Ford Recalls 36,994 Lincoln Navigators for Self-Moving Front Seat

Ford has recalled 36,994 Lincoln Navigators from the 2025, 2026 and 2027 model years because the front passenger seat can slide forward, slide back or recline without anyone asking it to, according to a Yahoo report on the filing with NHTSA (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). The recall number is 26V691000. The software fix is free and removes the chauffeur mode feature altogether.

Families with young children riding in the second row are among those with the most reason to check, since the seat can move toward whoever sits behind it.

What goes wrong with the seat

The trouble starts in the rear audio control module, or RACM. It can switch on the chauffeur seat function by mistake. That function normally lets a second-row passenger push the empty front passenger seat forward for more legroom, so the same motors are involved.

Ford’s filing describes two risks. The seat can travel back into a person in the second row, and it can put the front passenger in a seating position that is not normal. The report points out that airbags and seatbelt pretensioners are tuned for an occupant sitting upright, so a rider tipped far back or pushed forward in a crash is not where the restraint designers expected.

Transport Canada’s recall notice adds that the seat may keep moving even when something is in its way. The report reads that as a seat that does not reliably stop when it meets a shin, a knee or a child’s car seat. The seat weighs well over 50 pounds.

The repair removes a feature

Dealers will update software in the RACM and in the APIM, Ford’s term for the main infotainment computer. The update turns chauffeur mode off entirely, and owner letters are expected this month. Neither filing says the feature will return.

Ford’s internal recall number is 26S77. In July, recall 26V470000 covered 2025 to 2027 Explorers and Aviators, where an empty driver’s seat could recline during remote start or remote unlock and trap a second-row passenger. In March, Ford recalled 1,189 2026 Navigators because the driver’s seat obstacle-detection software could misfire, as Ford’s Part 573 report explains.

What owners should do

The report lists these steps:

• Check the vehicle identification number on NHTSA.gov or call Ford at 1-866-436-7332.
• Until the update is done, keep the second row clear of anything that could be crushed and watch small children and pets near the front passenger seat.
• If the seat moves by itself, note when it happened, film it if that is safe, and file a report with NHTSA.

Why it matters for used-car shoppers

Ford’s paperwork from earlier this year describes Navigators as common in livery and chauffeur service in dense urban areas, so fleet operators have extra reason to get the update. A used 2025 to 2027 Navigator advertised with chauffeur mode will lose it once the dealer finishes the repair, according to the report.

Source: YAHOO!