2025 Ford Explorer, 2025 Lincoln Aviator Recall: When towing a trailer, the tail lights on the trailer may fail to…

NHTSA campaign 25V543000 · Exterior Lighting · filed Aug 22, 2025 · verified Jul 30, 2026

Units reported

213K

Manufacturer

Ford Motor Company

Risk

Crash / injury

Owner letters

Mailing began Oct 13, 2025

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."

The risk

Trailer tail lights that do not illuminate as intended can reduce visibility to other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.

Check whether your specific vehicle is affected

Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.

Check VIN on NHTSA →

The fix — what to do

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.

Affected vehicles

Make	Model	Model years
Ford	Explorer	2025
Lincoln	Aviator	2025

Related recalls

More Ford Explorer recalls

Other campaigns involving Ford vehicles

All Ford Explorer recalls → · All Ford recalls →

Source: NHTSA recall database, campaign 25V543000 (manufacturer number 25C42). Data last verified Jul 30, 2026.