Ford Recalls 30,123 F-150 and Super Duty Trucks Over Tailgate Cables

• Ford is recalling 30,123 trucks built May 30 to June 16, 2026: 18,412 model year 2026 and 2027 F-150 pickups and 11,711 model year 2026 F-250, F-350 and F-450 Super Duty trucks.
• A faulty left-hand tailgate cable can pull loose under a heavy load such as a UTV, dropping the tailgate onto the rear bumper, where it can come into contact with the customer, with no warning light or message first.
• Owners can call Ford at 1-866-436-7332 now, search their VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls from December 7, and expect a free cable replacement at a Ford or Lincoln dealer starting in January 2027.

How Two Shifts With a Broken Crimping Die Became a 30,123-Truck Recall

Ford Motor Company filed a recall with NHTSA on October 20, 2026 for 30,123 pickups whose left-hand tailgate cable can pull loose from its eyelet. NHTSA numbered the campaign 26V689, and Ford tracks it internally as 26S78. The trucks are 18,412 F-150 pickups from model years 2026 and 2027 plus 11,711 model year 2026 Super Duty trucks, all built inside a window that runs from May 30 to June 16, 2026.

The danger starts when something heavy sits on the open tailgate. Ford names a utility terrain vehicle, or an equivalent load, as the trigger. If the left cable lets go, the right-hand cable might not carry that load alone, and the tailgate drops onto the top of the rear bumper, where it can come into contact with the customer. The truck gives no cluster message, no malfunction light and no other electronic alert beforehand. As of October 19, Ford counted zero warranty claims, zero field reports and no known accidents or injuries tied to the condition.

Owners do not have to wait for a letter. Ford’s toll-free line, 1-866-436-7332, and any Ford or Lincoln dealer can check a truck against Ford’s online service database, called OASIS. The trucks were not built in VIN order, so no serial number range tells an owner whether a truck is in or out. NHTSA’s own VIN search starts listing the recall on December 7, 2026. Interim letters follow December 14 to 18, and the free repair is scheduled for January 2027.

The cable comes from Cable Manufacturing & Assembly Co, a Tier 1 supplier in Bolivar, Ohio. An incomplete crimp in the eyelet at the bolt end lets the cable detach from the eyelet under heavy load, and the incomplete crimp traces to a broken crimping die. The supplier ran certain cables on that equipment across two shifts on May 26, 2026, and confirmed that only left-side cables were affected. Audit records show 600 suspect cables shipped to Ford. The part is a left-hand tailgate support cable, number FL34-9944411-AD.

The numbers sit far apart: 600 suspect cables on one side, 30,123 trucks on the other, which works out to about 50 trucks for every suspect cable. Ford estimates that 2 percent of the trucks carry the defect, about 602 trucks (2 percent of 30,123), close to the audit count. Ford built its list of affected trucks from supplier process and maintenance records and describes every truck on it as equipped with suspect left-hand cables. Ford’s own 2 percent estimate means most covered trucks probably carry a sound cable, yet all 30,123 get the free repair.

Which Trucks Fall Inside the May 30 to June 16 Build Window

The F-150 makes up 61 percent of the recall: 18,412 trucks across model years 2026 and 2027, built May 31 to June 16, 2026. The 2027 model year is on the list only for the F-150. Super Duty adds 11,711 trucks, all model year 2026, built May 30 to June 16: 7,387 F-250, 3,537 F-350 and 787 F-450.

Several trucks are not on the list. Ford’s filing names Super Duty trucks only for model year 2026 and lists the F-250, F-350 and F-450 but not the F-550. A 2026 F-150 or Super Duty built outside the production dates in the filing is not covered, though a build date is hard to confirm without Ford’s records, so the phone line gives a firmer answer than a guess. A used buyer can ask the seller for the VIN and run it through Ford or a dealer before paying.

Ford’s toll-free number is 1-866-436-7332. NHTSA lists its own number as 888-327-4236, with a TTY line at 888-275-9171. Have the 17-character VIN ready: NHTSA says it sits on the lower left of the windshield and also appears on the registration card, and sometimes on the insurance card.

What Happens When the Cable Lets Go, and What to Keep Off the Tailgate

A tailgate hangs from a left and a right support cable. Ford’s own plant found the weak left cables on June 13, 2026, when operators at Kentucky Truck Plant ran open tailgate test loading and watched left-hand cables separate from the tailgate side eyelet. The first inspection found a malformed eyelet crimp that did not hold the cable under load. Nobody on the road had to find it. As of October 19, Ford had zero field reports, and the newest of these trucks left the line in June, so the field record is short.

