Ford has found that some of its LED headlights can quietly lose light. A contaminated LED chip inside the headlight assembly can knock out the daytime running lights, parking lights, high beams or low beams, according to the federal recall filing. Ford is recalling 41,748 Expedition SUVs and Super Duty pickups, and dealers will inspect and replace the headlight assemblies as needed at no cost to owners. Letters are expected to be mailed Oct. 26.
Which Fords are on the list
The list is narrow. It takes in the 2025, 2026 and 2027 Ford Expedition, and the 2026 F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 Super Duty. A 2027 model already appearing in a recall is a reminder of how early next year’s vehicles reach showrooms. The 41,748 figure is NHTSA’s count of potentially affected vehicles, so it is a ceiling for the group rather than a tally of bad headlights.
Ford numbers the campaign 26C43, and the safety agency files it as 26V606000. Ford reported it on Sept. 22. Owners can call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Anyone who owns one of these trucks or SUVs has a question that cannot be answered online yet: is this vehicle on the list? The model and model year narrow it down quickly. For vehicles that match, NHTSA’s recall page for this campaign will make VINs searchable beginning Oct. 26, the same day Ford expects its letters to go in the mail, so a VIN search is not available before then.
Oct. 26 is both the day Ford expects to mail owner letters and the day VINs become searchable on NHTSA.gov, so owners of 2025 to 2027 Expeditions and 2026 Super Duty trucks have that one date to circle.
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A federal lighting rule is the reason
The recall exists partly because the headlights fall short of the law. The filing says the vehicles do not meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108, the federal rule for vehicle lighting. The safety risk is stated in plain terms: a loss of exterior lighting can reduce visibility and raise the risk of a crash.
For drivers, the failure is easy to miss in daylight. Daytime running lights and parking lights go unnoticed until someone points out a dark lamp, and a headlight that fails on a rural road at night leaves little time to react. Nothing in the filing says how many headlights have failed, so the 41,748 reflects a shared part, not a count of broken lamps.
Replaced as needed, billed to Ford
A roundup of that week’s recalls from Vehicle Service Pros repeats the remedy: dealers inspect, and replace headlight assemblies as needed, free of charge. The phrase "as needed" means an assembly that tests fine can stay in the truck. One that has the contaminated chip, or has already gone dark, comes out.
The filing does not price a headlight assembly, and none of the sources gives a figure for what a replacement would cost without the recall. The money point is narrower and firmer than a number: if a dealer finds a bad assembly on a covered vehicle, the bill goes to Ford. Owners who already paid to replace a failed headlight on one of these models should call the customer line with the invoice and ask whether it can be reimbursed, since the filing does not address it.
Waiting for Oct. 26
Because the letters and the online VIN search both begin Oct. 26, an owner who wants to act sooner has two options that do not need the mail. One is to call Ford at 1-866-436-7332 with the VIN and ask whether it is covered. The other is to call a Ford dealer’s service department, which can look up open campaigns on a VIN directly.
It is also worth testing the lights at home. Parked facing a garage door or a wall after dark, a driver can switch between low beams, high beams and parking lights and see whether any one goes dark. A lamp that fails the test belongs in the dealer conversation whether or not the VIN shows an open recall yet.
Getting the headlights looked at
The free official check is NHTSA’s recall lookup, which opens up for this campaign on Oct. 26. Until then, the model year and model on the list decide whether a vehicle is even a candidate. Anyone who sees a match should keep the registration and the VIN handy, since both come up on the call to Ford and again at the dealer.
When booking, it helps to ask whether the replacement headlight assemblies are in stock or on order, and how long the vehicle will be at the shop. Ford’s notice does not address parts supply. A written repair order showing the recall number, 26C43, is the receipt that the work was covered.
The filing and Ford’s mailing are the two sources that will change first. If the Oct. 26 date moves, the NHTSA page for 26V606000 is where it will show.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
