Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTTony OwusuFri, June 26, 2026 at 8:33 PM GMT+2 4 min readI've been covering Ford and other Detroit automakers for some time now, and the issue that keeps popping up with Ford is quality control. The data bear this out.While Ford's recall pace isn't as bad as it was last year — when it broke GM's all-time recall record for the year in just the first six months — so far this year, Ford has issued 51 recalls, according to the National Highway Traffic Administration; the next three automakers combined have just 51 recalls in 2026.Between January 2024 and mid-2025, Ford initiated 94 recalls affecting nearly 6 million vehicles, Indy Auto Man noted. By July, Ford had issued its 89th recall of 2025, easily surpassing GM's 2014 record of 78 recalls for the entire year.So the company is still a work in progress, but according to analysts at JD Power, that progress is already starting to pay major dividends.JD Power ranks Ford first in initial qualityWhile Ford leads all automakers in recalls so far this year, analysts at JD Power report that the company was the top pick in its 2026 U.S. Initial Quality Study.JD Power uses a scale of problems per 100 vehicles. The fewer problems per 100 score indicates higher vehicle quality.The total number of reported PP100 improved in 2026 to 175 from 192 a year ago. It was the best year-over-year improvement since 1997 and the fourth-best performance in the study's 40-year history.Among mass market brands, Ford ranked the highest with a score of 152 PP100. Nissan was second with a 156 score and General Motors' brand Buick came in third at 162.Related: Ford is betting a new battery strategy will make EVs profitableFord's ubiquitous F-150 led in its pickup category, while the Ford Mustang and Ford Super Duty also ranked highest in their respective categories.Ford CEO Jim Farley commented on the recognition and the work Ford has been putting in to improve its quality."Oh boy, this is a big day for Ford," Farley said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. "We've worked really hard for four years to be an overnight success story. It's been an incredible journey over the last several years. We have completely transformed all of our plants and our quality operating system.""You go into any of our plants in the US, you'll see our workers completely obsessed with all the data. Every torque wrench is measured. We look at every defect and understand why it happened," he said.JD Power recognizes Ford for its high quality in 2026.Bloomberg / Getty ImagesFord details plan to turn around its quality control troublesFord set a record last year for the most recalls in a single year, but the issue runs deeper than that.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info