Ford bulletin SSM 54250
What it saysSome 2024-2025 Escape Hybrid/Maverick Hybrid/Nautilus Hybrid/F-150 non-Lightning/F-Super Duty/Bronco and 2025 Expedition/Navigator/Ranger vehicles where customers have installed an aftermarket supplemental braking… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Sep 26, 2025, received Oct 2, 2025, about the service brakes. It names 22 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 communicationSome 2024-2025 Escape Hybrid/Maverick Hybrid/Nautilus Hybrid/F-150 non-Lightning/F-Super Duty/Bronco and 2025 Expedition/Navigator/Ranger vehicles where customers have installed an aftermarket supplemental braking system may experience a discharged 12-volt battery after recreational towing. This may be due to the supplemental braking system keeping the vehicle awake during brake applications. Advise customers that while recreational towing the vehicle with a supplemental braking system installed, it is recommended to use a 12-volt battery charger connected to a power source external to the vehicle being towed. The Owners Manual is in process of being updated with this information.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 54250 | Service bulletin | Sep 26, 2025 | 11023567 | PDF, 66 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 18 model years
Also filed against model years this site has no page for: 2024 Ford F-550 SD; 2025 Ford F-550 SD.
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 20 model years this bulletin names have filed 1,109 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 393 of them name Electrical System, Service Brakes — 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.
The parking brake has repeatedly engaged without action from the owner/operator. This seems to happen at random. The dash warning light does show upon occurrence. There is no known cause for, or understanding of, this malfunction. The Ford certified dealer could not confirm as it did not occur under their supervision when serviced.
2024 Ford F-150 · Service Brakes · filed with NHTSA May 15, 2025
My Ford Ranger is on a safety recall. They sold it to us on May 9,2025 then kept the truck. June 1 they told use the recall issue was solved. We were not given documents on this. We are now seeing the parts needed are not available until the end of June. A Fedaral and State law was broken in selling us a vehicle on a safety recall.
2025 Ford Ranger · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Jun 4, 2026
This vehicle has been returned to service 5 times. It is currently in service for the same 4 issues that it was taken to service for the very first time on 12/10/2025. This includes inappropriate braking on the interstate, driver window malfunction, the key intermittently stops working, and the connectivity does not regularly work.
2025 Lincoln Navigator · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Feb 2, 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 service brakes
Source: same model, same component group59 other manufacturer communications filed against these Ford models under the same component group (service brakes), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Ford list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| ITRM-26.DC | Over-the-air update | Sep 9, 2026 | 26C10 Recall remedy -Addresses instances where the trailer lights and trailer brakes may not function |
| SSM 54993 | Service bulletin | Jul 8, 2026 | Some 2025-2026 F-150 Raptor vehicles may exhibit increased sensitivity or braking force when applying the brake pedal at slower speeds. To r… |
| SSM 54940 | Service bulletin | Jun 16, 2026 | Some 2021-2026 F-150 vehicles may exhibit a U2100:00 diagnostic trouble code (DTC) for initial configuration incomplete stored in the traile… |
| ITRM-26.B04 | Over-the-air update | Jun 12, 2026 | 26C10 Recall remedy -Addresses instances where the trailer lights and trailer brakes may not function |
| SSM 54856 | Service bulletin | May 21, 2026 | Some 2025-2026 Bronco vehicles may exhibit a condition where cruise control is inoperative and/or an "Adaptive Cruise Control Not Available"… |
| SSM 54848 | Service bulletin | May 20, 2026 | Some 2025 Bronco Raptor vehicles may exhibit a concern where certain selectable drive modes (G.O.A.T. modes) are unavailable after the ABS m… |
| SSM 54847 | Service bulletin | May 20, 2026 | Some 2025 Bronco non-Raptor vehicles may exhibit a concern where certain selectable drive modes (G.O.A.T. modes) are unavailable after the A… |
| SSM 54785 | Service bulletin | Apr 28, 2026 | Some 2022-2024 Maverick hybrid vehicles may exhibit various electrical symptoms and/or a no crank/no start condition related to an intermitt… |
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 54250 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 54250 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 54250 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 22 model years across 2 brands (Ford and Lincoln): 2025 Ford Bronco, 2024 Ford Bronco, 2025 Ford Escape, 2024 Ford Escape, 2025 Ford Expedition, 2025 Ford F-150 and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.