Ford has spent years trying to get its quality problems under control, and its latest move brings someone with extensive regulatory experience directly into the company. As reported by The Detroit News, the automaker has hired longtime National Highway Traffic Safety Administration veteran David Hines as its new chief auto safety officer.
Hines brings roughly 30 years of automotive engineering and safety experience, including more than 13 years at NHTSA. He most recently served as director of the agency’s Office of Crash Avoidance Standards, putting him on the regulatory side of many of the safety issues automakers face.
His appointment comes at an important moment for Ford. The company has been dealing with a substantial number of recalls, elevated warranty costs and continued federal oversight of its recall procedures.
Hines will be based in Washington, D.C., and report to Ford chief policy officer and general counsel Steve Croley. His responsibilities will cover global product safety compliance, governance, and strategy, with the goal of catching problems earlier rather than addressing them after vehicles reach customers.
Ford’s Recall Problem Isn’t Going Away Overnight
Ford set a record for the number of recalls it issued in a single year in 2025, and older quality problems continue to surface, as the automaker had already issued 64 recalls affecting over 13 million vehicles by August 2026.
One of this year’s largest campaigns involves approximately 4.38 million vehicles affected by a trailer-brake software problem. Many current recalls involve vehicles designed or manufactured years ago, meaning improvements being made today won’t immediately make Ford’s recall numbers look better.
The financial consequences are significant as well. Warranty and repair expenses have weighed on Ford’s results, giving the automaker a strong incentive to prevent defects before vehicles enter production.
Ford Is Also Under Federal Monitoring
Ford remains subject to a three-year independent federal monitor following a 2024 consent order with NHTSA. The agreement resulted from the agency’s finding that Ford failed to recall vehicles with defective rearview cameras quickly enough and provided inaccurate or incomplete information.
The consent order carried a $165 million civil penalty and increased scrutiny of Ford’s recall processes, data analysis, and regulatory compliance. Hiring someone intimately familiar with NHTSA’s standards and procedures could prove valuable as Ford works through that oversight.
Hines won’t simply be handling communications with regulators. He will lead a cross-functional group involving engineering, software, digital design, manufacturing, purchasing and quality teams, integrating safety considerations throughout a vehicle’s development and production lifecycle.
Hines Already Knows Ford
This isn’t Hines’ first experience with the Dearborn automaker. Earlier in his engineering career, he worked with Ford and former Ford electronics business Visteon, including development assignments involving the Ford Five Hundred sedan and Freestyle crossover.
His later career at NHTSA included developing and implementing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards while contributing to research involving advanced driver-assistance systems and automated vehicles. That experience could become particularly relevant as Ford prepares increasingly sophisticated driver-assistance technology.
Ford has said it intends to introduce Level 3 automated driving capabilities in 2028. Such systems allow drivers to take their eyes away from the road under specific operating conditions, placing even greater importance on safety validation, software reliability and regulatory compliance.
Ford Says Its Quality Efforts Are Working
The company has already made changes to engineering, manufacturing, and quality processes. Ford executives argue those efforts are beginning to produce results, pointing to the brand’s strong showing among mainstream manufacturers in J.D. Power’s latest Initial Quality Study.
Hines’ appointment adds another layer to that strategy by bringing regulatory expertise into a senior safety position. As Croley put it, Hines’ decades of engineering and safety experience should support Ford’s continuing effort to “put quality first.”
The difficult part will be translating those changes into consistently reliable vehicles. Ford can overhaul development processes and hire experienced personnel today, yet recalls originating from decisions made years earlier could continue appearing for some time.
For Ford, reducing that backlog is only half the challenge. Preventing today’s vehicles from becoming tomorrow’s recall headlines is where Hines’ new role could ultimately make the biggest difference.