Ford Motor Company is recalling 36,994 Lincoln Navigators that have the high-tech chauffeur seat feature because it can unexpectedly operate itself and cause injury.
The chauffeur seat feature is designed to give second-row passengers the ability to adjust the front passenger seat for extra legroom.
The recall report said the glitch in the Rear Audio Control Module (RACM) is likely impacting 2025 through 2027 Lincoln Navigator vehicles.
Lincoln Navigators are full-size luxury SUVs.
“Residue left on the RACM can be registered as finger touch input allowing the front passenger seat to move unintentionally,” the recall report states. “If the home screen button on the RACM is pressed at the same time the seat movement button is pressed, the seat may continue moving to its full travel limit without any additional input.”
Warning signs indicating a glitch include uncommanded erratic button selections and menu changes on the RACM display.
Unintended or uncommanded movement of the front passenger seat can force the front passenger into a potentially unsafe seating position, which federal officials say increases the risk of injury.
The remedy involves owners taking their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer where the chauffeur mode feature will be disabled without charge through a configuration update.
The sequence of events that led to the recall began on Aug. 13 when a customer reported being seated in the second row behind the passenger seat and experiencing the front passenger seat reclining against their legs without touching the rear controls.
When the vehicle was inspected on Aug. 14, the NHTSA said in its report that evidence was discovered of touch contamination.
By Aug. 19, Ford’s Critical Concern Review Group (CCRG) began investigating, and on Oct. 13, Ford’s Field Review Committee approved a field action.
The CCRG investigation found that phantom/ghost touches may occur on the RACM screen in the presence of residue on the screen surface.
“These phantom/ghost touches erratically activate buttons on the screen and can also transition between menus,” investigators wrote in the recall report.
There have been no reports of accident or injury related to the defect.
