Ford is pulling nearly 420,000 big SUVs off the road in the United States after federal safety paperwork flagged a front seat belt issue that can leave the belts jammed. Owners of affected Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators will be getting recall notices and, in many cases, new parts at the dealer.
Federal filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say Ford is recalling 419,967 vehicles, primarily 2018–2022 Ford Expedition SUVs and their Lincoln Navigator siblings. The documents describe a problem with the seat belt pretensioner, a small pyrotechnic device designed to yank slack out of the belt during a crash, that can instead lock up and keep the belt from retracting or extending. The recall and its remedy were first reported by Reuters.
According to NHTSA, an inadvertent pretensioner deployment or an electrical fault can leave the belt locked in place. That reduces its ability to restrain an occupant and increases the risk of injury in a crash, so Ford and regulators are treating it as a safety defect that requires an inspection-based fix for affected seat belt retractors.
Which vehicles are affected
The recall covers 2018–2022 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator models identified in federal filings. Owners can enter their 17-digit VIN into the recall lookup tool at NHTSA.gov or on Ford's owner site to see if their SUV is included. Dealers will inspect the seat belt retractors and replace them if needed, at no cost to the owner, as outlined by NHTSA.
Why this matters
Pretensioners are supposed to make seat belts safer by quickly removing slack in a crash and pulling occupants back into their seats. When they deploy at the wrong time or suffer internal corrosion, they can both tighten suddenly and leave the belt unusable afterward.
Ford and NHTSA previously expanded related pretensioner recalls in 2024 and 2025 after investigations pointed to corroded squib pins and irregularities in how parts were manufactured by suppliers, according to NHTSA documents.
What owners should do
If you own a Ford Expedition or Lincoln Navigator from model years 2018 through 2022, run your VIN through Ford's recall lookup or the tool on NHTSA.gov. If your SUV is covered, call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 and schedule a free inspection with a dealer.
If a front seat belt suddenly tightens, feels stuck, or will not retract or extend normally, have the vehicle checked by a dealer right away and avoid driving it if the restraint feels unsafe.
