Ford Recalls 8,650 2022 Maverick Hybrids Over Loose Battery Cable Terminals

• Ford is recalling 8,650 model year 2022 Maverick Hybrid pickups after finding that the 12-volt positive battery cable terminal can loosen or detach.
• NHTSA says a loose terminal can cost a truck its power steering assist, power brake assist, exterior lighting or drive power, and says each loss can increase the risk of a crash.
• Dealers replace the cable for free, Ford’s owner letters are due around November 23, 2026, and the VIN search on NHTSA.gov went live on November 9.

One Loose Cable Can Switch Off a Maverick Hybrid’s Steering Assist, Brake Assist and Lights

Ford reported the defect to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on November 2, 2026, and the agency filed it as campaign 26V724000. Ford’s own reference for the same action is 26S81. The recall covers 8,650 model year 2022 Maverick Hybrid trucks, and the part at fault is the terminal where the positive 12-volt battery cable connects. NHTSA’s record says that terminal can work loose or come off completely.

NHTSA lists four things a truck can lose when that happens: power steering assist, power brake assist, exterior lighting and drive power. The agency’s risk statement is short: each of those losses can increase the risk of a crash.

The fix costs the owner nothing. A dealer replaces the 12-volt battery cable, and Ford expects to mail notification letters on November 23, 2026. A Maverick Hybrid owner does not have to wait for that envelope, though. NHTSA opened the vehicle identification number search for this recall on November 9, so a VIN check today shows whether a given truck is on the list.

Some of the story is still missing. The public NHTSA record for this campaign carries no cause, no build-date range and no count of crashes or injuries. Anything beyond the four losses and the cable replacement is unconfirmed until Ford’s detailed filing appears.

What the Recall Record Says, and What It Leaves Open

NHTSA files the campaign under the electrical system, wiring category. The record sets its park-it and park-outside flags to false, so the agency has attached no stop-driving or park-outdoors warning to this recall. It also marks the repair as something that cannot arrive as an over-the-air update. The cable has to be replaced by a technician at a dealership.

Only the 2022 model year Maverick Hybrid is named. Gas-powered Mavericks and later model years do not appear in this campaign. Owners of newer trucks can set this one aside. Owners of 2022 hybrids cannot assume their truck is clear after an earlier battery recall: those actions covered different parts.

A Dealer Visit, a Free Part and Two Phone Numbers

Ford’s customer service line for the recall is 1-866-436-7332. Owners can quote the Ford number, 26S81, or the NHTSA campaign number, 26V724000, when they call or book a service slot. The 2022 Maverick has been back to the shop before: the latest earlier action, a front ball joint recall, covers a different part with a different fault.

The NHTSA record contains no sentence about reimbursement. An owner who already paid a shop to fix a loose or damaged battery cable on a 2022 Maverick Hybrid should keep the invoice and ask Ford on that line whether the repair qualifies, instead of assuming it does or does not.

The 2022 Maverick Already Carries a Long Recall Record

NHTSA’s recall database returns 28 campaigns that touch the model year 2022 Maverick. The first two carry a report date of December 16, 2021, one for loose rear seat belt buckles and one for a fuel tank damaged by drill holes. The latest, filed May 27, 2026, covers the front lower ball joints. This new cable recall is not in that count of 28. NHTSA files it under the Maverick Hybrid model name.

Many of the 28 are shared with other Ford models, from the F-150 to the Escape. Even so, the pace is steep: 6 of the campaigns carry a 2024 report date and 12 carry a 2025 report date. Eight of the summaries say the vehicles were previously repaired incorrectly under an earlier recall, so earlier repairs had to be done again. A ninth, campaign 24V590, went after trucks already repaired under recall 24V-267.

Electrical faults make up much of the list. Eight of the records carry an electrical system component, and five more sit under exterior lighting. Five of the 28 deal with the 12-volt battery or the software that watches it: 24V-267, 24V590, 25V-019, 25V127 and 25V158. Two others, 24V140 and 25V123, name the Maverick Hybrid and cover an instrument panel cluster that can fail to light warning lights or gauges.

