Owners have filed 13,818 complaints on the Ford F-150, covering 1984–2020. The system named most often is Electrical System (705 reports). Worst years by volume: 1997, 2004, 1998; cleanest: 1984, 1987, 1989. 845 reports describe a crash, 1,414 a fire, 52 a death. On average the car was 6.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Ford F-150
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 13,818 F-150 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 705 Read
Dt: on 7-9-05 the contact's son was involved in a car accident on the highway. He was driving a 2003 ford f-150. He hit a guard rail and went into a ditch about 100 yards and hit an overpass sign post made of cement. The truck burst into flames. The coroner said that the fire caused the death of the contact's son. She…
Woke up at 1am one 4-1-2018 to my ford f 150 on fire drivers side front under the hood. Unknow to us our local sheriff had spotted the fire and already called the fire department. Total loss. Bought the truck a few months back without any knowledge of a recall on the speed control switch. The vehicle was sitting in…
Vehicle caught fire because of faulty ignition switch. Tt
Vehicle Speed Control 635 Read
The gas pedal got stuck while I was driving. I couldn't stop it and lost control. It caused a horrific car accident. 10 people were involved and I'm currently fighting the case in court to prove I was not reckless. It has been inspected by my insurance but unfortunately it was only for damages and not for mechanical…
A/t: started engine, noticed motor idling high; shifted from park to reverse, foot on brakes, vehicle lurched backwards, kept sliding, hit parked vehicle
I parked and secured my 1995 ford f-150 and went to work. Approximately 15 minutes later a fire started in the engine compartment on the driver's side. The security and fire department of my place of employment responded quickly (fifteen minutes or less) and extinguished the fire. They broke the driver side window in…
Power Train 474 Read
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle hesitated to maintain acceleration while the accelerator pedal was depressed, which caused the vehicle to jerk forward into the rear bumper of another vehicle in traffic. The front bumper struck the rear…
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear. The contact stated that there was a ten-second delay prior to the transmission downshifting. The vehicle was uncontrollable, and the…
The contact owns a 2009 ford f-150. When the vehicle was placed in reverse, it accelerated backwards and crashed into a neighbor's residence without warning. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact was not injured, but was shaken up and transported to the emergency center by the paramedic.…
Air Bags 407 Read
2004 ford f-150 frontally impacted a tree; passenger's air bag deployed; driver's air bag did not deploy updated 09/16-10 *bf the engine compartment caught on fire. (lawyer on behalf of injured client) updated ivoq 10/13/10
The contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. The contact was driving 50 mph when he crashed into another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy and the seat belts failed to restrain the contact. The contact was thrown into the steering wheel and sustained a fractured disc in his back. The vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle was…
The contact owned a 2002 ford f-150. While driving approximately 55 mph, the driver crashed into the rear of a trailer that was stalled in the middle of an intersection. The interior of the vehicle started to burn. The fire department extinguished the fire. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The…
Engine And Engine Cooling 327 Read
I was involved in a low speed frontal collision with my 2009 ford f150 pick up. The collision was off center left with another ford f150 (1993-1994 model). The speed of the vehicles was less than 40 mph as the collision happened on a hilly and twisting road. My vehicle caught fire on impact and was completely engulfed…
2007 ford f150 on the road less than one week with 1100 miles on it. Truck was involved in a minor collision where truck struck the rear bumper of car in front of it. Speed at time of impact was approximately 25 mph. The air bag did not deploy and the truck burst into flames. More than likely this should not have…
The contact owns a 1997 ford f150 xlt. The vehicle was parked for over 18 hours and caught on fire. The fire department extinguished the fire. The origin of the fire was unknown. The fire started under the hood of the vehicle and it was destroyed. No one was injured. The manufacturer was called and offered no…
Service Brakes 309 Read
Dt: the contact's wife was driving the vehicle and the brakes were not working properly. While traveling down hill there where no brakes. This, in turn, caused the contact's vehicle to rear end another vehicle. This accident involved four other vehicles which sustained damages. This crash was a frontal impact .upon…
Vehicle was hit head-on. Upon impact, vehicle exploded, resulting in minor injuries. Dealer has been notified, and the manufacturer will be notified
I put my truck in reverse to get out of a driveway and it kept going and accelerating...the brakes did not work. I ended up goign through a fence at the end of the street and into a shed and my truck finally stopped. I have significant damage to my truck as well as to the homeowners property...the Police classified it…
Engine 215 Read
The contact owned a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked with the engine running, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The contact's spouse, who was seated in the front passenger seat, saw smoke coming from under the dashboard. The contact's spouse exited the vehicle.…
The contact's son owned a 2009 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while approximately 10 MPH, he observed smoke emanating from the glove box and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact steered the vehicle to the side of the road, and he observed a small fire by the accelerator pedal. The contact…
The contact owned a 2007 ford f-150. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the engine exploded and caught fire. The insurance company inspected the vehicle and found that the fire initiated at the motor heli coil. When fuel penetrated the heli coil, motor, and spark plugs, it caused the engine…
Steering 208 Read
My [XXX] son was at a stop light and when the light turned green he started to turn left. As he was turning left, the steering wheel started to pull left to the point that he couldn't steer it back, almost as if it was stuck and kept pulling left. He fought with it and tried to press the break. This caused him to hit…
The contact owns a 2009 ford f-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph, the power steering failed and the steering wheel seized. As of result of the failure, the contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into an embankment. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained a bruised…
The contact owns a 2007 ford f-150. The contact lost steering of the vehicle and crashed into a curve and a fence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the front passenger side tie rod was found to be fractured and the cause of the crash. The contact was advised that the steering column was fractured when the…
F-150 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Back Over Prevention | 2 | 1 | |
| 2019 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2017 | Electrical System | 2 | — | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 5 | 1 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 25 | 8 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 36 | 8 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 32 | 12 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 53 | 16 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 45 | 24 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 64 | 30 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 31 | 33 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 40 | 82 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 70 | 218 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 56 | 310 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 61 | 51 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 58 | 78 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 130 | 220 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 16 | 66 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 33 | 91 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 45 | 87 | |
| 1993 | Electrical System | 18 | 17 | |
| 1992 | Electrical System | 14 | 26 | |
| 1991 | Air Bags | 9 | 33 | |
| 1990 | Electrical System | — | 2 | |
| 1989 | Air Bags, Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1987 | Fuel/Propulsion System | — | — | |
| 1984 | Vehicle Speed Control | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 5,526 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.5 |
| Worst single series | 47 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.3 years |
A model average of 2.5 hides a worst series at 47. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,115,966 of them, covering 2,019 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the F-150?
By complaint volume, 1997, 2004, 1998 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which F-150 years are the cleanest?
1984, 1987, 1989 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Ford F-150 have?
13,818 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1984–2020. Of those, 845 describe a crash and 1,414 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.
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