P1026
2 owner reports and 74 manufacturer filings across 22 model years from Ford, Lincoln.
Where P1026 shows up
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaints| Model year | Filed under | Bulletins | Owner reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Ford Fusion | Engine And Engine Cooling | 5 | 1 |
| 2019 Ford Edge | Engine And Engine Cooling | 5 | — |
| 2017 Ford Edge | Engine And Engine Cooling | 4 | 1 |
| 2017 Ford Fusion | Engine And Engine Cooling | 5 | — |
| 2018 Ford Edge | Engine And Engine Cooling | 4 | — |
| 2016 Ford Edge | Engine And Engine Cooling | 4 | — |
| 2023 Ford Explorer | Engine And Engine Cooling | 4 | — |
| 2016 Ford F-150 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 4 | — |
| 2018 Lincoln Continental | Engine And Engine Cooling | 4 | — |
| 2017 Lincoln Continental | Engine And Engine Cooling | 4 | — |
| 2018 Lincoln MKX | Engine And Engine Cooling | 4 | — |
| 2017 Lincoln MKX | Engine And Engine Cooling | 4 | — |
| 2016 Lincoln MKX | Engine And Engine Cooling | 4 | — |
| 2020 Ford Edge | Engine And Engine Cooling | 3 | — |
| 2019 Ford Fusion | Engine And Engine Cooling | 3 | — |
| 2019 Lincoln Continental | Engine And Engine Cooling | 3 | — |
| 2020 Lincoln Nautilus | Engine And Engine Cooling | 3 | — |
| 2019 Lincoln Nautilus | Engine And Engine Cooling | 3 | — |
| 2025 Ford Bronco | Exterior Lighting | 1 | — |
| 2025 Ford Ranger | Exterior Lighting | 1 | — |
| 2024 Ford Ranger | Electrical System | 1 | — |
| 2020 Lincoln Continental | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | — |
A model year appears here because the code is named in its record, not because every one of these vehicles sets it. Counts are mentions in the federal files, not failure rates — nobody publishes the denominator.
What it gets filed under
Manufacturer filings that name it
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communicationsService bulletins and campaigns whose filed summary names P1026. Quoting the document number at a service desk is often the fastest route to a diagnosis someone has already written down.
- TSB 25-22062025-05-16 · Exterior Lighting
- Some of the vehicles listed in the Model statement above may exhibit an incorrectly illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) P1299, P1026, and P2C39.
- SSM 517562023-06-30 · Engine And Engine Cooling
- Some 2022-2023 Explorer vehicles equipped with a 2.3L engine may exhibit an intermittent malfunction indicator light (MIL) with diagnostic trouble code (DTC) P1026 and/or P1299 present in the powertrain control module (PCM) and an engine over-temperature message displayed on the instrument panel cluster (IPC) after a cold engine start. The vehicle will also exhibit reduced performance when it ente
- SSM 516252023-05-11 · Engine And Engine Cooling
- Some 2022-2023 Explorer vehicles equipped with a 2.3L engine may exhibit an intermittent malfunction indicator light (MIL) with diagnostic trouble code (DTC) P1026 and/or P1299 present in the powertrain control module (PCM) and an engine over-temperature message displayed on the instrument panel cluster (IPC) after a cold engine start. The vehicle will also exhibit reduced performance when it ente
- SSM 513332023-02-01 · Engine And Engine Cooling
- Some 2022-2023 Explorer vehicles equipped with a 2.3L engine may exhibit an intermittent check engine light on with diagnostic trouble code (DTC) P1026 and/or P1299 present in the powertrain control module (PCM) and an engine over-temperature message displayed on the instrument panel cluster (IPC) after a cold start in cold (at or below freezing) ambient temperatures. The vehicle may also enter fa
- TSB 20-22342020-07-10 · Engine And Engine Cooling
- Some 2019-2020 Edge/Nautilus vehicles equipped with a 2.0L EcoBoost engine may exhibit an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) P0128, P0217, P044C, P1026, P1285, P1299, P139A and/or P2457 stored in the powertrain control module (PCM). The vehicle may also exhibit low coolant level, white smoke from the tailpipe, an over temperature warning in the instru
- SSM 489912020-07-10 · Engine And Engine Cooling
- Some 2015-2020 F150/Edge/Fusion, 2016-2018 MKX, 2019-2020 Nautilus, and 2017-2020 Continental vehicles equipped with 2.7L EcoBoost engines may exhibit an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) and/or Engine Coolant Over Temperature warning with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) P0116, P0117, P0118, P0119, P0128, P0217, P0330, P1026, P1299, and/or P130D. This may be due to the engine coolant te
What P1026 means
Source: SAE J2012 / OBD-IIP1026 is a manufacturer-specific code: the second character is a 1, which under the OBD-II standard hands the definition to whoever built the vehicle. The same code can mean one thing on a Ford and something unrelated on a Hyundai. Any site that prints a single definition for it is guessing.
A stored code names the test that failed, never the part that caused it. It is the starting point of a diagnosis, not its conclusion — the same code has several possible causes and the cheap one is not always right.
Common questions about P1026
Source: NHTSA files and the OBD-II standardWhy does this page not define P1026?
Because it cannot be defined honestly. The second character of a trouble code says who owns its meaning, and a 1 or a 3 hands that to the manufacturer. Sites that print one definition for a manufacturer-specific code are showing you one automaker's meaning and hoping it is yours.
Can I keep driving with P1026 stored?
Nobody can answer that from the code alone, and a site that does is guessing. A steady light generally means the fault was logged and the vehicle is in a reduced-risk mode; a flashing light means stop soon, because a misfiring engine can destroy a catalytic converter in minutes. The safe read of this page is the mileage and the components, not permission.
Does a code mean the car is recalled?
No. Recalls are filed by campaign and matched by VIN, and none of them are triggered by a scan tool. If you want to know whether an open recall applies to one specific vehicle, check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls — that is the only source that settles it.
Why do the counts here differ from other sites?
Because these are not estimates. Every number on this page is a count of documents in NHTSA's own files: manufacturer communications that name the code in their filed summary, and owner complaints that name it in the narrative. We do not model, weight or extrapolate them.
Will clearing the code fix it?
Clearing turns the light off and erases the freeze-frame data a technician would have used to work out what happened. If the condition is still there the code returns, usually within a few drive cycles, and the diagnosis now starts from less information than before.