Ford bulletin SSM 54138
What it saysSome 2024-2025 F-150, Expedition/Navigator, Escape/Corsair, Bronco, Explorer, Mustang, Maverick vehicles equipped with a 1.5/2.0/2.3/3.5L EcoBoost engine and built on 01-Oct-2024 and through 31-May-2025 may exhibit… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Aug 14, 2025, received Aug 19, 2025, about the fuel/propulsion system. It names 18 model years across Ford and Lincoln (2024–2025). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
One page for every brand it was filed under. Each brand’s bulletins: Ford · Lincoln.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationWhat it applies to, as the document itself states it — the build window in the manufacturer’s own words, read by machine from the PDF NHTSA serves. The build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb; the dealer settles a borderline vehicle by its VIN.
Some 2024-2025 F-150, Expedition/Navigator, Escape/Corsair, Bronco, Explorer, Mustang, Maverick vehicles equipped with a 1.5/2.0/2.3/3.5L EcoBoost engine and built on 01-Oct-2024 and through 31-May-2025 may exhibit an extended crank condition, strong fuel smell in the engine oil, high engine oil level and may have various drivability diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) stored in the powertrain control module (PCM) with an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL). This may be due to an internal fuel leak of the fuel injection pump causing fuel to enter the crankcase and reduce fuel pressure in the high pressure fuel rail. Diagnose this condition using Pinpoint Test HP located in the Workshop Manual, Section 303-04A. If no DTCs are stored in the PCM, proceed from Step HP1 to Step HP5 and continue testing. For claiming, if fuel injection pump replacement is required, use causal part number 9D376 and labor operation code 9543A. If the root cause is identified as anything other than the fuel injection pump, claim the repair outside of this article. Note: Components damaged as a result of this failure mode
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 54138 | Service bulletin | Aug 14, 2025 | 11021976 | PDF, 71 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 themFord 14 model years
Lincoln 4 model years
A 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 18 model years this bulletin names have filed 1,208 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 33 of them name Fuel/Propulsion System — 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.
Recall 25SC4 software update would reduce the EV only range by as much as 20% below the Wikndow Sticker 27 miles. This action does not correct the problem which caused the recall. The root cause is a manufacturing flaw in the Samsung SDI battery cells where the thin separator layer between the cathode and anode was damaged.
2024 Lincoln Corsair · Fuel/Propulsion System · filed with NHTSA Sep 19, 2026
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 fuel/propulsion system
Source: same model, same component group49 other manufacturer communications filed against these Ford models under the same component group (fuel/propulsion system), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Ford list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 55177 | Service bulletin | Sep 16, 2026 | Some 2025-2026 Maverick and 2026 Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with an 8-inch instrument panel cluster (IPC) display may exhibit a conditio… |
| PCM-26.6.3 | Other | Sep 15, 2026 | 25S75 Recall remedy -Powertrain Control Module update to introduce logic to prevent low pressure fuel pump binding and maintain fuel flow to… |
| PCM-26.2.11.3 | Over-the-air update | Sep 9, 2026 | 25S75 Recall remedy -Powertrain Control Module update to introduce logic to prevent low pressure fuel pump binding and maintain fuel flow to… |
| PCM-26.2.11.4 | Over-the-air update | Sep 4, 2026 | 25S75 Recall remedy -Powertrain Control Module update to introduce logic to prevent low pressure fuel pump binding and maintain fuel flow to… |
| PCM-26.11.5 | Over-the-air update | Sep 4, 2026 | 25S75 Recall remedy -Powertrain Control Module update to introduce logic to prevent low pressure fuel pump binding and maintain fuel flow to… |
| SSM 55140 | Service bulletin | Aug 31, 2026 | Some 2025-2026 Maverick vehicles built on or before 05-Dec-2025 and 2024-2026 Nautilus vehicles built on or before 04-Sep-2025 may exhibit l… |
| SSM 55111 | Service bulletin | Aug 21, 2026 | Some 2022-2026 F-150 Lightning vehicles may exhibit a reduced distance to empty (DTE) projection, a high voltage battery pack state of charg… |
| SSM55059 | Service bulletin | Aug 3, 2026 | Some 2021-2023 F-150 vehicles equipped with a 3.5L PowerBoost engine, 2020-2026 Explorer vehicles equipped with a 3.3L hybrid engine, and 20… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Ford and Lincoln, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Ford SSM 54138 a recall?
No. A service bulletin 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 SSM 54138 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way.
Which vehicles does SSM 54138 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 18 model years across 2 brands (Ford and Lincoln): 2025 Ford Bronco, 2025 Ford Bronco Sport, 2024 Ford Bronco Sport, 2025 Ford Expedition, 2024 Ford Expedition, 2025 Ford Explorer and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone. The document itself sets the build window: built 1 Oct 2024 – 31 May 2025 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.