2024-2026 Ford Ranger Recall: Sun Visor Wiring May Cause Fire
Recall Facts (from NHTSA)
- NHTSA Campaign ID
- 26V238000
- Announced
- 2026-04-14
- Units affected
- 140,201
- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2024-2026 Ranger vehicles. The sun visor or headliner wiring harnesses may be improperly positioned or have excessive tape thickness, which can result in damaged wires.
- Consequence
- Damaged wires can create an electrical short and cause a fire in the A-pillar area, increasing the risk of injury or a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the wiring for damage and update the body control module software. Damaged wiring harnesses will be replaced as necessary. All repairs will be performed free of charge. This will be a Phased campaign. Phase 1 will include 2025 model year vehicles. Owners will be notified by mail the week of 5/31/2026. Phase 2 will include 2026 model year vehicles and Phase 3 will include 2024 model year vehicles. Owners will be notified by mail the week of 6/29/2026 for Phase 2 and the week of 7/27/2026 for Phase 3. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed May 5, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in August 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S29. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on April 17, 2026.
The wiring that powers the sun visor lamps in a Ford Ranger runs through the headliner and down the A-pillar, inches from your right hand and closer still to the sheet metal behind the trim. On roughly 140,000 trucks, that harness was routed poorly or wrapped in too much tape at the factory. Left alone, the wire can rub through its own insulation, short against the body, and start a fire beside the windshield.
Ford has recalled 140,201 examples of the 2024 through 2026 Ranger under NHTSA campaign 26V238. The company already knows of one truck that caught fire and three more that showed scorching or smoke around the visor lamp circuit. No injuries have been reported.
The Issue
The defect is a manufacturing problem, not a design flaw. A wiring harness feeding the sun visor and headliner lamps was either positioned incorrectly during assembly or built up with excessive tape thickness. Both conditions let the harness sit where it can chafe against a hard edge every time the body flexes over a bump.
Over months of that friction, the insulation wears through. Once bare copper touches grounded sheet metal in the A-pillar, the circuit can short. A short in a confined, trim-covered space next to the windshield is how an electrical fire starts.
The remedy has two parts. A dealer inspects the visor and headliner wiring for damage or excess tape and replaces the harness if it finds either. Every truck also receives a body control module software update that cuts power to the sun visor lamp circuit if the module detects repeated faults, a safeguard that removes the ignition source even on a harness that has begun to wear.
Affected Models
| Model Year | Notification Phase | Owner Letters Mailed |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Ford Ranger | Phase 1 | Week of May 31, 2026 |
| 2026 Ford Ranger | Phase 2 | Week of June 29, 2026 |
| 2024 Ford Ranger | Phase 3 | Week of July 27, 2026 |
| Total | 140,201 units | 2024-2026 |
Every affected truck was built at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant between December 9, 2022 and December 28, 2025. A Ranger produced outside that window is not part of the campaign. Ford split notification into three phases by model year so that the newest trucks, which have logged the most miles under the defect, are contacted first.
Chronology and Investigation
Ford traced the problem through field reports during 2025. Between July and September of that year, four trucks in the United States showed the failure. One caught fire. The other three had evidence of scorching or smoke around the sun visor lamp circuit.
Ford filed the Part 573 defect report with NHTSA on April 14, 2026, and the affected VINs became searchable at NHTSA.gov on April 17. Because the full parts-and-software remedy would not be ready until later in the year, Ford mailed interim letters on May 5, 2026 to warn owners of the fire risk before the fix was available.
Reported Incidents
Ford has confirmed four field incidents, all between July and September 2025. One Ranger caught fire. Three others showed heat damage, scorching, or smoke localized to the sun visor lamp wiring in the A-pillar. The company has reported no injuries and no crashes tied to the defect so far.
What Owners Should Do
The remedy rolls out in stages. Ford mailed interim safety letters on May 5, 2026. Owner notification letters follow by model year: the week of May 31 for 2025 trucks, the week of June 29 for 2026 trucks, and the week of July 27 for 2024 trucks. A second round of letters goes out once the full remedy is available, which Ford anticipated for August 2026.
Owners do not have to wait for a letter. Run your VIN at NHTSA.gov, which has listed the affected trucks since April 17, 2026, or call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 and reference recall number 26S29. The inspection, software update, and any harness replacement are free.
Symptoms to Watch For Before the Wiring Fails
An abrading wire often gives warning before it shorts. Ranger owners should watch for four signs around the windshield and visors:
A burning or melting-plastic smell near the windshield. Overheating insulation has a sharp, acrid odor. If you notice it around the A-pillar or headliner, treat it as urgent.
Sun visor or dome lamps that flicker or quit. Intermittent lighting on that circuit can mean the wire is making and breaking contact as it wears.
A fuse that blows repeatedly. A circuit that keeps tripping its fuse is telling you it is shorting somewhere. Do not keep replacing the fuse and ignoring the cause.
Warm or discolored trim on the A-pillar. Heat behind the panel can discolor or deform the plastic. Any warmth you can feel through the trim points to a problem underneath.
If any of these appear, park the truck away from structures and other vehicles and contact a dealer before driving it further.
How Long Will the Recall Repair Take?
The inspection and body control module software update are quick, on the order of an hour, and both can be done as soon as a truck is in the shop. If the wiring is undamaged, that is the whole visit.
Replacing a damaged harness takes longer. Reaching the visor and headliner wiring means dropping part of the headliner and freeing the A-pillar trim, which pushes the job into the two-to-three-hour range. The larger constraint is timing: Ford did not expect the complete remedy to be ready until August 2026, so trucks seen before then may get the software safeguard and an inspection while the harness parts catch up.
Bottom Line
This is a fire recall with a truck that has already burned, so it deserves to be taken seriously even though the odds on any single Ranger are low. The failure is friction-driven, which means risk climbs with miles and time as the insulation keeps wearing.
Until your Ranger is repaired, park it outside and away from buildings and other cars, and act on any burning smell, flickering visor lamp, or repeatedly blown fuse immediately. The software update alone removes much of the danger by cutting power to the circuit, so getting the truck in early is worth it even before harness parts are widely available.
Find your Ford Ranger recall information: https://www.ford.com/support/recalls/
Historical context
Affected vehicles
| Make | Model | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Ford | Ranger | 2024, 2025, 2026 |