The Pre-Collision Assist becomes suddenly unavailable when driving over uneven surfaces, including bumps and rumble strips. When the service center of my local ford dealer investigated this code, they discovered it is a software issue, and the only way to remedy the problem is to perform 5 software updates and an alignment: The updates are on: IPMA, PSCM, CCM, CMR, PDW. IPMA alignment. There are no other solutions to correct the issue to prevent the safety feature from failing. The impact of this failure is an increased chance of a collision due to sudden loss of front collision detection.
2021 Ford Mustang Mach E: false forward collision warnings
60 of the 353 complaints about the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach E describe false forward collision warnings.
- owner complaints
- 60
- of this car's complaints
- 17%
- typical repair cost reported
- $3,593
- recalls
- 1
False forward collision warnings by model year
What owners say
This is linked to tracking case 11768528. I wanted to provide the tsb: 23-2040. The fault causes the pre-collision assist to become disabled.
The car gives two messages, "Front Camera Fault Service Required" and "Pre-Collision assist not available." The cruise control does not work, however, the front camera does work. I had the vehicle scan done at the Ford dealer and was told it needs a 7 hour software update, after which it may need cables replaced. I do not understand how software goes bad. I do understand something may have happened to cables but that would not be checked until they had charged me $ 1,400 for a software update. This is a safety issue and, from what I read on the Mach E forum, is not where near unique to my vehicle.
Vehicle: 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E Component: Image Processing Module A (IPMA) / Front Camera / Forward Collision Avoidance System The IPMA and front camera system have failed, disabling Pre-Collision Assist, AEB, forward collision warning, and adaptive cruise control while driving. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Warning messages "Front Camera Fault Service Required" and "Pre-Collision Assist Not Available" first appeared August 24, 2022 and have recurred consistently over nearly four years. No accident, physical damage, or obstruction was present at any occurrence. This failure puts safety at risk by silently disabling AEB and forward collision warning during normal driving — systems a driver may depend on in an emergency braking situation with no advance notice they are unavailable. The problem was confirmed by a Ford dealership in February 2026. Their repair order documents: "RAN IPMA SELF TEST AND FOUND DTC SET U3000-49... HARDWARE TEST FAILED... FOUND TSB RELATED REC REPLACE MODULE." The dealer contacted Ford, who authorized 50% off the module replacement only, characterizing it as a "loyal customer discount" rather than a warranty or goodwill repair. I declined to pay for the fix. the federal safety agency Campaign 11028164 (superseding TSB 25-2156) covers this exact failure. Ford's own TSB acknowledges the defect and the dealer confirmed it applies to my vehicle, yet owners are being quoted up to $8,000 for a known safety system failure. I'm requesting the federal safety agency investigate whether this warrants a recall. First occurrence: August 24, 2022 (mileage not recorded) Service visit: February 17-18, 2026 at 80,029 miles Current mileage: 83,988 Attachments: photos of both fault messages, dealer invoice
The front camera has failed and it is available for inspection upon request. The safety of myself and everyone in my car is at risk when the pre-collision assist is not available due to this components failure. Yes, it is a daily occurrence and the camera never stays on for long. A fix was attempted once by a dealer. The component has not been inspected by either of those parties. Only the dealer whom the car was purchased from. Yes, warning messages pop up every time in the car and in the phone app about the issue. They first appeared before car purchase when the dealer fixed it in early February. Then it resumed again in late February/March.
The car would intermittently give an error saying pre-collision assist not available and now this error is permanent. There is a technical service bulletin for it 23-2155 Lots of people have been complaining about this in the mach e forum https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/front-camera-fault-pre-collision-assist-not-available-errors.18710/page-69#post-1026803 This causes people to drop out from the automatic driving bluecruise without notice and adaptive cruise control becomes unusable.
Camera system that allows hands free driving, lane departure warning, collision warning and adaptive cruise control fails and all system offline. Extremely widespread on the 2021 models. Looks to be a cable route to the camera that was installed incorrectly. Went to dealership, they said they see this in almost all of the Mach E vehicles. Usually begins failing when hitting bumps -- system goes in/out. After a while, system drops out completely and all safety systems relying on them fail.
