Ford bulletin SSM 54351
What it saysSome 2022-2024 Expedition/Navigator vehicles equipped with driver assistance features and minor feature codes DBCBB and DBCBC may exhibit driver assistance feature warning messages displayed in the instrument panel… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Nov 4, 2025, received Nov 12, 2025, about the service brakes. It names 1 model year (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 2022-2024 Expedition/Navigator vehicles equipped with driver assistance features and minor feature codes DBCBB and DBCBC may exhibit driver assistance feature warning messages displayed in the instrument panel cluster (IPC). Additionally, some modules may store invalid data/lost communication related diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs). The image processing module A (IPMA) should not store these DTCs. This condition may be due to the software in the IPMA, causing it to not communicate on the network. Whether the issue is intermittent or the IPMA is currently failing to communicate, download and run the "IPMA - Image Processing Module A (IPMA) Recovery" app in the Ford Diagnosis and Repair System (FDRS) scan tool. If IPMA communication had to be restored using the Recovery App, download and run the "IPMA - Image Processing Module (IPMA) Alignment" app, recheck DTCs and confirm that all warning messages are cleared from the IPC.<br /><br /> If these steps correct the condition, release the vehicle back to the customer. Advise the customers that a permanent repair to prevent recurrence is expected to be Some 2026 Transit vehicles built without a telematic control unit module (TCU) (minor feature code IEPAA) may exhibit diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) U0146 stored in the anti-lock brake system (ABS) module and/or U016A stored in the secondary on-board diagnostic control module C (SOBDMC) when a diagnostic self-test is performed. Because these vehicles are not built with a TCU, no diagnosis or repair is required. <br /><br /> To confirm a vehicle is built with minor feature code IEPAA, review the build information by double-clicking the vehicle identification number (VIN) in the upper left corner of the Professional Technician System (PTS).
Trouble codes it names: U0146 U016A
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 54351 | Service bulletin | Nov 4, 2025 | 11025486 | PDF, 65 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 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 1 model year this bulletin names have filed 4 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 2 of them name 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.
Vehicle: 2025 Ford Transit 250 VIN: Owner: AQ ELECTRIC LLC - - Purchase: XXX - Sunshine Ford Safety Defect: Electric Emergency Parking Brake / Electronic Parking Brake self-activation Incident Date 1: XXX approx 10:00 PM - Same day returned vehicle (XXX, 14 days, said no fault found), Emergency Brake activated without driver input while…
2025 Ford Transit · Service Brakes · filed with NHTSA Sep 25, 2026
The Ford dealer where I bought this vehicle denies that there is a safety recall for this vehicle. That is Christina, Service Depart, Auto Nation Ford, Littleton, Colorado This recall states that I should not drive the vehicle until the recall has been serviced. I am unable to get Ford to honor the recall
2025 Ford Transit · Service Brakes · filed with NHTSA Mar 9, 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 group4 other manufacturer communications filed against the Ford Transit under the same component group (service brakes), newest first.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSB 25-2268 | Service bulletin | Jun 14, 2025 | Some of the vehicles listed in the Model statement above may exhibit an illuminated brake warning lamp while driving through high altitude a… |
| 24N15 | Service bulletin | Oct 14, 2024 | In the affected vehicles, over time, the Electric Vacuum Pump (EVP) may stop functioning due to broken wires internal to the pump. This may… |
| SSM 51261 | Service bulletin | Dec 16, 2022 | Some Ford and Lincoln vehicles may exhibit noise when the brakes are applied. When diagnosing and repairing brake noise conditions, use the… |
| SSM 51120 | Service bulletin | Oct 6, 2022 | Some Ford and Lincoln vehicles may exhibit noise when the brakes are applied. When diagnosing and repairing brake noise conditions, use the… |
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 54351 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 54351 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 54351 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 1 model year: 2025 Ford Transit. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.