NHTSA Escalates Investigation Into Ford’s BlueCruise After Fatal Crashes

The probe into Ford’s hands-free driving system now includes an engineering analysis to assess safety limitations following two deadly collisions.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has upgraded its investigation into Ford’s BlueCruise system to an engineering analysis, a step required before a potential recall.
The investigation was prompted by two fatal crashes involving Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles operating with BlueCruise at highway speeds during nighttime conditions.
Preliminary findings suggest the system struggles to detect stationary vehicles at high speeds, particularly in low-visibility scenarios, and may falsely detect objects at long distances.
The probe covers 129,222 Ford vehicles from model years 2021-2024, including the Mustang Mach-E, and will evaluate crash reports, system limitations, and driver response capabilities.
Ford has stated it is cooperating with the NHTSA investigation and continues to support the agency’s analysis of the BlueCruise system.