2023-2027 Ford F-150 Recall: Fuel Tank May Leak or Detach

A Ford F-150 hangs its fuel tank from the frame on two steel straps. Each strap hooks a tab into a slot in the frame rail at one end and bolts to the rail at the other. On some trucks built at Dearborn and Kansas City between January 4, 2023 and August 27, 2026, the tab on the front strap never seated in its slot, which leaves the bolt at the far end carrying that strap by itself.

NHTSA campaign 26V578, filed September 9, 2026, covers 223,472 F-150s from the 2023 through 2027 model years. Ford's internal number is 26S69. The company puts the share of trucks that carry the condition at 1%, which works out to roughly 2,200 vehicles by our arithmetic, and its dealer bulletin expects fewer than 1% of the population to need a strap replaced.

Ford has 16 warranty claims on file for the condition and knows of no crash or injury.

The Issue

The straps carry the tank and everything in it, and gasoline weighs a little over six pounds a gallon. Ford makes the part itself, front strap number ML34-9054-XX, and lists no outside supplier on the filing. The strap is installed on the assembly line by pushing its T-shaped tab into a matching slot in the frame rail, then torquing a single fastener at the opposite end.

Ford's Part 573 report gives the cause in one sentence: in some instances, front fuel tank strap T-slots were not properly inserted into the frame rail at the time of vehicle assembly. Both F-150 plants run camera systems that check the strap is seated, and the recall window is defined by the periods when those cameras were not in continuous use. Ford built the population from plant records.

With the tab side unseated, the strap holds the tank from the fastener end only. Ford's consequence statement covers what follows in order: the tank can leak, a leak can stall the engine or feed a fire, and a tank that separates from the truck becomes a road hazard for whoever is behind it. Ford lists no warning that precedes any of it.

The remedy strap is the same part as the recalled one, properly seated in its slot and torqued to 35 lb-ft.

Affected Models

Model year	Assembly plant	Build dates
2023 F-150	Dearborn Truck	Jan 4, 2023 - Dec 11, 2023
2023 F-150	Kansas City	Jan 4, 2023 - Dec 22, 2023
2024 F-150	Dearborn Truck	Aug 24, 2023 - Nov 13, 2024
2024 F-150	Kansas City	Jul 8, 2023 - Dec 8, 2024
2025 F-150	Dearborn Truck	Oct 16, 2024 - Dec 20, 2025
2025 F-150	Kansas City	Nov 18, 2024 - Nov 25, 2025
2026 F-150	Dearborn Truck	Dec 2, 2025 - Aug 27, 2026
2026 F-150	Kansas City	Jul 26, 2025 - Aug 27, 2026
2027 F-150	Dearborn Truck	May 1, 2026 - Aug 6, 2026
2027 F-150	Kansas City	May 21, 2026 - Aug 19, 2026
Total	Both plants	223,472 (NHTSA); 220,864 U.S. per Ford's dealer bulletin

The build windows above come from Ford's September 15 dealer bulletin. They span nearly four years, but the population does not include every truck built inside them. Ford limited the recall to trucks that were unsold, or had been in service for less than three months, as of August 27, 2026, because the occurrences it has seen in the field show the condition manifests very early in a truck's life. A 2023 F-150 that has been on the road since 2023 is outside the campaign; a 2023 that sat on a dealer lot until this summer is inside it. Both 2026 rows run to August 27, 2026, the day Ford's population closes.

The trucks were not built in VIN order, so a VIN range is no guide; Ford directs owners to its toll-free line or to a dealer's OASIS lookup. Ford does not break the count down by model year, plant, cab or powertrain in either filing.

Chronology and Investigation

The concern reached Ford's Critical Concern Review Group on July 23, 2026. Through July and August the group reviewed global warranty data on unsecured fuel tanks and found a number of loose tanks on F-150s built during periods when the strap-verification cameras were not running continuously.

As of August 27, the count stood at 16 warranty claims worldwide, received between June 25, 2018 and August 5, 2026. The earliest of those arrived four and a half years before the first truck in the recall population was built. Ford's filing does not say what separates that 2018 claim from the trucks it is recalling now.

Ford's Field Review Committee approved a field action on September 1. The Part 573 report went to NHTSA on September 9, and the dealer bulletin followed on September 15 with a demonstration and delivery hold on every affected truck in new-vehicle inventory. The filing leaves the related-recall field blank and names no production correction, noting only that one is not required under Part 573.

