Dive Brief:
- Ford Motor Co. has recalled 200,000 vehicles for backup camera display issues, including a blank screen or image retention after shifting out of reverse, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- The recalled Ford models include the Transit Connect, F-150, Explorer, Bronco Sport, Maverick Ranger, Mustang, Expedition, EcoSport, Escape Fusion Edge, F-250 Super Duty and Corsair. Lincoln models include the Continental, Navigator, Nautilus and Aviator. The model year range of each vehicle varies, but all are between 2018 and 2024.
- Dealers will update the rearview camera software on the vehicles, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed starting July 28.
Dive Insight:
The backup camera fault can reduce the driver’s view of their surroundings when backing up, increasing the risk of a crash. The report also cites the elevated safety risk due to driver distraction if the camera image remains frozen on the display after shifting out of reverse.
According to the recall report, an error in the SYNC 3 software for the infotainment system can cause “system instability concerns and/or a failure to preserve certain settings across ignition cycles,” which may cause the camera display issues.
The fault may cause interference with the vehicles’ software log file compression routines, which can use up all of the free memory space of the SYNC Accessory Protocol Interface Module (APIM), the report states. Once all of the module’s memory is consumed, the system is no longer able to write new files to the APIM, leading to the camera display faults.
Other non-safety related symptoms may also be noticed by customers, including incorrect language settings and/or potential inability to receive software updates.
The NHTSA’s Office of Defect Investigations notified Ford on Jan. 17 it had received several vehicle owner questionnaires alleging rear-view camera image display problems on 2021-2023 Bronco Sport models. On March 27, the issue was escalated to Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group for further review.
From April through May, Ford’s CCRG reviewed warranty data for all rearview camera system components of the vehicles. The investigation identified an increase in rearview camera image complaints for vehicles produced from March 2023 through November 2023. These production dates coincided with the introduction of a specific SYNC 3 software release, according to the recall report.
Ford also reviewed the vehicle owner questionnaires received by the NHTSA, as well as service records related to camera display issues. The investigation discovered that most of these vehicles were successfully repaired with a previous SYNC 3 software update, leading Ford’s investigators to suspect that the prior software release was the root cause.
A SYNC 3 software update was introduced into production in December 2023 and to the field in August 2024 as part of a customer satisfaction field service action issued on July 22, 2024, to update SYNC software in Ford vehicles. This update corrected the display issues in the vehicles that received it.
Ford’s In-Vehicle Infotainment team replicated the condition through its own tests, leading the automaker to approve the recall on June 20. The company estimates that almost all of the recalled vehicles have the faulty software.
Ford is aware of 1,326 warranty claims potentially related to this condition received between June 2023 and May 2025, which also includes claims that were previously repaired under its customer satisfaction field service action launched in July 2024.
Customers will be instructed to take their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have a SYNC 3 software flash update performed.
Ford has now issued 88 recalls since Jan. 1, extending to over 4.4 million vehicles, according to NHTSA data. It's the highest number of recalls of any automaker. In June alone, the automaker issued 20 separate recalls for over 868,000 vehicles.
In May, Ford issued a recall for over 1 million vehicles for similar backup camera display issues, which was also related to APIM software. Among the recalled models were the 2021-2024 Bronco, Ranger and Expedition and F-Series pickups.
A second recall was also issued in May for 160,000 Ford Super Duty pickups and SUVs, which was also for backup camera display faults due to faulty printed circuit board connectors.
