Owners filed 11,842 complaints about the 2015–2025 Ford F-150 with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the most of any vehicle in our Car Problem Index. The 2018 model year drew the most (2,300), and the single most-reported problem area is transmission / powertrain, named in 36% of complaints.
Key findings
- Worst model year: 2018, with 2,300 complaints, led by transmission / powertrain (1,002).
- Spike years: 2015 (1.7× the typical year), 2016 (2.0× the typical year), 2018 (2.3× the typical year).
- Earliest-failing area: body structure complaints came at a median of 18k mi on the odometer.
- Fire and crash reports: 123 complaints mention a fire and 322 mention a crash; owners reported 316 injuries and 6 deaths.
Ford F-150 complaints by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Top problem areas | Median mileage | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,707 | Transmission / powertrain (404), Brakes (299), Engine (264) | 50k mi | 50 | 13 |
| 2016 | 2,048 | Transmission / powertrain (578), Engine (317), Brakes (301) | 45k mi | 56 | 25 |
| 2017 | 1,437 | Transmission / powertrain (539), Engine (311), Electrical system (133) | 52k mi | 42 | 21 |
| 2018 | 2,300 | Transmission / powertrain (1,002), Engine (503), Body structure (193) | 40k mi | 64 | 33 |
| 2019 | 1,324 | Transmission / powertrain (728), Engine (319), Electrical system (99) | 60k mi | 17 | 7 |
| 2020 | 726 | Transmission / powertrain (353), Engine (128), Electrical system (86) | 37k mi | 19 | 4 |
| 2021 | 1,011 | Transmission / powertrain (314), Electrical system (128), Exterior lights (110) | 46k mi | 13 | 4 |
| 2022 | 593 | Transmission / powertrain (157), Electrical system (125), Exterior lights (65) | 28k mi | 20 | 7 |
| 2023 | 407 | Transmission / powertrain (156), Electrical system (82), Brakes (39) | 30k mi | 18 | 4 |
| 2024 | 187 | Transmission / powertrain (55), Exterior lights (50), Electrical system (39) | 10k mi | 17 | 3 |
| 2025 | 102 | Transmission / powertrain (24), Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (23), Electrical system (22) | 5k mi | 6 | 2 |
Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower partly because owners have had fewer years to report problems.
Most-reported Ford F-150 problems, and what they cost to fix
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median mileage | Repair estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transmission / powertrain | 4,310 | 36% | 68k mi | Transmission repair cost |
| Engine | 2,004 | 17% | 58k mi | Engine repair cost |
| Electrical system | 1,244 | 11% | 36k mi | Alternator / electrical repair cost |
| Brakes | 937 | 8% | 39k mi | Brake repair cost |
| Body structure | 778 | 7% | 18k mi | — |
| Speed control / acceleration | 505 | 4% | 31k mi | — |
| Wipers / visibility | 431 | 4% | 39k mi | Wiper replacement cost |
| Steering | 391 | 3% | 35k mi | Power steering repair cost |
One complaint can name several problem areas, so shares add up to more than 100%.
What this data can and can't tell you
These are unverified reports that owners submitted to NHTSA, counted by model year. They are not defect findings, and they aren't adjusted for sales: a best-selling vehicle collects more complaints simply because more of them are on the road. Use the counts to compare model years of the same vehicle and to see which systems owners complain about most, not to compare how reliable two different models are. See the full methodology.
Other Ford models in the index
- Ford Escape (9,632)
- Ford Explorer (9,079)
- Ford Edge (5,190)
- Ford Fusion (4,656)
- Ford F-250 Sd (3,942)
- Ford Focus (3,929)
- Ford Expedition (2,537)
- Ford F-350 Sd (2,147)
- Ford Ecosport (1,850)
- Ford Mustang (1,750)
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, consumer complaint files (nhtsa.gov), model years 2015–2025, retrieved 2026-09-23. Free to cite with a link to this page.