Reported Incidents

Ford does not say how many of the 16 claims involved a leak or a detached tank, or how many were straps found hanging at a service visit, and the filing lists no NHTSA owner complaints.

Ford's bulletin tells dealers that some trucks may already have been repaired, or be in the process of repair, at the assembly plant, and to check OASIS before opening a repair order.

Remedy and Notification

Dealers put the truck on a hoist and inspect both fuel tank straps, front and rear, without removing the skid plate. On the fastener side they confirm the bolt is present and holding the strap tight to the frame. On the other side they confirm the tab is inside the slot and fully seated. A truck that passes is done.

A truck that fails is not repaired on the spot. Ford requires the technician to photograph the door tag and the unseated strap, submit both to its Special Service Support Center, and wait for an approval code before touching the part. Replacement straps are on restricted, VIN-specific ordering through the same center, and the bulletin says the vehicle must be present in the dealership if parts are on backorder. The replaced strap goes on with the fastener at 35 lb-ft; a skid plate, if fitted, comes off for the swap and goes back on at 177 lb-in.

VINs became searchable at NHTSA.gov on September 14, 2026. Ford's OASIS system activated the campaign on September 15. Owner letters are scheduled to mail in phases from September 21 through September 28, and Ford told dealers to repair any affected truck that arrives whether or not the owner has a letter in hand. Owners who paid for a strap repair before September 28, 2026 can claim a refund through a dealer or directly from Ford.

Ford has issued no stop-drive for trucks already sold and no stop-sale on used inventory. New trucks are under a hold: federal law bars a dealer from delivering a new vehicle before the recall service is done, and the bulletin reminds dealers the penalty runs to $27,168 per vehicle. Dealers are told to put customer trucks ahead of inventory in the service queue. The job is not eligible for mobile repair. Pickup and delivery is offered, and a rental is available for a customer-owned truck only when parts are backordered and the support center approves it. Ford customer service is at 1-866-436-7332; reference recall 26S69.

Symptoms to Watch For Before a Fuel Tank Strap Lets Go

Ford's filing lists no warning, so the four checks below are our inference from how the defect works, not Ford's guidance:

A gasoline smell after a fill-up or after parking. A tank that has shifted on its straps loads the fuel lines and fittings at the top of the tank. Raw fuel odor in the garage or at the rear of the cab is the first sign of a leak.

A strap hanging free or a tank sitting lower on one side. The tank is visible from underneath the truck, ahead of the rear axle. Both straps should lie flat against the tank with their ends tight to the frame. A strap with one end dangling, or a tank that sits lower on one side than the other, is the defect itself.

A clunk or thud from underneath over bumps. An unsecured tank can shift on its mounts. The noise is heavy and low, from the middle of the truck, and it changes with fuel level.

Drips or a wet patch under the tank. A fuel stain on the driveway beneath the middle of the truck, rather than under the engine, points at the tank or its fittings. Park the truck outdoors and away from the house until it has been inspected.

How Long Will the Recall Repair Take?

Ford's labor allowances are in the dealer bulletin. An inspection that passes pays 0.3 hour, 18 minutes of book time. Replacing one strap pays 0.4 hour, both straps 0.5 hour, and removing and reinstalling a skid plate adds 0.2 hour on top of either.

On a failed inspection the technician has to upload photos, wait for the support center's approval code, and then place a VIN-specific part order, so a truck that fails on a Monday morning may not get its strap the same day.

Bottom Line

An improperly secured fuel tank is a fire risk, and Ford's own filing says so. The arithmetic helps explain why the recall stops short of a stop-drive: 1% of 223,472 is about 2,200 trucks, and 16 warranty claims arrived over eight years, with no crash and no injury behind any of them. Ford has decided that the inspection can wait for an appointment, and its early-failure data supports the choice.

The owners with the most at stake are the ones who took delivery this summer, because Ford's three-month cutoff is built on the condition showing up early. Book the inspection before the letter arrives. Anyone smelling fuel or seeing a strap hanging should stop driving the truck and call the dealer for pickup, which the campaign covers.

Every affected F-150 in new-vehicle inventory is under a delivery hold until a technician has looked at both straps. Ask for the 26S69 line on the repair order before signing.

Find your Ford F-150 recall information: https://www.ford.com/support/recalls-details/

Ford scoped the population to trucks unsold or under three months in service as of August 27, 2026, on the basis that the unseated-strap condition shows up early. Two plants (Dearborn Truck and Kansas City) and five model years are covered, but a truck built in the window that had been in service for three months or more by August 27, 2026 is outside the campaign.