Ford bulletin SSM 55116
What it saysSome of the following vehicles: * 2025-2026 Expedition/Navigator built on or after 02-Feb-2025 * 2025-2026 F-Super Duty built on or after 02-Feb-2025 * 2025-2026 Explorer/Aviator built on or after 02-Feb-2025 *… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated Aug 25, 2026, received Sep 1, 2026, about the electrical system. It names 20 model years across Ford and Lincoln (2025–2026). 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 communicationWhat it applies to, as the document itself states it — the build window in the manufacturer’s own words, read by machine from the PDF NHTSA serves. The build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb; the dealer settles a borderline vehicle by its VIN.
Some of the following vehicles: * 2025-2026 Expedition/Navigator built on or after 02-Feb-2025 * 2025-2026 F-Super Duty built on or after 02-Feb-2025 * 2025-2026 Explorer/Aviator built on or after 02-Feb-2025 * 2025-2026 Nautilus built on or after 17-Feb-2025 * 2025-2026 F-150 built on or after 16-Jul-2025 may exhibit all of the following symptoms: - "No Key Detected" message displayed on the instrument panel cluster (IPC) - Key fob does not work in the backup slot. - Remote keyless entry (RKE) (lock and unlock from the key fob) functionality will work to lock/unlock the vehicle. If the vehicle exhibits these symptoms, manually enter the vehicle identification number (VIN) into the VIN entry dialog in the Ford Diagnosis and Repair System (FDRS) and then start a session using the Vehicle Communication Module (VCM) II, VCM 3, Vehicle Communication and Measurement Module (VCMM) or later level device with a universal serial bus (USB) cable disconnected from the laptop. Download the "BCM - Body Control Module (BCM) Hardware Test" app
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 55116 | Service bulletin | Aug 25, 2026 | 11036525 | PDF, 73 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 14 model years
Also filed against model years this site has no page for: 2025 Ford F-550 SD; 2026 Ford F-550 SD.
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.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 18 model years this bulletin names have filed 484 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 99 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.
Truck lost all electrical power while backing a trailer up. Engine died, no steering, no brakes, no power on dash, no emergence brakes, no power to door locks, no power to windows. If vehicle had been moving any faster no telling what could have been. Vehicle was towed to ford dealership and zero reasons for such a total loss of power.
2026 Ford F-250 Super Duty · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Apr 6, 2026 · ODI 11729384
The trailer light control module is intermittently causing trailer light faults messages and signal failures. This is associated to recall 26C10. The software update doesn’t correct the problem. Ford does not have the hardware on hand to replace the failing part. This is a safety issue for us who are on the road towing travel trailers
2026 Ford F-350 Super Duty · Electrical System · filed with NHTSA Sep 16, 2026 · ODI 11764803
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 · ODI 11715174
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 group432 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 55256 | Service bulletin | Oct 16, 2026 | Some 2024-2026 Nautilus and 2025-2027 Explorer/Aviator vehicles equipped with power folding mirrors may exhibit concerns with the auto foldi… |
| SSM 55247 | Service bulletin | Oct 15, 2026 | Some 2024-2026 Nautilus vehicles may experience an "Advance Front Lighting Features Temporarily Unavailable" message with diagnostic trouble… |
| 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… |
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 55116 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 55116 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 55116 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 20 model years across 2 brands (Ford and Lincoln): 2026 Ford Expedition, 2025 Ford Expedition, 2026 Ford Explorer, 2025 Ford Explorer, 2026 Ford F-150, 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. The document itself sets the build window: 2025-2026 Expedition/Navigator: built on or after 2 Feb 2025; 2025-2026 F-Super Duty: built on or after 2 Feb 2025; 2025-2026 Explorer/Aviator: built on or after 2 Feb 2025 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.