Which car brands have the most recalls in Canada in 2026?

Ford has the most vehicle recalls in Canada in 2026, and it isn’t close. We counted every safety and compliance recall on cars, SUVs, pickups, vans and minivans in Transport Canada’s Vehicle Recalls Database open data from Jan. 1 to Oct. 6, 2026. Ford and Lincoln filed 66 of 242, about 27%, and those recalls cover 1.89 million vehicles, half of the year’s total.

Stellantis brands were second with 30 recalls and General Motors brands third with 22. But the count alone says little about the car in your driveway, so below we show where the numbers come from, why they mislead, and how to check your own VIN before winter.

Data as of Oct. 6, 2026, the latest recall date in Transport Canada’s open-data file when we downloaded it on Nov. 4, 2026. Newer recalls appear first on Recalls and safety alerts.

Quick answer

• Ford Motor (Ford and Lincoln): 66 recalls in 2026 so far, down from 88 in the same period of 2025, but covering more vehicles (1.89 million vs 1.09 million).
• Stellantis: 30 recalls, up from 24, led by a 156,138-truck Ram 1500 seat belt anchor recall.
• General Motors: 22, Toyota and Lexus: 18, Hyundai and Genesis: 16. No other group reached 15.
• Recalls overall are slightly down, but they’re bigger. Light-vehicle recalls fell 5% (256 to 242) from the same period of 2025, while vehicles affected rose 62% (2.32 million to 3.75 million).
• Check your VIN now if you drive a Ford or Lincoln crossover or small car with a block heater. Two January block heater recalls tell owners not to plug in until the repair is done.

Canada’s 2026 recall count by brand

We grouped brands by their parent company, because Transport Canada often files one recall across sister brands (Ford and Lincoln, Chevrolet and GMC). Each recall is counted once per group, and its vehicle count is Transport Canada’s figure for that recall in Canada.

Counted by individual brand name instead of by group, Ford appears on 64 recalls, Lincoln on 20, Chevrolet on 17, Jeep on 15, Hyundai on 14, and GMC and Toyota on 13 each. Several of those overlap, because one recall can name more than one brand.

Why the recall count misleads

A recall count is a count of filings, not a reliability score. Three things distort it.

It isn’t adjusted for how many vehicles each brand has on the road. A brand with a large fleet of older trucks and SUVs has more vehicles that can be pulled into a recall. Transport Canada’s file gives no fleet size per brand, so we haven’t calculated a per-vehicle rate, and you shouldn’t read the table as one.

Recall size varies enormously. Six 2026 recalls cover a single vehicle each, and the median recall covers 1,673. The largest, Ford’s trailer-module software recall, covers 627,267. The 10 biggest recalls this year account for 1.83 million vehicles, or 49% of the total. Honda filed only 9 recalls, but they cover 339,305 vehicles, more than every group except Ford and Stellantis.

Some recalls are repeat fixes. By our reading of Transport Canada’s recall text, 26 of the 242 recalls either replace an earlier Transport Canada recall or say an earlier recall repair may not have been done correctly. Ford or Lincoln filed 17 of them. That inflates the count, but it also means a vehicle that was “fixed” once may need to go back.

Our read: Ford’s lead is real and consistent. It also led the same period of 2025, with 88 recalls. But the more useful number for you is not your brand’s total. It’s whether your VIN has an open recall today.

The biggest Canadian recalls of 2026 so far

These six recalls cover 1.4 million vehicles between them. Each description is from Transport Canada’s recall database, searched by recall number.

Two patterns stand out for Canadian drivers. Both of Ford’s block heater recalls landed in January, and the company advises owners not to use the block heater until the repair is done, or to have the dealer disable it. If you park outside in an Ottawa, Winnipeg or Edmonton winter and drive one of those models, that’s a repair to book before the first cold snap, not after.

The second pattern is water. In our reading, 16 of this year’s recalls describe rust, corrosion or moisture getting into a part, covering 343,204 vehicles. Examples include Honda’s rear subframe recall, a Volkswagen and Audi steering rack bolt that could corrode and break (44,303 Atlas, Tiguan and Q3 models), a Land Rover airbag connector that could corrode (24,658), and several rearview cameras that let moisture in. The recall notices don’t blame road salt, so we won’t either. But in a country with long, wet, salted winters, they’re worth taking seriously.

