Ford recalls Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid and Explorer Hybrid because pedestrian warning sound may not play (expans
Without the warning sound, pedestrians (especially those who are blind or have low vision) may not hear an approaching quiet hybrid, increasing crash risk.
Here’s the short version: your hybrid is supposed to make noise on purpose, and on these vehicles it might go silent when it shouldn’t. That sounds minor until you remember why that sound exists in the first place.
Ford is expanding recall campaign 25V691 to cover more vehicles. This one hits the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid and the 2025 Ford Explorer Hybrid, and it comes down to a software problem that can shut off the pedestrian warning sound at certain speeds. About 43,438 vehicles are covered.
What actually fails
Quiet hybrids and EVs have a real problem at low speeds: they barely make any noise. No engine rumble, no exhaust note. A person standing near the curb has nothing to hear. So federal rules require these vehicles to produce an artificial warning sound at lower speeds, played through the speaker system, so people nearby know a car is moving toward them.
On these vehicles, a software error can stop that sound from playing at certain speeds. The car runs fine. You, the driver, probably notice nothing. But the sound the vehicle is supposed to be broadcasting outside itself may simply not be there.
Here’s why that matters. The whole point of the noise is for the people you can’t see coming — pedestrians crossing behind you, someone stepping off a curb, and especially people who are blind or have low vision and rely on sound to know a vehicle is approaching. When the sound doesn’t play, a quiet hybrid rolling through a parking lot or a crosswalk gives no audible warning at all. That raises the crash risk for exactly the people the rule was written to protect.
That’s the part that makes this more than a paperwork issue. The failure isn’t something the driver feels. It’s something a pedestrian doesn’t hear.
What the filing says
This is an expansion of prior campaign 25V691. Ford is now folding in the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid and 2025 Ford Explorer Hybrid, bringing the covered count to 43,438 vehicles.
The remedy isn’t the same for every vehicle. For Nautilus Hybrids equipped with 28 speakers, dealers will replace the digital signal processing module — the component that handles the audio processing, including the warning sound. For the other affected vehicles, the fix is still being developed. That means part of this recall population doesn’t have a final repair defined yet.
On timing: interim owner letters are expected to go out August 3, 2026. Those are the “we know about the problem, here’s what we know so far” letters. Final letters go out once the remedy is actually available. So there’s a real gap here between notification and repair, and part of that depends on Ford finishing the fix for the vehicles that don’t have one yet.
What this means if you own one
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Run your VIN. Don’t assume your specific vehicle is in or out based on the model year alone. Check it against the recall directly. You can pull it up through the Kelley Blue Book recall database or Cars.com recalls, both pulling from NHTSA data. If your VIN shows campaign 25V691, you’re covered.
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Know which remedy applies to you. If you have a Nautilus Hybrid with the 28-speaker setup, the fix is a digital signal processing module replacement at the dealer. If you’re in the “remedy still under development” group, there isn’t a repair to schedule yet — you’re waiting on Ford. That’s frustrating, but it’s the honest state of things per the filing.
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Watch the mail, and don’t lose the letter. The interim owner letters are expected August 3, 2026, with final letters to follow once the fix is ready. Keep both. When your remedy becomes available and you get the final letter, that’s your green light to book the repair.
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The repair is free. This is a safety recall. You do not pay for a recall remedy. If a dealer tries to charge you for the module replacement or the software fix tied to campaign 25V691, that’s not right — push back and reference the campaign number.
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Don’t expect to notice the symptom yourself. This isn’t a knock, a stall, or a warning light you’ll catch from the driver’s seat. The failure is external — the sound other people are supposed to hear. So you can’t self-diagnose it by feel. That’s exactly why the recall process matters here; you’re relying on the fix, not on catching it yourself.
If you want the running history on these vehicles, you can keep an eye on the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid and 2025 Ford Explorer Hybrid hubs as more recall and complaint data comes in.
My take
This isn’t a mechanical failure that leaves you stranded, and I want to be straight about that. Your vehicle drives normally. But “the driver feels nothing” is the wrong way to measure a recall like this, because the risk lands on someone outside the car. A silent hybrid in a crosswalk is a hazard to the people who depend on hearing it, and the rule exists precisely because these cars are so quiet.
The part I’d flag as a real inconvenience is the timeline. Interim letters aren’t due until August 2026, and for some of these vehicles the fix isn’t finished yet. So you may know about the problem well before there’s anything a dealer can do about it. If you’re in that group, mark your calendar, hang onto the paperwork, and get in as soon as the final letter arrives. When the fix is ready, it costs you nothing but a service appointment.