Over the years, Ford has become the king of recalls, and the Mustang Mach-E is emblematic of this ongoing issue. Today, Ford is recalling 53,000 Mach-Es after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began investigating Ford’s previous Mach-E recall in August. This latest recall covers 35,000 2021 to 2022 models of the popular EV.

In June, Ford began recalling 49,000 Mach-Es over drivers losing power. It even issued a stop-sale to resolve the problem before selling anymore. That mandate is also part of the recall from today.

What was the fix for the earlier Mustang Mach-E recall?

The issue then was high-voltage battery main contactors overheating. It results in either not being able to start or losing power while in motion. This happens most often after either several DC fast charge cycles or instances of wide-open throttle. 

Battery main contactors would deform, which results in them either bending open or fusing them closed. Welding shut leads to the system shutting down to avoid catastrophic fires. 

At the time, Ford said a software update would fix the issue. Two separate updates were to monitor contact resistance and lower power output. Soon after, Ford also released a technical service bulletin (TSB) advising the replacement of the high-voltage battery junction box if there were further power loss issues. But there were no recalls to replace those junction boxes. 

Why did the NHTSA open an investigation?

Since then, the NHTSA began an investigation after receiving complaints from 12 owners who began experiencing the same problem after receiving the June software updates. Dealers found that battery main contact failure was the cause of these more recent issues. In these incidences, service technicians would replace the junction boxes per the TSB.

Ford says it knows of 107 overheating contact incidents since June, according to the NHTSA. Almost all of them were Mustang Mach-E GT models. These offer a greater range than the Standard Range Mach-Es. 

With this recall, Ford is replacing all of the junction boxes in Mach-Es with longer-range batteries. It expects that since Standard Range models put less stress on the electrical system, they are less likely to experience the problem.

Does the Mustang Mach-E have a lot of recalls?

Pulling back, the elephant in the room is the amount of Mach-E recalls and recalls in general for Ford Motor Company. This is the 10th recall of the Mustang Mach-E and the 46th Ford recall in 2023. The company leads all other manufacturers by a wide margin in this unfortunate department.

Three recalls of 2022 models include axle shafts breaking, seat belts not properly attached to the floor, and the aforementioned software updates for loss of power. The 2021 models, the first year for Mach-E sales, have six recalls. These range from software issues to loose subframe bolts.

Last year, Ford had 61 recall campaigns affecting 8.6 million vehicles. Currently, in 2023, the 46 recalls affect almost five million cars and trucks.