Ford bulletin SSM 54534
What it saysSome 2021-2025 F-150, 2022-2025 Expedition/Navigator, 2023-2025 F-Super Duty, 2024-2025 Ranger and 2026 Transit vehicles may exhibit a discharged battery and/or a no crank/no start condition. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Jan 30, 2026, received Feb 4, 2026, about the electrical system. It names 28 model years across Ford and Lincoln (2021–2026). 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 2021-2025 F-150, 2022-2025 Expedition/Navigator, 2023-2025 F-Super Duty, 2024-2025 Ranger and 2026 Transit vehicles may exhibit a discharged battery and/or a no crank/no start condition. The vehicle may also exhibit a clicking noise from the trailer module (TRM) while the vehicle is off. This may be due to software in the TRM.<br /><br /> Verify the TRM software part number in the vehicle using Ford diagnosis and repair system (FDRS) to be PC3T-19J297-BF, PC3T-19J297-FF, ML3T-19J297-CD or ML3T-19J297-GD. To confirm a vehicle is equipped with a certain software level, review the software information by hovering over the "Diagnostics" tab in Professional Technician System (PTS) and selecting "Vehicle Software". If one of the listed software part numbers is present, follow the Service Procedure to reprogram the TRM. For vehicles with any other software part number in the TRM, refer to Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 414-01 to continue with normal diagnostics outside of this article. For claiming use causal part 19H332 and labor operation 2006D and 2006D45 of the Service Labor Time Standards (SLTS) Man
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 54534 | Service bulletin | Jan 30, 2026 | 11028170 | 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 24 model years
Also filed against model years this site has no page for: 2023 Ford F-550 SD; 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 25 model years this bulletin names have filed 3,717 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 768 of them name Electrical System — 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 32 owners who gave an odometer reading for Electrical System reported it at a median of 30,000 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
The issue involves the purchase of a 2024 Ford Expedition Max, VIN , which purchased on from Legacy Ford in Corbin, KY. Since purchasing this vehicle, I have encountered the following persistent issues that substantially impair the use, value, or safety of the vehicle: The vehicle was sold to me seemingly infested with rodents, which ate…
2024 Ford Expedition · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Mar 7, 2025 · ODI 11646958
2022 Lincoln Navigator L Reserve has many issues with Modules one of them that keeps goes bad is Apin which controls the screen and all other features like Massage seats Running Boards and Music and all other controls that gets disabled when it goes bad it’s a frequent problem which I has been having often changed 3 times but the problem…
2022 Lincoln Navigator · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Jul 11, 2023 · ODI 11531641
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 · ODI 11742182
In depth: 2024 Ford F-150 electrical problems → · 2023 Ford F-150 electrical problems → · 2022 Ford F-150 electrical problems → · 2021 Ford F-150 electrical problems →
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 electrical system
Source: same model, same component group365 other manufacturer communications filed against these Ford models under the same component group (electrical system), newest first. The eight newest are listed; the rest are on the Ford list.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 55262 | Service bulletin | Oct 22, 2026 | Some 2027 Expedition/Navigator vehicles equipped with power running boards built on or before 13-Sep-2026 may exhibit an intermittent condit… |
| 26-2431 v2 | Service bulletin | Oct 22, 2026 | This bulletin supersedes 26-2226. Reason for update: update the Service procedure for 2021-2022 F-150 3.5L EcoBoost vehicles with new Ford D… |
| TSB 26-2439 | Service bulletin | Oct 21, 2026 | Some of the vehicles listed in the Model statement above may exhibit the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and radio system… |
| SSM 55258 | Service bulletin | Oct 19, 2026 | Some 2025-2027 Expedition/Navigator vehicles may exhibit an intermittent electronic static/buzzing/screeching/humming noise from the front a… |
| SSM 55255 | Service bulletin | Oct 15, 2026 | Some 2024-2026 F-Super Duty vehicles equipped with a 360-degree camera may exhibit a distorted or corrupted 360-degree camera image in the c… |
| TSB 26-2442 | Service bulletin | Oct 14, 2026 | This bulletin supersedes 26-2297. Reason for update: Add 2022-2025 Transit vehicles. Some of the vehicles listed in the model statement abov… |
| SSM 55239 | Service bulletin | Oct 12, 2026 | Some 2023-2026 F-Super Duty vehicles equipped with a trailer brake control module and built on or before 08-May-2026 may exhibit a "Trailer… |
| SSM 55220 | Service bulletin | Oct 6, 2026 | Some 2024-2026 Nautilus and 2025-2026 Explorer/Aviator/Expedition/Navigator vehicles may experience Android Auto connection or general Bluet… |
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 54534 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 54534 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 54534 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 28 model years across 2 brands (Ford and Lincoln): 2026 Ford E-Transit, 2025 Ford Expedition, 2024 Ford Expedition, 2023 Ford Expedition, 2022 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.