Owner complaints add detail. NHTSA holds 151 complaints on the 2022 Maverick, filed between January 24, 2022 and November 3, 2026, and that number covers every version of the truck, the hybrid is one version among several. The electrical system tag appears on 43 of them and the power train tag on 40, and a single complaint can carry more than one tag. Eight are flagged as crashes and four as fires. The records list four injuries and no deaths. These are owner reports, not NHTSA findings.

One of them, filed on March 18, 2026, comes from a 2022 Maverick Hybrid owner. The owner describes a complete electrical failure at about 15,933 miles, followed by a no-start condition. In the owner’s account, a dealer found that voltage was not reaching the Body Control Module from a fault in the battery cable and wiring system, and the truck gave no warning beforehand. The filing predates the recall by more than seven months and does not mention it.

Not the First 12-Volt Trouble for Ford’s Small Trucks

Three earlier 12-volt actions involved the Maverick. None of them is the cable defect, and NHTSA treats them as separate problems.

In April 2024, Ford issued recall 24V-267 for 456,565 Bronco Sport vehicles from model years 2021 to 2024 and Maverick vehicles from model years 2022 and 2023. The fix was a software update to the body control module and the powertrain control module, built to detect the battery’s state of charge while the truck is moving and to warn the driver if the battery has degraded. On November 15, 2024, NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened Recall Query RQ24014 to test whether that remedy worked. The trigger was 15 owner questionnaires from 2021 Bronco Sport drivers who had already received the software and still lost motive power. Those owners described no warning beforehand, and several said the dealer diagnosed the 12-volt battery and replaced only the battery.

Then came recall 25V-019 on January 17, 2025, covering 272,817 vehicles: the 2021 to 2023 Bronco Sport and the 2022 and 2023 Maverick. Ford’s filing says the suspect batteries were built between February 5, 2020 and October 20, 2022, and describes internal weld and cast-on-strap failures that can end in a sudden loss of battery output while driving. A truck can fail to restart after an automatic engine stop or stall at low speed, and the hazard lights can go out. The same filing lists no warning that would come before the failure. Of 238 allegations of lost motive power after the 24V-267 software fix, 234 involved vehicles with one supplier’s batteries, and as of November 20, 2024 Ford knew of no accidents, fires or injuries tied to the condition. The remedy was a free inspection and, where needed, a new Ford AGM battery. On reimbursement, Ford’s filing states: “Owners who have paid to have these repairs completed at their own expense may be eligible for reimbursement, in accordance with the recall reimbursement plan on file with NHTSA.”

The Maverick line in that filing is listed with a gas powertrain, so a hybrid owner should rely on the VIN search, not on a guess about which earlier recall applied. All of these actions concern the 12-volt supply in some form. Ford’s September sudden power loss recall for 158,664 Mustangs, Broncos and Explorers covers other models and other faults.

How to Check Your Maverick and What to Do Next

Start with the VIN. It sits at the lower left of the windshield as a 17-character code, and it is also printed on the registration card and sometimes on the insurance card. Enter it at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or use the license plate search on the same page. The result lists unrepaired recalls only. A truck with nothing open shows the message “0 unrepaired recalls associated with this VIN.”

Two limits apply. The tool does not show a recall that has already been repaired, and it does not show every VIN for a newly announced recall right away. NHTSA adds VINs continuously, so a clean result this week for a 2022 Maverick Hybrid is worth repeating before the letter arrives on or after November 23. The page also accepts up to 100 VINs at once, which helps anyone who manages several trucks.

For the repair, call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 or contact a dealer and ask for the work under recall 26S81. The cable replacement costs nothing. NHTSA’s free SaferCar app sends an alert on a phone when it finds a new recall for a vehicle the owner entered, and the agency offers recall alerts by email too.

An owner whose truck loses power, brake assist, steering assist or lights can tell NHTSA through the Report a Safety Problem form on the same website, or by calling the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236. NHTSA reviews each complaint it receives and uses them to open defect inquiries, some of which end in a recall.

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Sources

• NHTSA: Recall campaign 26V724000, 2022 Ford Maverick Hybrid
• NHTSA: Check for Recalls
• NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation: Recall Query RQ24014 opening resume
• Ford Motor Company, filed with NHTSA: Part 573 Safety Recall Report 25V-019

Reviewed by Preetam Gadekar