Ford is recalling 86,543 Mustang Mach-E electric SUVs because a piece of exterior trim near the rear window can peel off the vehicle at highway speed, according to NHTSA recall campaign 26V487. The rear side quarter window glass trim was not properly bonded during assembly on some units, and Ford says it can detach while the vehicle is being driven.

Key Points

• NHTSA’s recall record states the defect traces back to a new assembly jig at a supplier plant that shortened the trim’s installation time, leaving the bonding adhesive insufficient cure time before the trim was put under load.
• A detached piece “can create a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash” for other drivers who encounter it in the roadway, per Ford’s own defect description filed with NHTSA.
• Ford’s internal designation for the campaign is 26S56.
• The affected vehicles were built between February 17, 2023, and October 8, 2024.

What’s Affected

• Vehicle: Ford Mustang Mach-E, model years 2023 through 2025
• Units potentially affected: 86,543
• Component: Rear side quarter window glass trim (exterior trim)

What Owners Should Do

Ford will notify owners by mail, with interim notification letters going out September 10-14, 2026, and dealers being briefed the week of September 3. Owners can check whether their specific vehicle is affected by VIN once records become searchable on NHTSA’s site on September 7. Once notified, owners should schedule an appointment with a Ford or Lincoln dealer, who will inspect the rear quarter window trim and replace it if needed — at no cost. A follow-up letter with full remedy availability will go out once the fix is ready. Owners with questions in the meantime can call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 and reference recall 26S56, or NHTSA’s vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 referencing campaign 26V487.

This is not the first time a fast-moving assembly change has created a downstream defect for Ford’s EV lineup, and it’s a reminder that even a small trim piece becomes a genuine hazard once it separates from a vehicle traveling at speed — both for the Mach-E’s own occupants and for the drivers behind it. No crashes or injuries tied to the defect have been disclosed in the current filing, and the fix itself is straightforward: a dealer inspection and, where needed, a trim replacement that costs the owner nothing.

The Mach-E has been one of Ford’s higher-volume EV nameplates since its 2021 launch, which is part of why a supplier-level assembly problem can ripple out to affect tens of thousands of vehicles built across roughly a year and a half of production. Ford estimates only a fraction of the recalled population actually has a loose or improperly bonded trim piece, but because the company can’t tell which specific vehicles were affected without a physical inspection, every unit built in that window gets the same notice and the same free check.