The troubling track record for Ford as the USA’s most recalled automaker has seen it receive the dubious honour of being “the most problematic vehicle that Americans keep buying anyway.”

Brown & Crouppen, a law firm specialising in road accidents, analysed recall data over the last five years, weighted against sales performance.

The results come from a weighted formula based on recalls per 100,000 cars sold (at 35 per cent), fatal crashes per 100,000 cars sold (35 per cent), a vehicle’s NHTSA safety rating (15 per cent), total sales (15 per cent) and monthly online search volumes (10 per cent). All information is tracked over five years from 2020 to 2025.

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The complex data set gives the Ford Ranger the highest ranking, with a risk-adjusted demand score of 98.99. Second place went to the Ford F-150 – America’s best-selling new commercial vehicle – with a risk-adjusted 84.59 score.

The Nissan Altima was ranked third (79.27), the Mercedes-Benz C-Class came fourth (72.19), and the Porsche Taycan finished fifth (70.94). Of note, the Taycan had the highest number of recalls per 100,000 vehicles, at 187.53. Conversely, the Nissan Altima had the lowest recall rate of the top five, at 1.39 per 100,000.

The Taycan, meanwhile, had the lowest number of fatal crashes, at 10.56 per 100,000 vehicles, while the Ranger had the most, with 484.43.

This latest report comes as a blow to Ford, currently battling a slide in quality and investing heavily in restoring the reputation of both the Ford brand and its luxury Lincoln division.

Porsche Taycan Turbo S 2019
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Ford has revised factory operations, increased quality control inspections at North American factories, and introduced AI-assisted technology to identify and rectify potential problems before cars reach customers.

Recall data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2025 revealed that Ford had the most unique recalls of any brand, with 3086 entries in the NHTSA’s recall listings, followed by Chevrolet with 2127 and Mercedes-Benz with 1860.

In the first six months of 2026, Ford Motor Company has issued 53 recalls in the US, more than double the 19 each issued by General Motors and Stellantis. Most recently, Ford announced a recall for over 740,000 vehicles, including the F-150, for a transmission defect that could lead to a roll-away situation.