Recall · 25V543000
Ford Motor recalled 2 models over exterior lighting
213,121
Vehicles covered
2
Models
2
Model years
August 22, 2025
Filed with NHTSA
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TAIL LIGHTS
- The defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 Explorer and Aviator vehicles. When towing a trailer, the tail lights on the trailer may fail to illuminate due to an improperly manufactured body control module. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, " Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
- What it can cause
- Trailer tail lights that do not illuminate as intended can reduce visibility to other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.
- What the dealer does
- Dealers will replace the body control module C on vehicles with less than 9,000 miles. For vehicles over 9,000 miles, dealers will perform a functional check on the body control module C and replace it as necessary. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Aviator 2025 owner notification letters were mailed October 13, 2025. Explorer 2025 owner letters were mailed November 25, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25C42.
The repair is free, whatever the age or mileage of the vehicle, and whether or not you are the original owner.
Which vehicles
A recall reaches a range of VINs inside these model years, not every car built in them. Yours may not be covered even if it is listed here, and the only way to find out is NHTSA's own VIN lookup .
How this campaign compares
At 213,121 vehicles this is a bigger campaign than 95% of the 19,818 vehicle recalls filed since 1995 whose size NHTSA published. The middle campaign on file covers 472. It covers one model year, 2025, and the defect was reported to NHTSA in 2025, at or before the oldest model year it covers — as current as a recall gets.
Ford vehicles have been recalled over the exterior lighting 50 times before this, most recently in August 2025 as 25V519000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
This site holds the complaint record for all 2 model years the campaign names. Their owners have filed 109 complaints with NHTSA, 25 of them before this campaign was filed. 4 of those name the exterior lighting, the system this recall is about — a count of complaints, not of this defect.
The vehicles on this campaign carry 20 other recalls published here, the newest being: 26V451000 (seats), 26V343000 (engine and engine cooling), 26V165000 (back over prevention), 26V159000 (seat belts).
Check your own car
A VIN check is the only answer for a specific vehicle, and it also shows every other open recall on it, which is usually the reason it is worth doing rather than reading one campaign.
Filed by Ford Motor Company with NHTSA on August 22, 2025 as campaign 25V543000. Every word of the defect, consequence and remedy above is NHTSA's published record of that filing, not a summary of it.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2025-08-22.
Independent developer and analyst