Ford Motor Company has issued a record number of recalls in recent years as its team of safety and technical experts double down on improving quality. The brand’s luxury arm, Lincoln, hasn’t been immune to recalls, either. The latest recall to affect a Lincoln impacts the full-size Navigator. The Cadillac Escalade rival has just been recalled for a safety issue whereby the driver’s seat can move backwards automatically while the vehicle is in motion. This poses a safety risk as the driver could be startled or have trouble reaching the pedals.
Lincoln Navigator Seat Recall Detailed
Lincoln
The recall affects 1,189 Navigators from the 2026 model year, which were manufactured between November 26 and December 16, 2025. When driving at speeds of under 5 km/h (just over 3 mph), the power-operated driver’s seat may inadvertently move backwards. This is due to faulty obstacle detection software.
According to the recall, the seat may detect an obstacle while moving, after which it will attempt to reverse its motion. That’s where it gets more complicated, as the seat may try to move all the way back, which is a particular issue for those of us not over six-feet tall.
“If the attempted reversal length exceeds the possible track travel length, the seat will continuously attempt movement to the full back position on the track,” stated a description of the case on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s site. “The Drivers Seat Module (DSM) software does not correctly cancel the automatic reversal motion when the manual adjustment switch is activated or speed of 5 kph is achieved.”
Some reports of the issue indicate that attempts to move the seat back to its normal position using the seat adjusters are unsuccessful. Since the Navigator is the only Ford or Lincoln vehicle with the obstacle detection automatic reversal software, no other model is affected in the brand’s portfolio.
What Owners Should Do Now
Lincoln
Ford says it’s not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this issue, but Navigator drivers should still exercise caution, especially when maneuvering the vehicle at low speeds. Owner notification letters are due to be mailed from March 23, 2026. Via a software update, dealers will update the seat control module’s configuration, which will remove the troublesome automatic reversal motion function.
For now, owners of 2026 Navigators can use their VINs to find out if their vehicles are affected. This can be done via the NHTSA’s website, with the recall report stating that searchable VINs for this recall became available on March 5.
This is the second recall to affect the 2026 Navigator. In February, a recall was issued for trailer lighting and brakes that may not function—this was a much larger recall affecting over four million combined Ford/Lincoln models.
About the author
Karl Furlong
Senior Editor, Autoblog