Going over any bump in the road greater than 2 inches in heigth causes the following: - Front Camera Fault Service Required message - Pre-collision Assist inoperative - Adaptive cruise control inoperative
I was driving on the highway when the car gave me an error saying that the front camera is faulty and the collision warning system was giving an error. This stopped my cruise control and lane departure settings. I had just got my car back from Ford for this issue where they replaced a $7000 computer part and said it was fixed. This issue has been happening since I purchased the car in Dec 2024.
Front Camera Fault Service not available. Pre-Collision Assist Not Available. These faults have been showing up for over a year. I have taken my car to the dealer about 10 times, to no avail. Every time you hit a bump it happens. As I write this my car is in the shop again. The internet is rife with people complaining about this problem.
Car gave me a warning to bring car to dealer, who told me I need to replace the High Voltage Battery Junction Box. This part was recalled on other models, but not my specific model, despite the cars using the same part. Dealer said it will cost $3,593 to replace and Ford customer service says there is no recall for it. Also, I intermittenly have gotten a warning that the front camera will not work for forward collision warning or cruise control. It often happens after a bump in the road, but also happens at other random times.
The front camera system stopped working, so I lost access to Pre-Collision Assist—(e.g., Collision Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking) as well as all other driver assistance feature. This would occur suddenly while I was driving (sometimes at highway speeds) where I'd have to swerve during a turn while using hands-free driving. Every time I start the car now, I have a permanent error message telling me the safety systems aren’t available. I’ve tried restarting the vehicle and checking for any obvious problems, but nothing has worked. The dealer told me it’s a hardware problem with the camera or its wiring, but fixing it would cost more than I can afford ($4K+). Since Pre-Collision Assist is a key safety feature, not having it working puts me—and possibly other drivers—at greater risk of an accident. This seems to be a common issue with Mustang Mach-Es, and I’m worried about the safety impact. I hope the federal safety agency can look into this and see if a recall or some other action is needed.
Service bulletins that may apply
- This article supersedes TSB 26-2021
- Customers or dealerships that wish to activate new BlueCruise features (example: Lane Change Assist)
- Inoperative blind spot monitoring with a "Blind Spot System Fault" message displayed in the instrument...
- Inoperative Blue Cruise and Lane Keeping system with diagnostic trouble code (DTC) U3000:49 with a status...
- Quality improvements include: -Ensures the lane change assist turn signal flashes until the change...
- Quality improvements include: -Module configuration settings update to ensure BlueCruise functionality"
- This article supersedes TSB 24-2087 to update the vehicle lines, model years affected, action and service...
- Certain 2021 Model Year F-150 and Mustang Mach-E Vehicles with Ford Co-Pilot360™ Active 2.0 Prep Package...
Related recalls
Back over prevention: software
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Bronco, F-150, 2021-2024 Edge, 2022-2025 Escape, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, F-600, 2022-2024 Expedition, 2022-2025 Transit, 2021-2023 Mach-E, 2024 Ranger, Mustang, 2021-2023 Lincoln Nautilus, 2022-2024 Navigator, and 2023-2024 Corsair vehicles. A software error may cause the rearview camera image to delay, freeze, or not display when the vehicle is in reverse.
- Risk
- A frozen or missing rearview camera image can reduce the driver's view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- The accessory protocol interface module (APIM) software will be updated by a dealer or through an over-the-air update, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model and model years. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on June 26, 2025. Additional letters will be mailed once the final remedy is available on each phase. Owner notification letters were sent on October 8, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S49.
Recall number 25V315000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach E collision warning
Is false forward collision warnings a common problem on the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach E?
60 of 353 owner complaints about the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach E (17%) mention false forward collision warnings. The model year with the most reports is 2021.
How much does it cost to fix false forward collision warnings on the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach E?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $3,593 (median of 6 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach E?
There is 1 recall and 35 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach E
Adaptive cruise 66Loss of power 32Lane assist 20Power steering loss 15Sudden acceleration 13Won't start 12Door locks 8Backup camera 5Key fob 5Overheating 5Stalling 5
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