NHTSA escalates Ford BlueCruise investigation to engineering analysis after fatal crashes
NHTSA upgraded its investigation of Ford's BlueCruise hands-free driving system to an engineering analysis after two fatal crashes involving Mustang Mach-E vehicles. The system reportedly failed to detect stationary vehicles on highways at night while traveling over 70 mph, and neither BlueCruise nor the Pre-Collision Assist system attempted to brake before impact.
What happened
On April 25, 2024, NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE24012) into Ford BlueCruise after being notified of two fatal collisions involving the autonomous driving system.
In January 2025, NHTSA upgraded the investigation to an Engineering Analysis to further investigate system limitations and evaluate drivers' ability to respond to scenarios that exceed system limitations.
Both fatal collisions involved Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles traveling over 70 mph on a controlled-access highway at night while BlueCruise was engaged. The vehicles collided with stationary objects.
Reported impact
Two fatal crashes resulted from the incidents. NHTSA's data analysis revealed that in both cases, drivers were not able to step on the brakes or take control of the steering wheel before impact.
BlueCruise and the electric car's Pre-Collision Assist (PCA) did not attempt to slow down the Mustang Mach-E vehicles before the fatal crashes. Several apparently similar near-miss, non-crash reports were also identified.
Index analysis
NHTSA's analysis indicated that system limitations relating to the detection of stationary vehicles while traveling at highway speeds and in nighttime lighting conditions appear to be factors in collisions under investigation.
The NHTSA found that Ford programmed the adaptive cruise control (ACC) and Lane Centering Assist (LCA) systems to ignore reported stationary objects when traveling at 62 mph or more to avoid false identification, and that the systems might not perform well when visibility is poor.
Governance controls
BlueCruise is a partial driving automation system that allows drivers to take their hands from the wheel for extended periods provided a dash camera verifies they're still watching the road.
If the engineering analysis determines the BlueCruise system is deficient, Ford could be forced to recall approximately 130,000 Mustang Mach-E vehicles from model years 2021-2024.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.