Are you the sort of person who keeps a well organized sock drawer? Do you line the pens on your desk up according to colors of the rainbow? Back before movies were digital, did you alphabetize your DVD collection? If so, you’ll be tickled by Ford’s latest series of recalls, all for trim pieces flying off SUVs.

• 2011-2019 Ford Explorer A-Pillar trim (January 2024)
• 2016-2017 Ford Explorer B-Pillar trim (June 2025)
• 2020-2025 Lincoln Aviator C-Pillar trim (June 2025)

Our saga begins in January 2024 when Ford had to recall nearly ten models years of its Explorer SUV over trim pieces that might fly off at high speeds and strike other vehicles. This included 1.9 million specific vehicles. The automaker claimed the problem was glue and retention clips that might have been installed improperly during assembly.

Where were these trim pieces? On the outside of the SUV’s “A-Pillar.” That’s the pillar between the windshield and front windows. Some worried about the glue or retention clips holding other trim pieces in place. But Ford was optimistic that the problem would only plague the “A-Pillar.”

Fast-forward to spring 2025, and Ford issued an oddly familiar SUV recall. It warned that trim pieces could fall off 492k 2016-2017 Explorer. Which trim pieces? The ones on the outside of the “B-Pillar.” For those keeping track at home, the B-Pillar divides the front and rear windows.

So was that it for flying trim pieces? Eagle-eyed observers will notice there’s a third pillar between the Explorer’s rear door windows and the windows for the third row of seats. And you guessed it, it’s called the C-Pillar.

Well, in late June 2025, Ford admitted the C-Pillar trim is at risk. This time, for the 2020-2025 Lincoln Aviator SUV. That is the up-market twin of the Ford Explorer, which hails from the same Chicago Assembly Plant, and shares many components. Ford Motor Company is starting by recalling 132,914 Aviators, but we’ll have to wait and see if this recall expands.

If there is a bigger issue with the assembly at this Chicago plant, we may see the recalls for all three pillars expand to most SUVs built between 2011 and 2025 as Ford gets more complaints from owners. In the meantime, why did the recalls happen A, then B, then C? Perhaps at the front of the vehicle, the A-Pillar trim was subject to the most wind and thus degraded quicker.

Curious if your Ford has any open recalls? You can call your local dealership with your VIN handy, or punch in your VIN at NHTSA.gov.