2018 FORD Transit Connect Problems

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Complaints Reported

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Complaints by Component

STEERING

5 complaints

Power steering failed without warning. Rack and pinion had to be replaced. You now have 5 complaints on this but still no investigation open. This is clearly a manufacturer defect. $2,700 to fix. Vehicle only had 65,000 miles on it when it failed.

Jan 31, 2025

Steering system failed while driving put driver at risk of crash. The problem still exists. It appears that the power steering rack has failed for the second time and will need to be replaced. There was no warning prior to failure

Jun 06, 2022

Power steering failed without warning while vehicle was being driven at highway speeds. Vehicle required replacement of power steering rack. This is the 4th time this has happened with my Ford Transit Connect vans

Jun 06, 2022

Unexpected power steering failure while driving. Driver and surrounding vehicles at risk Ford Dealer has reproduced the problem but can't identify the cause There weren't any warning lamps or messages before failure I own two other Ford Transit Connect vans from 2018, each has had the same problem

May 10, 2022

Power steering failure while driving Driver safety at risk as well as surrounding vehicles yes yes no warning lights, messages or other symptoms prior to failure

May 10, 2022

SERVICE BRAKES

2 complaints

One tire locks up gradually and then completely preventing the vehicle from being driven and causing damage to the other tires. The inability to drive the vehicle on the open road is very dangerous. There are no warning lamps. The vehicle may seem sluggish to accelerate. After towing to a service station, the ABS module failed and this caused damage to the brake master cylinder which had to be replaced.

Jan 27, 2026

ABS brakes are locked up and only release after a few seconds. I have replaced the driver front caliper and now the passenger front is locking. After a quick search online, I have found several cases of the ABS module malfunctioning on this vehicle requiring a new module and programming. The first time the driver side locked, there were no warning lights and when I arrived home, the rotor was glowing red. Could have caused a fire.

Jan 31, 2025

VISIBILITY

1 complaint

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Transit Connect. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V294000 (Visibility); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that two dealers were made aware of the issue and informed the contact that there were no technicians at the dealer capable of performing the recall repair. The contact was promised a call back once a technician was able to service the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and referred the contact back to the dealer. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Apr 16, 2025

POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

1 complaint

Driving at higher speeds when going to brake, the vehicle drops gears and slows agressively. It started to do this occasionally a couple of month ago, now it happens every other day.

Dec 21, 2024

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,POWER TRAIN

1 complaint

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Transit Connect. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted, with the traction and ABS warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted; however, the failure recurred. The contact also stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware that transmission fluid was leaking from the transmission. The dealer was not contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000. The VIN was not available.

Aug 05, 2024

UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE

1 complaint

The transmission is having a shuddering issue, and looking online there on tons and tons of people having the same issue and stating it’s the torque converter and this is over many different years and variants of my vehicle… how is this not a recall yet?? People are having this issue right after purchase?

Apr 14, 2024

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES

1 complaint

The contact's company owns a 2018 Ford Transit Connect. The contact stated that while an employee was driving at 30 MPH, the rear driver side sliding door unintendedly opened. The employee could not shut the door due to a defective latch. The contact stated that a zip tie was used to secure the door. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer nor the dealer had been notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Jul 27, 2023

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES

1 complaint

ABS light comes on as well as loss of traction control and hill assist. Steering is more difficult, and the speed ohmmeter will not work. This is the second time this has happen. First time mechanic replaced bad speed sensor on drivers' side front wheel and everything went back to normal it only had around 6K miles on it. Now it has around 7.5K on it and it has happen again. Have not taken it in for repair yet.

Jun 29, 2023

SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 complaint

hello - this is not a safety issue with my car. for the moment. inputting the VIN it states that there is only 1 row of seats (D/P). this is not accurate. there are 3 seat rows in my van. (front x2, middle x3 and rear seats x2) total of 7 seats. thus this should be corrected for my VIN. if or when i have a complaint about the safety of the seats, belts, head rests etc... it will make sense. i do not have a cargo van. it's a seven passenger seat van.

