Ford bulletin SSM 54203
What it saysSome 2025 Bronco Sport/Transit vehicles equipped with R-134a refrigerant systems may exhibit a concern of the air conditioning (A/C) blowing warm with a leak detected at the low side service port. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Sep 9, 2025, received Sep 18, 2025, about the engine. It names 2 model years (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.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationSome 2025 Bronco Sport/Transit vehicles equipped with R-134a refrigerant systems may exhibit a concern of the air conditioning (A/C) blowing warm with a leak detected at the low side service port. This may be due to a concern with the low side service port cap clearance causing the service port valve to open slightly when the cap is fully seated. To correct the condition, discard the old service port cap and service port valve. Install a new service port valve, recharge the system, and install a new low side service port cap using part number DS7Z-19D702-B. For claiming, use causal part 19D702 and labor operation 19700A of the Service Labor Time Standards (SLTS) Manual.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 54203 | Service bulletin | Sep 9, 2025 | 11023201 | PDF, 67 KB |
What the document itself lists
Part the bulletin names
| Part number | Description | Qty | Find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| DS7Z-19D702-B | — | — |
Read by machine from the document NHTSA serves (1 page), read Sep 30, 2026. A part number is shown only where it matches Ford’s own catalogue shape, an operation only with its code and time, and a description only where the reader got it whole; anything it could not settle is left out, and the PDF is the record. Times are the manufacturer’s warranty allowances, not a quote. Listings and prices on eBay Motors are the seller’s.
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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 2 model years this bulletin names have filed 42 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 9 of them name Engine — 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.
This is a second occurrence of the Shift System Fault previously reported in NHTSA complaint 11749893. On July 13, 2026, while parked, the vehicle again displayed a 'Shift System Fault - Service Required' warning, followed by a 'Service Vehicle Soon' message. The vehicle would not shift out of Park.
2025 Ford Bronco Sport · Engine · filed with NHTSA Jul 14, 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 engine
Source: same model, same component group26 other manufacturer communications filed against these Ford models under the same component group (engine), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Ford list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26L01 | Other | Aug 25, 2026 | Customer Satisfaction Program 26L01 Certain 2018-2024 Model Year Various Vehicles 2.0L Panther Diesel Engine Timing Belt and Tensioner Inter… |
| SSM 55098 | Service bulletin | Aug 18, 2026 | Some 2013-2016 Super Duty vehicles equipped with a 6.7L diesel engine and 2015-2019 Transit vehicles equipped with a 3.2L diesel engine may… |
| 25B33 | Other | Jun 1, 2026 | Certain 2023-2025 Model Year Escape and Corsair, 2024-2025 Model Year Nautilus, 2025-2026 Model Year Bronco Sport and 2025 Model Year Maver… |
| 25B51 | Other | May 9, 2026 | Certain 2021-2024 Model Year Bronco, 2021-2024 Model Year Bronco Sport, 2020-2022 Model Year Corsair and Escape, 2016-2024 Model Year Explor… |
| SSM 54690 | Service bulletin | Mar 26, 2026 | Some 2013-2016 Super Duty vehicles equipped with a 6.7L diesel engine and 2015-2019 Transit vehicles equipped with a 3.2L diesel engine may… |
| SSM 54540 | Service bulletin | Jan 31, 2026 | Some 2025-2026 Escape/Bronco Sport vehicles equipped with a 1.5L EcoBoost engine may require replacement of the engine thermostat due to var… |
| TSB 25-2511 | Service bulletin | Oct 24, 2025 | This article supersedes TSB 25-2428 to update the Parts List. Some of the vehicles listed in the Model statement above may exhibit a loss of… |
| 25N03 | Other | Oct 15, 2025 | Customer Satisfaction Program 25N03 Certain 2021-2023 Model Year Bronco Sport and 2020-2022 Escape with 1.5L Engine and 8F35 Transmission.… |
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 SSM 54203 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 54203 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 54203 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 2 model years: 2025 Ford Bronco Sport, 2025 Ford Transit. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.