Ford's LED headlight recall hits 28,450 Super Duty trucks

Ford is recalling 41,748 vehicles because their LED headlights can go dim or stop working. Most of them are 2026 Super Duty pickups: 28,450 F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 trucks built at the Kentucky Truck Plant. The rest are 2025 to 2027 Expeditions. Ford's recall number is 26C43; NHTSA's is 26V606.

NHTSA Part 573 Safety Recall Report 26V606. Only vehicles unsold or in service for less than four months on Sep 15, 2026 are included.

What fails, and how you would notice

On the Super Duty, the daytime running lights and parking lights can dim or go out on trucks with either the LED reflector or the LED projector headlamps. On the LED reflector headlamps, the low beams and high beams can fail too. On the Expedition, it is the low and high beams. If a low or high beam goes out, a warning light comes on in the dash. A dead daytime running light gets no warning, so it is worth a walk around the front of the truck.

The fault traces back to the bottom of the supply chain. The LED chips were contaminated at the chip maker's plant, a Tier 3 supplier, before they were built into headlamps by Ford's Tier 1 lighting supplier. Ford first looked at the warranty claims in May. By September 10 it had six warranty claims and six field reports, on six trucks, and no reports of crashes or injuries.

A dead daytime running light gives no dash warning. Walk around the front of the truck.

What happens next

Dealers will inspect the headlight assemblies and replace them if needed, free of charge. Owner letters are due to go out on October 26, 2026, and VINs become searchable on NHTSA.gov the same day. Like the F-150 fuel tank recall, the population only includes newer trucks: those unsold, or in service for less than four months, on September 15. Ford's data says the fault shows up early.

Sources

• NHTSA, Part 573 Safety Recall Report 26V606, Ford Motor Company, received 22 Sep 2026
• NHTSA recall summary 26V606 (remedy and owner notification dates)