Owners have filed 3,207 complaints on the Ford F-250, covering 1989–2011. The system named most often is Steering (562 reports). Worst years by volume: 1999, 2011, 2008; cleanest: 1990, 1989, 1998. 187 reports describe a crash, 166 a fire, 12 a death. On average the car was 5.7 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Ford F-250
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 3,207 F-250 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Steering 562 Read
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 68-70 MPH, the vehicle drove over a bump and experienced a death wobble. The contact attempted to turn the steering wheel with force, but the vehicle crashed into a guardrail. The contact developed blisters on the palms of his…
I was driving my vehicle in a shopping center parking lot when I tried to make a left turn. The trucks steering wheel proceeded to turn left when it abruptly stopped moving. Luckily I was moving at a slow enough speed to apply the brakes and roll into the parking lots curb. I then proceeded to put the vehicle in…
The contact owns a 2008 ford f-250 super duty. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the steering wheel seized and the vehicle careened into a ditch. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed the lower steering shaft would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the…
Tires 345 Read
The contact owns a 2008 ford f-250 equipped with federal tires, tire line: couragia a/t, and tire size: lt245/75r16 120/116q. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the front driver's side tire tread separated. As a result, the contact crashed into a concrete median. The front driver's side tire was not the…
Pro comp tire on my ford f250 while driving on highway 10 west bound, I began to feel an extreme vibration on the front left of my vehicle, then a loud bang, and the front tire was totally blown, went off the road into the center median, and the truck luckily didn't flip, but there was more than $6000 in damage to the…
The contact stated while driving 55 mph the tread completely detached from the two tires on the passenger side. Another tire had a violent tread separation at 55 mph. Which caused an accident and incurred damages to the wheel alignments, fender, bumper, suspension and other parts underneath the vehicle. The vehicle…
Engine And Engine Cooling 343 Read
The vehicle caught fire while parked. The fire originated within the engine compartment at or around the master cylinder and wiring harness area as it enters the firewall. The vehicle was completely destroyed in the fire
Started engine and put vehicle in drive. Engine accelerated to max rpms and vehicle ran into a tree approx. 20 feet in front of vehicle. Engine continued to run at wot until I turned ignition off
2008 f250 super duty diesel exploded (neighbors' description) while parked. We had just returned from towing a skid loader back from a job site and approximately half an hour later, neighbors called to say that our truck had exploded. The fire dept was on the scene when we arrived and the vehicle appears to be a total…
Service Brakes 302 Read
The contact owns a 2011 ford f-250 sd. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the battery light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was stated that the engine regulator had failed and the wiring harness had melted. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted to…
The contact owns a 2006 ford f-250. While driving between 40-45 mph in rainy conditions, the contact's vehicle struck an opposing vehicle on the driver's side. The frontal air bags failed to deploy, but the contact was uninjured. The police was called to the scene and filed a report. The vehicle was towed to an…
Dt: ABS brakes, air bags, and fuel system failed. At 4700 miles they replaced the entire brake system. Had it a mechanic shop and discovered it was the ABS. While going 55 mph and making a left hand turn kept pushing the brakes and nothing happened causing a wreck. Kept taking vehicle to ford, they could not find…
Suspension 253 Read
The contact owns a 2002 ford f250. While driving 65 mph, the contact felt a vibration from underneath the vehicle. The steering wheel shook and the front driver side tire detached. The vehicle drove off the road, crashed into some trees, and caught fire. Both the driver and passenger were injured. A police report was…
2011 f -250 sd4x4 had 08 king ranch never a prob in 87k miles.the 11 is dangerous!!!!!!!!! This truck will be doing fine on the road, hit a bump or rough spot in the road and truck goes into (death wobble mode ) the whole truck starts bouncing and shaking and viloently wobbling. Have had it back to ford store 4 times.…
The contact owns a 2002 ford f-250. While driving 65 mph, the front driver's side wheel bearing caught fire. The contact pulled over and extinguished the fire. It was determined that the hub bearing caught fire, which also set the rest of the tire on fire. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The…
Power Train 242 Read
The contact owns a 2011 ford f-250. The contact stated that he shifted into drive from reverse and the vehicle continued to drive in reverse. The contact shut the vehicle off and it operated as normal upon restart. The failure recurred approximately one year later and the contact crashed into a mailbox. No injuries…
The contact owns a 2011 ford f-250. The contact stated that while the vehicle parked and on for approximately 15 minutes, there was an abnormal popping noise and the vehicle immediately began to roll away into a frozen lake. The vehicle went through the ice and began sinking. The contact stated that the vehicle was…
Approximately 3 days ago, automatic transmission slipped briefly, occurred again on 2/22/10. Self-corrected both times. Vehicle was hauling enclosed cargo trailer containing 3 atv's. Parked vehicle and shut off ignition, vehicle was in park. Approximately 3 minutes later noticed smoke from under hood. Fire spread too…
Fuel System 215 Read
The contact owns a 2005 ford f-250 super duty. While driving at approximately 10 mph, the vehicle stalled; however, it continued to move forward until it crashed. A police report was not filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was told that the fuel injector…
Consumer was involved in a 40 mph collision in which the driver's and passenger's air bags did not deploy. Also, the automatic fuel system did not cut off. Please give any further details
While driving saw smoke was coming from the passenger side dashboard. Then, got out of vehicle and disconnected battery. Wire harness and fuel pump had been replaced four times
Electrical System 178 Read
The contact owns a 2008 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving 30 mph, he started to smell smoke inside the vehicle, which caused him to get a headache. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact continued driving to his residence. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact open the hood and…
The contact owns a 2006 ford f250. The vehicle was sitting idle when the contact went to start the engine. The gear shifter opening erupted into flames and smoke. The contact removed the key from the ignition and was able to extinguish the small fire. A tow truck company arrived to tow the vehicle and the failure…
The contact owns a 2006 ford f-250. The contact stated that the gauges on the instrument panel failed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the instrument cluster would need to be replaced. The failure recurred twice over the course of seven years and with each failure, the…
F-250 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Air Bags | 8 | 4 | |
| 2009 | Electrical System,engine | 1 | 1 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 12 | 6 | |
| 2007 | Back Over Prevention | 2 | — | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 7 | 5 | |
| 2005 | Electrical System | 3 | 2 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 7 | 3 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 5 | 6 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 9 | 7 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 14 | 20 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 29 | 11 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 44 | 9 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 15 | 17 | |
| 1996 | Electrical System | 8 | 24 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 7 | 17 | |
| 1994 | Electrical System | 3 | 16 | |
| 1993 | Electrical System | 5 | 4 | |
| 1992 | Electrical System | 3 | 4 | |
| 1991 | Electrical System | 3 | 9 | |
| 1990 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 1989 | Electrical System,engine | — | — |
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 | 1,686 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.9 |
| Worst single series | 25 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.7 years |
A model average of 1.9 hides a worst series at 25. 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
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 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-250?
By complaint volume, 1999, 2011, 2008 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-250 years are the cleanest?
1990, 1989, 1998 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Ford F-250 have?
3,207 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1989–2011. Of those, 187 describe a crash and 166 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.