F-650

Ford F-650 Problems

What actually breaks on the Ford F-650 — 25 owner complaints filed with NHTSA across 2000–2022, sorted by model year and by system, with what owners wrote in their own words.

NHTSA owner complaints · 25 reports · 24 builds · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Quick answer

Owners have filed 25 complaints on the Ford F-650, covering 2000–2022. The system named most often is Service Brakes (6 reports). Worst years by volume: 2001, 2021, 2017; cleanest: 2000, 2003, 2012. On average the car was 3.5 years old when the problem happened.

What breaks on Ford F-650

Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 25 F-650 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.

Service Brakes 24% 6 Read
2022 Ford F-650

ABS sensor failure

2021 Ford F-650

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-650. The contact stated while releasing the brake pedal and driving from a complete stop, the brake pedal made abnormal sounds. The contact also stated that the parking brake was not operative. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that no issues were found regarding the…

2011 Ford F-650

Replaced hpb system, configured ABS modual, and bled brake system on my 2011 f650 medium duty commercial truck. Ford refuses to reimburse the cost ($4722.60) even though the repairs were performed by a ford authorized dealership

Power Train 24% 6 Read
2021 Ford F-650

The driver reported an intermittent burnt oil smell from rear of truck. We found the axle leaking gear oil, with gear oil soaking the brake pads and pooling in the wheel. Took to Ford dealer, where it was confirmed by the dealer and repaired under warranty

2002 Ford F-650

Clutch pedal stuck at floor. @ 3,548 miles on truck. Installed drive line and ordered clutch pedal spring (108t replaced clutch master assm and recall spg. Adj. Clutch). 33,071 miles note on oil change invoice clutch return spring at trans broke need repair asap also u-joint clip off need repair, released by ron…

2001 Ford F-650

While driving it was hard to shift gears. Dealerships mechanic informed the consumer that the problem pertained to transmission failure

Steering 20% 5 Read
2017 Ford F-650

Driver feels unsafe, brake pedal is spongy, unit does not stop well. Cost for repair $5806*dt*jb*dt*jb*dt

2017 Ford F-650

Driver feels unsafe, brake pedal is hard and is hard to stop the truck. Cost for repair $4252*dt*jb*dt*jb*dt vehicle has been repaired

2017 Ford F-650

Driver feels unsafe, brakes feel like they are dragging, do not release all the way. Brake system repaired for $5,079.44 *dt*dt*jb*dt

Fuel System 12% 3 Read
2022 Ford F-650

The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-650. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V957000 (Fuel System, Diesel); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not…

2021 Ford F-650

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-650. The contact stated while an employee was driving 65 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond as intended and stalled. The driver pulled to the right side of the road and waited for towing assistance. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The…

2021 Ford F-650

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-650. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V957000 (FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL); 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 dealer was made…

Seat Belts 4% 1 Read
2012 Ford F-650

The contact owns a 2012 ford f-650. The contact received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign number: 15V339000 (seat belts). The parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Perry ford of santa barbara (440 hitchcock way,…

Tires 4% 1 Read
2003 Ford F-650

Consumer states that the front tires on the vehicle are wearing out unevenly. The edges of the tires are so worn that the center of the tread does not touch the ground. Consumer feels that the axel is defective

Electrical System 4% 1 Read
2002 Ford F-650

When it rains out it may start on its own turn lights on sitting in the driveway in the middle of the night was the first time it always starts while sitting told there was a problem with water getting in gem moduel

Engine And Engine Cooling 4% 1 Read
2001 Ford F-650

The contact owns a 2001 ford f-650. While driving at various speeds, exhaust fumes emitted into the cabin of the vehicle. The failure recurred continuously. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or diagnosed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 246,000

F-650 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.

FIG.02·Ford F-650 complaints by model year
Model yearComplaintsTop systemCrashesFires
20222Fuel System, Diesel
20214Fuel System, Diesel
20173Steering,tires,service Brakes,engine
20161Steering,tires,service Brakes,engine
20121Seat Belts
20112Service Brakes
20031Tires
20023Electrical System,exterior Lighting,service Brakes
20017Engine And Engine Cooling
20001Steering
ROWS 10·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints

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.

FIG.03·Ford F-650 complaints by production series
MeasureValue
Distinct production series24
Average complaints per series1
Worst single series2 complaints
Average age at failure3.5 years
ROWS 4·SOURCE NHTSA owner complaints + ForCar

A model average of 1 hides a worst series at 2. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.

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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-650?

By complaint volume, 2001, 2021, 2017 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-650 years are the cleanest?

2000, 2003, 2012 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.

How many complaints does the Ford F-650 have?

25 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2000–2022. Of those, 0 describe a crash and 0 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.

Owner complaints from NHTSA, published as filed and unverified. Age at failure computed by ForCar from incident date and model year; production series grouped by the first 11 VIN characters. Last updated Aug 2026. — ForCar Reviewed by , founder of ForCar.