Ford bulletin SSM 54254
What it saysSome 2025 Explorer/Aviator vehicles may exhibit a condition where the instrument panel cluster (IPC) displays an unexpected Watch the Road warning while using BlueCruise with no diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) stored… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Sep 29, 2025, received Oct 2, 2025, about the forward collision avoidance. It names 2 model years across Ford and Lincoln (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 2025 Explorer/Aviator vehicles may exhibit a condition where the instrument panel cluster (IPC) displays an unexpected Watch the Road warning while using BlueCruise with no diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) stored related to the driver-assist systems. This may be due to the steering column tilt angle and/or driver seat position (height and backrest angle). Replacing components is not expected to resolve this issue. Optimize driver head position by adjusting the steering column tilt angle and driver seat position (height and backrest angle) to ensure the driver status monitor camera (DSMC) mounted on top of the steering column has a clear view of the drivers entire face from chin to forehead. Provide both Explorer and Aviator customers with a printout of the Lincoln Aviator Owners Manual page titled, Lincoln BlueCruise > How Does BlueCruise Work. The Explorer Owner's Manual is in process of being updated. If the customers symptom persists after the above adjustments have been performed, continue with normal diagnostics found in the Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 419-03B.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 54254 | Service bulletin | Sep 29, 2025 | 11023572 | 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.
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Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themFord 1 model year
Lincoln 1 model year
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 2 model years this bulletin names have filed 127 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 53 of them name Electrical System, Forward Collision Avoidance — 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.
I bought the car in December and I was only able to take it out on the road in January, when it started to have problems with the software and brake system. I brought it to the dealer's workshop where I bought it, but they haven't solved anything and they say that the faults the car presents are normal
2025 Ford Explorer · Forward Collision Avoidance · filed with NHTSA Apr 15, 2025 · ODI 11654765
Gateway module does not work. I've had my 2025 vehicle since 11/21/2024 (over 7 months) and it has never worked. I have not had a safety update since 05/2024 when it was at the factory. There has been many OTA updates and updates that need to be preformed at dealership and have not had any completed.
2025 Ford Explorer · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Jul 4, 2025 · ODI 11671252
Multiple loss of power, misfires, rough running and abnormal shifting. These events have put my family and I at risk as well as posing a significant risk to other drivers sharing the road due to the sudden loss of power while on the highway. Lincoln is dismissive and not taking this seriously.
2025 Lincoln Aviator · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Sep 15, 2026 · ODI 11764477
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 forward collision avoidance
Source: same model, same component group4 other manufacturer communications filed against these Ford models under the same component group (forward collision avoidance), newest first.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 55071 | Service bulletin | Aug 5, 2026 | Some 2025-2026 Aviator/Explorer/Expedition/F-150/Mustang Mach-E/Navigator vehicles may exhibit the hands-free BlueCruise feature intermitten… |
| TSB 25-2422 | Other | Mar 26, 2026 | This article supersedes TSB 25-2372 to update the vehicle symptoms. |
| TSB 25-2372 | Service bulletin | Aug 8, 2025 | This article supersedes TSB 25-2294 to update the vehicle lines affected. Some of the vehicles listed in the Model statement above may exhib… |
| TSB 25-2294 | Service bulletin | Jul 1, 2025 | Some of the vehicles listed in the Model statement above may exhibit driver assistance feature warning messages displayed in the instrument… |
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 54254 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 54254 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 54254 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 2 model years across 2 brands (Ford and Lincoln): 2025 Ford Explorer, 2025 Lincoln Aviator. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.