated. "Then, the software part numbers will be validated using the Software Validation Form in the Professional Technician System before the FSA is closed." There will be no charge for this service.

Notification to dealers, the report says, is expected to occur on February 19, 2025. The mailing of owner notification letters is expected to begin on March 31, 2025 and to be completed by April 4, 2025.