Dive Brief:
- Ford Motor Co. has recalled more than 66,000 hybrid SUVs for a software error that may prevent the pedestrian warning alerts from sounding, expanding a previous recall issued in October 2025, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- The recall covers certain 2024-2027 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid SUVs and 2025-2027 Explorer hybrid vehicles. Ford estimates that 100% of recalled vehicles are affected.
- Dealers will replace the digital signal processors for the audio system, free of charge, but a remedy for pedestrian alert issues unrelated to the digital signal processor is still under development. Interim owner notification letters are expected to be mailed beginning Aug. 3, with final notification letters mailed once the full remedy is established.
Dive Insight:
Because electric and hybrid vehicles are extremely quiet at low speeds, the NHTSA requires that these vehicles emit audible warning sounds to help improve pedestrian safety. When the new standard was announced in 2016, the agency estimated its implementation would prevent roughly 2,400 pedestrian injuries each year.
Under the rule, all hybrid and electric vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less are required to emit an audible noise when traveling in reverse or forward at speeds up to 30 kilometers per hour (19 mph).
If a near-silent electric or hybrid vehicle does not produce a warning sound, pedestrians, especially those with visual impairments, may fail to realize that a vehicle is approaching, increasing the risk of injury, according to the recall report.
Ford initially recalled just over 43,000 model year 2024-2026 Nautilus hybrid and 2025 Explorer hybrid police vehicles in October 2025 for missing pedestrian warning sounds.
The current recall expands this population to additional Nautilus and Explorer models, including model year 2027 vehicles. It also calls for vehicles previously serviced under last year’s recall to receive the new remedy.
All of the recalled vehicles are equipped with a Phoenix Audio System. Due to an audio processing software error, the vehicles may not emit the required pedestrian warning sounds. The issue can occur randomly, though drivers may see a “Pedestrian Sounder Fault. Service Now” warning on the instrument panel cluster.
The suspect digital signal processor was supplied by Michigan-based, Tier 1 supplier Harman International and was removed from production on June 18.
Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group first became aware of an issue with pedestrian warning sounds in some Nautilus hybrid vehicles in July 2025. Between July and September 2025, Ford investigated the problem and determined there could be software issues within the vehicles’ digital signal processor and audio control module.
The company approved a recall for over 43,000 of these vehicles in October 2025, with dealers performing a software update or customers downloading an over-the-air software update for the audio control module and digital signal processor.
However, on Feb. 19, Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group became aware of additional problems with the pedestrian alert system in vehicles that received the software update.
The team is still investigating the root cause, but it believes it may be related to a loss of communication between a vehicle’s audio control and accessory protocol interface modules, which leads to two diagnostic trouble codes. The issue may cause intermittent loss of the pedestrian warning sound functionality, based on a review of vehicle data and customer interviews.
The digital signal processor used for the 28-speaker audio system in the Lincoln Nautilus hybrid SUV will be updated to reduce the risk of losing pedestrian warning functionality, but additional remedy components for the other recalled vehicles are still under development, per the report.
As of May 1, Ford is aware of 65 warranty claims concerning the issue for 2024-2026 Nautilus hybrid models and seven warranty claims for 2025-2026 hybrid Explorer SUVs. The automaker is not aware of any related accidents or injuries.
