Ford Battery Recall Affects 272,000 Bronco, Maverick Vehicles: NHTSA

New recall comes after 19 vehicle owners reported continued battery problems following a previous repair that was supposed to fix the issue.

Federal highway safety officials have announced a recall of 272,817 Ford Bronco Sport and Maverick vehicles due to a potential defect with the battery, which could increase the risk of an auto accident.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a Ford Bronco and Maverick recall on January 22, warning that manufacturing errors in the welding or strap features in certain vehicles’ batteries could lead to sudden battery degradation and failure.

The recall comes just nine months after Ford recalled more than 456,000 Bronco Sport and Maverick vehicles in April 2024, due to a battery malfunction in which the vehicles failed to detect a low battery charge, increasing the risk of sudden loss of electrical or drive power, which could lead to accidents.

The previous recall was also part of an NHTSA investigation in November 2024, after Ford was fined $165 million for conducting an inaccurate recall that failed to include all of the affected vehicles and malfunction information. NHTSA investigated the prior recall after receiving at least 15 reports from vehicle owners who had received the repair but still experienced issues with power loss.

Federal officials now warn that batteries in certain Ford Bronco Sport and Maverick vehicles may suddenly degrade while driving. This defect can prevent the vehicle from restarting after an auto stop/start event, cause it to stall at low speeds, or lead to a loss of battery-related accessories such as hazard lights, increasing the risk of accidents or injuries.

Ford first became aware of the current problem on September 24, 2024, after receiving an inquiry from the NHTSA Office of Defect Investigation (ODI) related to 19 vehicle owners alleging a loss of driving power after receiving a repair from the prior recall.

On November 15, the ODI initiated a recall query to address the concern. Subsequently, from November through January 2025, the Low Voltage Power Supply team carried out an engineering evaluation of the returned defective batteries.

The team determined that vehicles repaired under the previous recall were equipped with Enhanced Flooded Batteries supplied by Camel and Clarios. However, some of the Camel batteries have failed cast-on straps and internal welding issues. These defects can lead to open circuits and battery failure. Ford has not identified any problems with the batteries supplied by Clarios.

According to the recall report (PDF), the software released as part of the earlier recall was unable to detect certain electrical signatures from failed batteries and did not disable the stop/start functionality quickly enough.

On January 10, a field action was approved and a voluntary recall (PDF) was announced on January 22, impacting model year 2021 through 2023 Ford Bronco Sport and 2022 through 2023 Ford Maverick vehicles.

Ford is not aware of any accidents, fires or injuries attributed to the defect.

Customers will begin receiving notification letters on February 3, 2025, with instructions on how to schedule a free inspection and installation of a Ford Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) 12V battery if needed.

Any vehicle owners who have already had this repair performed at their own expense prior to receiving the Ford recall notification may be eligible for reimbursement.

Ford’s number for this recall is 25S02. Customers may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332, or the company’s contact for this recall, Dusty Gardner, via email at dusty.gardner@dot.gov.

Owners with any additional questions may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.