Ford over-the-air update SCMA-25.5.5.3
What it saysQuality improvements include: -Addresses a temporary delay on Seat control operation -Addresses occurrences where the Power Running Boards randomly fail to deploy NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as an over-the-air update dated Aug 15, 2025, received Aug 6, 2025, about the seats — 2 documents under this number: SCMA-25.5.5.3 Expedition (2 filings). It names 1 model year (2025). An over-the-air update is not a safety recall — there is no NHTSA campaign number and no federal requirement — but it is usually work the manufacturer pays for on the vehicles it names; the dealer checks the VIN against the manufacturer’s list.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationQuality improvements include: -Addresses a temporary delay on Seat control operation -Addresses occurrences where the Power Running Boards randomly fail to deploy
Documents filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCMA-25.5.5.3 Expedition | Over-the-air update | Aug 15, 2025 | 11022434 | PDF, 21 KB |
| SCMA-25.5.5.3 Expedition | Over-the-air update | Jul 12, 2025 | 11021516 | PDF, 26 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 1 model year this bulletin names have filed 38 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 6 of them name Seats — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
In June 2025, I bought a new 2025 Ford Expedition King Ranch. While washing my SUV by hand, I discovered a manufacturing defect on the roof—Ford Manufacturing had left exposed welding and rivets. The issue is quite noticeable, with depressions around the rivets and welds so deep they could hold golf balls.
2025 Ford Expedition · Structure · filed with NHTSA Feb 2, 2026 · ODI 11715033
The metal emblem on the driver and passenger seats continuously pulls my hair. I believe it is the emblem itself (sharp lettering) and not how it is adhered to the seat. I am unable to drive the vehicle with hair down
2025 Ford Expedition · Seats · filed with NHTSA Jun 11, 2026 · ODI 11743630
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the seats
Source: same model, same component group13 other manufacturer communications filed against the Ford Expedition under the same component group (seats), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Ford list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 55244 | Service bulletin | Oct 13, 2026 | Some 2025-2027 Expedition/Navigator vehicles built without multi-contour second row seats (without minor feature code BYBAL) may exhibit a c… |
| SSM 55100 | Service bulletin | Aug 22, 2026 | For Various Ford and Lincoln vehicles, if diagnostics lead to the replacement of the front seat cushion cover J-clips, lower-level service p… |
| TSB 26-2147 | Service bulletin | Apr 20, 2026 | Some of the vehicles listed in the Model statement above may exhibit a no crank/no start condition with a discharged battery in cold weather… |
| SSM 54711 | Service bulletin | Apr 1, 2026 | Some 2025-2026 Expedition/Navigator vehicles may experience a second row armrest pin that is loose or broken. Engineering is aware of this c… |
| SSM 54613 | Service bulletin | Feb 28, 2026 | Some 2025-2026 Expedition/Navigator vehicles may exhibit misalignment of the 3rd row power folding seats when in the full upright position a… |
| SSM 54355 | Service bulletin | Nov 5, 2025 | Some 2025 Expedition/Navigator vehicles may exhibit a symptom where the 2nd row seat does not return to the latched position after a power e… |
| 25P23 | Other | Aug 7, 2025 | Certain 2025 Model Year Expedition & Navigator Vehicles Third Row Seat Not Folding or Unfolding |
| SCMJ-25.9.0 | Over-the-air update | Aug 5, 2025 | "Quality improvements include: -Adds a wake up mechanism for the third row seats module." |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Ford, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Ford SCMA-25.5.5.3 a recall?
No. A over-the-air update is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the SCMA-25.5.5.3 repair free?
A over-the-air update is usually paid by the manufacturer on the vehicles it names, within the terms and time limit the document sets; the dealer checks the VIN against the manufacturer’s list.
Which vehicles does SCMA-25.5.5.3 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 1 model year: 2025 Ford Expedition. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.