What Canadian law requires, and what changed in 2025

Since the Strengthening Motor Vehicle Safety for Canadians Act received Royal Assent in 2018, the Minister of Transport can order a company to recall a vehicle and to pay for repairs. Before then, only a manufacturer could issue a safety recall in Canada.

A newer rule makes checking easier. Transport Canada amended the safety regulations in 2025 so every manufacturer has to publish recall information online, and designated vehicle makers have to offer a lookup tool by 17-digit VIN. The rule took effect on Jan. 1, 2025, with full compliance due by mid-2026. Transport Canada estimated at the time that more than one in five vehicles on Canadian roads had an unresolved safety recall.

Checklist: how to check your own vehicle

1. Find your 17-character VIN. Transport Canada’s lookups and dealers both work from it.
2. Run it through your maker’s lookup. Transport Canada’s manufacturer list links each brand’s recall lookup and customer phone number. Transport Canada notes that news of a recall can reach you before the maker’s database updates, so check again in a few weeks if you’ve heard about one.
3. Search Transport Canada’s database by make, model and year to read the full recall text, including any interim advice like “don’t use the block heater.”
4. Book the repair. Transport Canada says the manufacturer will almost always repair a recall free of charge.
5. Bought used? Register the vehicle with the manufacturer. For older vehicles, makers rely on provincial registration records to find owners, so registering means the notice reaches you rather than a previous owner.
6. Buying used? Check before you pay. Ask a dealer to run the VIN for open recalls, and ask the seller to complete them before you take the vehicle.
7. Report a defect that isn’t covered. Transport Canada takes defect complaints online or at 1-800-333-0510.

Bottom line

Ford leads Canada’s 2026 recall table by a wide margin, with Stellantis a distant second, and the same was true for the same period in 2025. But a recall count isn’t a reliability ranking: it ignores how many vehicles each brand has on the road, and one recall can be a single vehicle or more than 600,000. The useful move is the same for every brand. Run your VIN, read the recall notice, and book the free repair before winter, especially if it involves a block heater, a seat belt or a part that could rust.

FAQ

Which car brand has the most recalls in Canada in 2026?

Ford. In our count of Transport Canada’s recall data from Jan. 1 to Oct. 6, 2026, Ford and Lincoln filed 66 of the 242 safety and compliance recalls on cars, SUVs, pickups, vans and minivans, about 27%. Stellantis brands (Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Alfa Romeo) were second with 30, and General Motors brands third with 22.

Does more recalls mean a brand is less reliable?

Not on its own. A recall count is not adjusted for how many vehicles each brand has on Canadian roads, and one recall can cover a single vehicle or 627,267. Use the count as a reason to check your own vehicle, not as a reliability score.

How do I check if my car has an open recall in Canada?

Enter your 17-character VIN in your manufacturer’s recall lookup tool. Transport Canada lists every maker’s lookup page and phone number. You can also search Transport Canada’s recalls database by make, model and year, or ask a dealer to run the VIN. Recall repairs are almost always free.

Is it safe to use my block heater if my Ford is recalled?

Not if your vehicle is in one of Ford’s January 2026 block heater recalls. Transport Canada recalls 2026-004 and 2026-005 cover 193,627 and 138,783 vehicles, including some Escape, Focus, Bronco, Bronco Sport, Explorer, Maverick, Ranger, Corsair and MKC models (2013-2024, depending on the recall). Ford advises owners not to use the block heater until the repair is done, because a coolant leak could cause a short circuit and a fire risk.

Sources

• Transport Canada: Vehicle Recalls Database (Open Government Portal, CSV, Open Government Licence - Canada)
• Transport Canada: Motor Vehicle Safety Recalls Database search
• Government of Canada: Recalls and safety alerts
• Transport Canada: Find a vehicle, tire or child car seat manufacturer (VIN recall lookups)
• Transport Canada: The importance of having recalled vehicles repaired
• Transport Canada: Defects and recalls of vehicles, tires and child car seats
• Transport Canada: Transport Canada makes vehicle safety recall information more accessible to Canadians (Feb. 10, 2025)
• Transport Canada: New safety powers granted to protect Canadians from vehicle defects (March 12, 2018)

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