The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2021-2026 Bronco Sport and 2022-2026 Maverick vehicles. The front lower control arm ball joints may have been incorrectly installed or incorrectly repaired at the vehicle assembly plant, allowing the control arm to disconnect from the front wheel knuckle.
The risk
A detached control arm can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is completed. Dealers will inspect and repair the front lower control arm ball joints as necessary, free of charge.Owner notification letters were mailed September 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S36. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on May 29, 2026.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ford Bronco Sport | 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| Ford Maverick | 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 |
Components: SUSPENSION:FRONT:CONTROL ARM:LOWER BALL JOINT
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Bronco Sport | 2021 | 709 | 16 |
| Ford Bronco Sport | 2022 | 369 | 15 |
| Ford Bronco Sport | 2023 | 160 | 14 |
| Ford Bronco Sport | 2024 | 113 | 8 |
| Ford Bronco Sport | 2025 | 39 | 7 |
| Ford Bronco Sport | 2026 | 8 | 6 |
| Ford Maverick | 2022 | 150 | 28 |
| Ford Maverick | 2023 | 81 | 21 |
| Ford Maverick | 2024 | 74 | 15 |
| Ford Maverick | 2025 | 24 | 12 |
| Ford Maverick | 2026 | 6 | 7 |
Other suspension recalls in 2026
26 of the 666 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2026 concerned the suspension; Ford Motor Company filed 737 campaigns in all.
| 26V692000 20 Oct 2026 | Hyundai Motor America |
| 26V685000 19 Oct 2026 | Subaru of America, Inc. |
| 26V577000 9 Sept 2026 | Ford Motor Company |
| 26V562000 1 Sept 2026 | Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) |
| 26V558000 31 Aug 2026 | Tesla, Inc. |
| 26V514000 6 Aug 2026 | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing |
| 26V488000 28 Jul 2026 | Newell Coach Corp. |
| 26V479000 24 Jul 2026 | ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2026