Ford bulletin SSM 54275
What it saysSome 2021-2023 Explorer vehicles equipped with a 3.0L EcoBoost engine, 2021-2023 Aviator vehicles equipped with a 3.0L EcoBoost or 3.0L plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) engine, 2021-2023 Edge/Nautilus vehicles… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Oct 7, 2025, received Oct 14, 2025, about the engine. It names 21 model years across Ford and Lincoln (2021–2024). 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.
Get the next Ford bulletin for your model by email Weekly, only when something new is filed. Nothing else; one-click unsubscribe.
What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationSome 2021-2023 Explorer vehicles equipped with a 3.0L EcoBoost engine, 2021-2023 Aviator vehicles equipped with a 3.0L EcoBoost or 3.0L plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) engine, 2021-2023 Edge/Nautilus vehicles equipped with a 2.7L EcoBoost, 2021-2024 F-150 vehicles equipped with a 2.7L EcoBoost, and 2021-2024 Bronco and 2024 Ranger vehicles equipped with a 2.7L or 3.0L EcoBoost engine may exhibit a ticking/tapping or rattle type noise from the top front cover area of the engine. This noise may occur on initial start-up after a cold soak of 6 hours or more that may last for 2-5 seconds. This may be due to an internal component of the variable cam timing (VCT) unit. Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 303-00 > Diagnosis and Testing > Engine > Pinpoint Test F has been updated to include additional steps along with a video to identify the affected VCT unit that requires replacement.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 54275 | Service bulletin | Oct 7, 2025 | 11024271 | 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 15 model years
Lincoln 6 model years
A vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
Email me new Ford bulletins for one of these models
A weekly email, sent only in a week when Ford files something new with NHTSA for the model you pick — service bulletins, campaigns, warranty extensions, over-the-air notices, every model year. Nothing else is sent; one-click unsubscribe in every message. Separate from recall alerts.
What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 21 model years this bulletin names have filed 5,062 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 462 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.
On the 2021 Ford F-150, the 30 owners who gave an odometer reading for Engine reported it at a median of 48,000 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
Catalytic converter and it was confirmed by independent service center my car only has 88k miles There is a catalytic converter recall on year 2020 but Ford refuses to do a recall for the year 2021 and I have another car that have the same catalytic converter problem with only 84k miles and it’s also 2021 and Ford refuses to do any work…
2021 Ford Explorer · Engine · filed with NHTSA Jul 31, 2026
2021 Lincoln Nautilus Reserve 2.7-liter twin-turbocharged V6 with coolant intrusion caused by a blown head gasket on cylinder #6. Vehicle would not accelerate properly and lurch forward when the gas pedal was pressed over 25%. The issue was taken to the shop and not found. The issue progressed and was taken to the shop a second time.
2021 Lincoln Nautilus · Engine · filed with NHTSA Jun 1, 2026
I purchased the truck 2 weeks ago brand new and it has a total of 570 miles on it. After not being used for one day, the truck would not start at all. I receive a warning indicating that I should stop safely now, that full power accessory mode is on and a check engine light. I connected a OBD scanner but no codes were generated.
2023 Ford F-150 · Engine · filed with NHTSA Oct 26, 2023
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 group93 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25L05 | Other | Sep 2, 2026 | Certain 2024-2025 Model Year F-150 Vehicles Equipped with 2.7L Engine Vehicle Emission Control Information (VECI) Label Update |
| 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… |
| TSB 26-2349 | Service bulletin | Jul 31, 2026 | This bulletin supersedes 25-2415. Reason for update: To add production build dates of the right-side engine valve cover. Some of the vehicle… |
| 25M01 | Other | Jul 28, 2026 | Customer Satisfaction Program 25M01 Certain 2021 Model Year F-150 3.0L Diesel Engine and 2020-2022 Model Year Super Duty with 6.7L Diesel En… |
| PT-26.11.3 | Over-the-air update | Jul 23, 2026 | 25S75 Recall remedy -Powertrain Control Module update to introduce logic to prevent low pressure fuel pump binding and maintain fuel flow to… |
| 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… |
| TSB 26-2233 | Service bulletin | May 14, 2026 | This article supersedes TSB 26-2116 to clarify the prior approval statement. Some of the vehicles listed in the model statement above may ex… |
| 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… |
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 54275 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 54275 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 54275 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 21 model years across 2 brands (Ford and Lincoln): 2024 Ford Bronco, 2023 Ford Bronco, 2022 Ford Bronco, 2021 Ford Bronco, 2023 Ford Edge, 2022 Ford Edge and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.