When a cable gives way with a UTV or similar load aboard, the tailgate falls onto the rear bumper and stops supporting that load. Ford’s filing says the tailgate can then come into contact with the customer.

NHTSA’s database record for the campaign carries neither a do-not-drive flag nor a park-outside flag, and the risk Ford describes begins with a heavy load on the tailgate. The practical reading of that risk, which is not a Ford instruction, is to keep UTVs, ATVs, motorcycles and other heavy cargo off the tailgate of an affected truck until a dealer has replaced the left cable. The filing ties the failure to heavy loads. Without a dashboard alert, an owner cannot see the problem coming, and the only reliable check is the VIN.

The replacement cable is built to meet cable load rating specifications, and the dealer swaps the left-hand side cable at no charge.

From a Test Line in June to a Repair in January: The Full Clock

The recall took shape in stages. Operators saw the cables separate on June 13. Kentucky Truck Plant issued a stop-ship on June 15 for 2026 and 2027 model year Super Duty and F-150 vehicles. On June 18 the concern reached Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group. The Field Review Committee approved a field action on October 13, 117 days after that first review, and the filing reached NHTSA on October 20, 129 days after the test-line sighting.

Owners now face four dates. December 7 is when VINs are planned to be searchable at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Interim owner letters, which notify owners of the safety risk, are planned for December 14 to 18. Dealers are notified on January 11, 2027, and the letters that announce the remedy go out January 18 to 22. From the June 13 sighting to the January 11 dealer notice is 212 days, just under seven months.

NHTSA’s recall page says manufacturers mail registered owners within 60 days of notifying the agency of a recall decision. Counted from the October 20 filing, 60 days ends December 19, one day after Ford’s last planned interim mailing. A month sits between the last interim letter and the first remedy letter, and no repair is scheduled in that stretch.

Checking early has a catch. A clean result at nhtsa.gov/recalls before December 7 cannot rule this recall out: NHTSA’s page says some recently announced recalls do not yet have every VIN loaded, and this campaign’s VINs are scheduled to go in on that date.

Seven Other NHTSA Recalls Name the 2026 F-150: How to Check Them All at Once

The tailgate cable is one of eight campaigns that NHTSA’s database lists against the 2026 F-150. Ford’s trailer brake module recall, 26V104, reached NHTSA on February 21. Body joints that were improperly tightened, 26V550, followed on August 25. Three came on September 9: rear axle tail bearings (26V576), rear stabilizer rod fasteners (26V577) and fuel tank mounting (26V578). On October 6 came front seats that were improperly secured (26V655) and an instrument cluster that can leave the tachometer and speedometer stuck or erratic (26V653). The tailgate cable arrived 14 days after those two.

The 2027 F-150 appears under three: fuel tank mounting, front seats and the tailgate cable. The database names a model year for each campaign, and a truck is in a campaign only when its own VIN falls in the population, so a 2026 F-150 owner can be in none, one or several. The fuel tank recall for the F-150 covers 2023 to 2027 F-150s whose tank can leak or detach while driving.

The instrument cluster campaign hits the same family of trucks. Ford’s Super Duty speedometer recall covers analog clusters that give the driver wrong readings, and its remedy is anticipated in December 2026, a month before the tailgate repair.

One search settles all of it. Go to nhtsa.gov/recalls, enter the 17-character VIN or the license plate, and the results list each unrepaired recall on that truck. A recall that has already been repaired does not appear, and the tool searches up to 100 VINs at once, which helps anyone who manages a fleet or a lot. NHTSA’s free SaferCar app sends an alert when it finds a recall for a registered vehicle. Repairs on all of these are free.

For the tailgate recall, the steps are short. Call 1-866-436-7332 or a Ford dealer today with the VIN, check nhtsa.gov/recalls again after December 7, keep heavy loads off the tailgate until the left cable is replaced, and book the repair when the January letter arrives.

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Sources

• NHTSA: Part 573 Safety Recall Report 26V689
• NHTSA: Recall data for campaign 26V689
• NHTSA: Recalls for the 2026 Ford F-150
• NHTSA: Check for Recalls

Reviewed by Preetam Gadekar