May 22, 2023

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 complaint

My vehicle is less than 5 years old, 10 months out of warranty. The LOCKS stopped working. They made the noise, but no action. So, I thought the locks were still working. The dealership had no idea what the issue was - they've had my vehicle for almost a month trying to figure it out. So far they've changed the Body Control Module and are getting another part. Ford will do nothing even though Locks should be something always covered or at least for 5 years. No warnings. This put me at risk as I camp in the vehicle and didn't know it wasn't locking (because it made the noise like it was).

May 09, 2022

VISIBILITY,STRUCTURE

1 complaint

I had been driving my car for a few minutes when I heard a loud pop and my rear window glass shattered. Covered in spider glass cracks and only held in place by the tint. No point of impact visible to show that it had been hit by an object. It was chilly, 43 F, and I had the heat/defrost on. Unfortunately, when arriving to work, I opened my sliding door look at the damage from the inside and doing so caused glass to fall out, so I have no picture of just the glass the way it was when it broke. A quick search shows this has happened to other vehicles including transit connects like mine, and caused by the heated glass.

Nov 01, 2021

POWER TRAIN

1 complaint

Torque Converter failed. Confirmed by dealer service department. No warning indicators. Dealer repaired under warranty but it took 3 months from the first phone call. Looking online at user boards this should be a recall issue. I was told I could continue to drive it until parts came in and only found out later that the transmission could be damaged by doing so.

Sep 05, 2021

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

1 complaint

DRIVER'S SIDE FRONT LOW BEAM BULB BURNS OUT CONTINUOUSLY

Dec 03, 2020

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

1 complaint

LOUD NOISE W/VIBRATION AND FOUL ODOR COMING FROM HEATER BLOWER. DEALERSHIP DISCOVERED A RODENT'S NEST IN THE CLIMATE CONTROL BLOWER MOTOR. DEALERSHIP INDICATED THAT THERE IS NO REMEDY TO PREVENT RECURRENCE. DEALERSHIP ALSO MENTIONED THAT THE FORD ESCAPE HAS A HISTORY OF THE SAME PROBLEM. SEE FORD'S TSB 17-0034, PUBLISHED 3/21/17 RE FORD'S RECOMMENDED PREVENTION: "...INSTALL THE NEW INLET DUCT GASKET WITH SCREEN..." (EMPHASIS ADDED).

Feb 12, 2020

SUSPENSION,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES

1 complaint

HAVE TAKEN OUR VEHICLE TO FORD AT LEAST 12 TIMES AND HAVE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY, THEY HAVE SAID NOTHING IS WRONG WITH IT. WE BOUGHT BRAND NEW AND HAVE THREE SETS OF BRAKE PAD PLACED ON THE FRON AND TWO PAIRS ON THE REARS.. WE HAVE GONE THROUGH TWO SETS OF TIRES AND THE FRONT DRIVERS SIDE IS CLICKING... FORD HAS SAID THERE IS NOTHING WRONG.. NOT SURE WHAT ELSE TO DO BUT THE VEHICLE DOESN'T WANT TO STOP AND THE TIRES OR THE ONE ON THE FRONT IS COMPLETELY BALD AND THE VEHICLE ONLY HAS 15,000 MILES ON IT

