Ford Recalls 2,711 2026 Broncos Because a Metal Burr Can Tear the Curtain Airbag
A burr on a mounting bracket can tear the right-side curtain airbag as it deploys. The fix is free, but the parts won't be ready until October.
Ford is recalling 2,711 Bronco SUVs from the 2026 model year over a flaw that could knock out a key piece of safety hardware at the worst possible moment. According to the recall filing with NHTSA, the mounting bracket for the right-hand-side curtain airbag may carry a metal burr sharp enough to slice the airbag open as it deploys.
If the fabric rips, the curtain can lose pressure and fail to catch the occupant it is supposed to protect, so the risk of injury in a crash goes up. NHTSA logged the defect under campaign number 26V580000 on September 9, and the affected VINs became searchable on NHTSA.gov the following day.
The fix is mechanical and quick: dealers will open up the clearance between the bracket and the folded airbag so the two can no longer touch, at no charge to owners. There is no over-the-air workaround, and the campaign carries no "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory.
What Bronco Owners Should Do
Interim letters were expected to reach owners around September 15, with a second round to follow once the repair is available — Ford is targeting October 2026. The automaker's internal number for the campaign is 26S64, and owners can call 1-866-436-7332 or run their VIN through NHTSA's lookup tool in the meantime.
Recall documents reviewed by autoevolution indicate the affected vehicles were built in a narrow window between June 27 and July 26, 2026, at the Michigan Assembly Plant.
Keep This One Separate
The airbag campaign is distinct from two other recalls currently open on the Bronco, each with its own paperwork and timeline. Campaign 26V548 (Ford number 26S61) covers just over 10,000 vehicles across five nameplates — 1,062 of them Broncos with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost — for pistons that can fail and cut drive power, with a remedy not expected until December. Campaign 26V468 targets engine-compartment wiring harnesses on 2021–2026 Broncos over a fire risk. A given VIN can sit in one, two, or none of these, which is why checking beats assuming.
The NHTSA record does not say whether any injuries or complaints are tied to the airbag defect, and it does not break the population down by trim, so Bronco Raptor owners should run their VIN rather than count themselves out.
The repair should reach dealers in October, and the campaign could still grow if Ford widens the suspect population. We track every open Bronco recall and what comes next for the model in our Ford Bronco hub.
