Ford has announced a recall affecting around 420,000 of its Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs due to a potential issue with seatbelts that could lock during a crash, possibly leading to injury.
This includes 342,283 Expedition vehicles from model years 2018 to 2022 and 77,684 Lincoln Navigators from the same range.
According to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the pretensioner in the seatbelt retractor might accidentally deploy for the driver’s and front passenger’s seatbelts. This malfunctions can cause seatbelts to lock, preventing them from retracting or extending.
Occupants may notice this problem, which can lead to injuries if the seatbelts do not work correctly during a collision. The report also mentioned that in some situations, if the pretensioner deploys unintentionally, the seatbelts may retract rapidly, risking harm to passengers.
This issue stems from a degradation of the propellant in the retractor pretensioner, which can occur in high-temperature environments. Over time, this leads to oxidation and can result in unexpected deployment of the pretensioner.
Owners of the affected models might first see an airbag failure light illuminated on the dashboard before any unwanted deployment occurs.
In response to prior recalls related to this kind of issue, Ford started a series of tests and investigations in January 2026, ultimately leading to the decision to take action in May.
While automakers have acknowledged one injury associated with this defect, they are urging affected vehicle owners to pay attention.
Notifications will be sent by mail to owners of the recalled vehicles, advising them to bring their cars to either Ford or Lincoln dealerships for inspection and replacement of the defective seatbelt retractors.
Interim notifications are set to begin mailing out on June 8 and should be completed by June 12. Relief notices will start going out on August 31, with completion expected by September 4.