Jan 28, 2019

VISIBILITY/WIPER

1 complaint

VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED (STANDARD EQUIPMENT, NOT AN OPTION) WITH AUTOMATIC FOLDING SIDE VIEW MIRRORS ON DRIVERS DOOR AND PASSENGER DOOR. SAFETY FAULT IS THAT VEHICLE CAN BE STARTED AND DRIVEN WITH THE VEHICLE IN FOLDED POSITION. FORD DEALERSHIP AND FORD'S CUSTOMER HOTLINE ARE CLAIMING THAT THIS IS NORMAL OPERATION OF THESE MIRRORS. HOWEVER, COMMON SENSE DICTATES THAT A VEHICLE SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO BE DRIVEN WITH THE MIRRORS FOLDED. LEGALLY, THIS APPEARS TO BE IN VIOLATION OF US DOT REGULATION CFR 571.111 S5.2.1 WHICH RELATES TO THE FIELD OF VIEW REQUIREMENTS FOR THE OUTSIDE REARVIEW MIRROR - DRIVER'S SIDE. IF THE MIRROR IS FOLDED, IT DOES NOT MEET THAT REGULATION. AS SUCH, THE MANUFACTURER CODING OF THE FOLDING SYSTEM'S HARDWARE SHOULD ALWAYS DEFAULT TO FULL OPEN POSITION WHEN THE VEHICLE IS RUNNING OR IN MOTION. THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT HAS INDICATED THAT THERE IS NO SETTINGS IN THEIR CONTROL RELATED TO CHANGING OR DISABLING THE FUNCTION OF THE AUTOMATIC FOLDING MIRRORS. THEY HAVE SEEN THE PROBLEM BUT CONSIDER IT NORMAL OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE. THE SCENARIO TO PRODUCE THIS PROBLEM IS SIMPLY: - UNLOCK AND ENTER THE VEHICLE (MIRRORS UNFOLD TO OPEN POSITION) - LOCK THE VEHICLE USING THE BUTTON ON THE ELECTRONIC KEY/FOB. (MIRRORS FOLD) - START VEHICLE. (MIRRORS REMAIN FOLDED AND WILL REMAIN FOLDED AS LONG AS VEHICLE IS BEING OPERATED) ----- IF PROBLEM IS SPECIFIC TO MY VEHICLE, IT REQUIRES REPAIR. BUT IT APPEARS THAT PROBLEM IS RELATED TO EVERY SIMILARLY EQUIPPED VEHICLE OF THIS YEAR/MODEL AND MAY EXTEND TO OTHER FORD MODELS. IF SO, THIS REQUIRES A RECALL AND RESOLUTION TO COMPLY WITH REGULATIONS AND BASIC SAFETY FUNCTION.

Sep 12, 2018

4.4/5.0

79 reviews

Where to Find VIN for Problems Check

To check for problems and complaints on your 2018 FORD Transit Connect, you'll need the VIN number. Find your VIN in one of these 4 common locations.

Where to Find VIN Number on 2018 FORD Transit Connect for Problems Lookup - Dashboard, Door Jamb, Engine Bay, Documents

Understanding VIN Structure for Problem Reports

Each character in your 2018 FORD Transit Connect 17-digit VIN helps identify specific complaints and problems affecting your vehicle model.

2018 FORD Transit Connect VIN Structure for Complaint Verification - WMI, VDS, Check Digit, Model Year, Plant Code

How to Check 2018 FORD Transit Connect Problems in 3 Steps

Locate Your VIN

Find the 17-character VIN on your 2018 FORD Transit Connect dashboard (visible through windshield), door jamb, engine bay, or vehicle documents.

Review by Component

Browse owner-reported complaints organized by vehicle component (engine, transmission, brakes, electrical) to identify common issues and problem patterns for this model year.

Check Safety Issues

Review crash and fire incidents for each component to assess safety concerns. Contact your FORD dealer or report problems to NHTSA at SaferCar.gov.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many problems does the 2018 FORD Transit Connect have?

The 2018 FORD Transit Connect currently has 21 owner-reported complaints according to NHTSA database. These complaints are organized by component to help identify common issues.

What are the most common problems with 2018 FORD Transit Connect?

The most common problems reported for the 2018 FORD Transit Connect are organized by component above. Each component section shows owner-reported issues, crash reports, and fire incidents to help identify patterns and problem areas.

Where does this 2018 FORD Transit Connect problem data come from?

All problem and complaint data for the 2018 FORD Transit Connect comes directly from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) database. These are real complaints submitted by actual vehicle owners.

How do I report problems with my 2018 FORD Transit Connect?

You can report safety problems with your 2018 FORD Transit Connect directly to NHTSA at SaferCar.gov or call 1-888-327-4236. Your complaint helps identify patterns and may lead to recalls or investigations.

Where can I find my VIN to check problems?

Your 2018 FORD Transit Connect VIN is located in 4 places: (1) Dashboard near windshield on driver's side, (2) Driver's door jamb sticker, (3) Engine bay, (4) Vehicle registration and insurance documents.

Is the 2018 FORD Transit Connect reliable?

Reliability can be assessed by reviewing the number and severity of owner complaints for the 2018 FORD Transit Connect. Check complaints by component, crash reports, and fire incidents above to evaluate potential issues and problem patterns.