By Tom Murphy
There's nothing unusual about an automaker celebrating its wins, whether it's record annual sales, an award for a popular vehicle, or sharing profits with employees. When JD Power ranks an automaker at or near the top for initial quality or vehicle dependability, expect to see a press release.
This week, when Ford shared its "strong performance" in the latest JD Power Customer Service Index (CSI), we were wondering how an automaker that issued more than 150 recalls in 2025 for about 13 million vehicles could score well in customer satisfaction. Ford ranked first for dealership service among truck owners, while the brand overall improved from 11th place to fourth among mass-market brands.
"I get the skepticism," Erin Keating, executive analyst for Cox Automotive, tells CarBuzz via email. Like everyone else, she's less than excited to get a recall notice because it means a trip to the dealership on top of the stress associated with a problem on the car you paid good money for.
Is it even safe to drive to the dealership for the fix, you might ponder. This is assuming you even realize that a piece of mail is a recall notice that requires your full attention. Or maybe you completely forget to call the dealership to schedule a visit.
Some Customers Don't Mind No-Cost Recalls
But Keating says the recall itself often matters less than the dealership experience. "JD Power's CSI doesn’t ask whether customers are happy a recall exists," she says. "It asks whether the dealer handled the visit professionally, efficiently, and transparently."
Was scheduling easy, was it a quick fix, were all the steps effectively communicated? "If the answer is yes, then those visits can still score well," even in the case of a recall, she says.
"In some cases, recall visits actually go better than expected."
—Cox Automotive Executive Analyst Erin Keating
Repairs associated with a recall are no‑cost to the customer, procedures are defined, and dealers are often reimbursed by the automaker, Keating notes.
"Counterintuitively, recall visits can be some of the cleanest service experiences a customer has, especially compared to unexpected repair bills." Things like nagging electrical problems or replacement of an engine or transmission out of warranty can set owners up to be upset from the get-go. These are the types of problems that put a vehicle brand's reputation to the test and can be expensive and frustrating for customers.
So, if Keating is correct in saying that recalls don't carry the same stigma they used to, or that many consumers don't view them as annoying, is it possible that recalling millions of vehicles is actually the catalyst for Ford ranking high in JD Power's CSI research? Perhaps the flood of straightforward recall work is outweighing all the expensive, time-consuming repairs?
Now in its 46th year, JD Power's 2026 index was based on responses from 51,228 registered owners or lessees of one- to three-year-old vehicles who were surveyed between January and December 2025 about their interactions at franchised dealer and aftermarket service facilities for maintenance or repair work.
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This article originally appeared on CarBuzz and is republished here with permission.
