10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 14
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 6 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 26,471 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
Transmission gets stuck in 3rd or sometimes 5th gear when in Drive. Shifting to 1, 2, or M does nothing; shifting from Neutral to Reverse or Drive creates a large clunk and lunge. It seems to be the same issue as the 2014 F-150 & Expedition 6R80 transmission recall and is so common that it took no time at all to find out what my problem likely is.. This is the 5th time this has happened. Two times were when pulling out onto very busy roads, once in a parking lot, once in a field, and once turning into my alley; some incidents were years apart. If it were to happen again when I needed 1st gear to avoid being hit, I would not have the power for needed acceleration or to make a proper maneuver. It also acts very funny when it happens and creates a very large distraction from driving. When I was able to get back off the main road, it seemed like there was light smoke coming from under the truck so I shut the vehicle down in the middle of a smaller road, which was dangerous enough. I have less than 30,000 miles on my truck and am very maintenance minded; this should not be a worry I should have to have. This appears to be the result of a defective part in the transmission called the "Lead Frame" and it is not easy to find a new one right now due to the excessive amount of them needing replacement.
- Allen, TX, USA
When shifting the truck into gear the lights such as the parking, driving, neutral, reverse and lower gears lights as well as the lights showing which gears the trucks shifting into do not light up! Therefore, you cannot tell what gear the truck is currently placed into. Also, if the lights do light up, they flicker very erratically, and the truck will change gears on its own. When driving the vehicle, the truck will just suddenly change gears and makes a hard shift into lower or higher gear or gears which is extremely dangerous. This makes the truck feel like I've been hooked up to another vehicle that is trying to snatch me backwards. I was driving on the highway the other day and the truck went from 6th gear doing over 70mph to all of a sudden downshifting and dropping down to 40mph on the highway. I thought the engine and transmission were both going to explode on me and cause an accident. This was extremely terrifying and if I didn't keep my cool it could have easily caused a wreck. Most people would have freaked out had an accident. The truck barely made it home because of the gears shifting all over the place and the truck wanting to lose power and shut down. This is extremely dangerous and the representative I spoke to from Ford agreed that considering the mileage of the truck and with the recent recalls concerning transmissions being recalled for the exact same issues that my truck is experiencing that I needed to call you guys and get my tuck added to the Ford F-150 recall list for the transmission issues ford trucks have been having. The Truck is a 2016 Ford F-150 XLT. This is the case number provided to me from Ford to give you Ford Case # CXH03020325
- Tallahassee, FL, USA
This has happened on four separate occasions. When driving, we suddenly get a warning about hill assist, immediately followed by a warning about stability control, immediately followed by the check engine wrench light. At the exact same time, vehicle shakes very hard and loses acceleration, almost like the connection between the pedal and the engine was cut. Today, we were going about 70mph on the freeway when it happened, and all we could do was put the hazards on and let it roll in neutral. Luckily, we found a bit of shoulder to pull off on. Everyone was in danger because we lost the engine at speed. I'm scared to imagine what would have happened going up an incline. On each of these occasions, turning everything off, waiting, and then turning it back on was what it took for it to be drivable again. We have taken it to the dealership multiple times and they either sell us a 'fix' that doesn't work, or they tell us nothing is wrong with it. Looking at forums online, this problem seems to be one many people have experienced. None of them have found a solution. They suggest problems with wheel sensors and traction control systems. No one has gotten any answers from Ford. It looks like another manufacturer had a suit filed against them for the same problem. Either way, Ford is knowingly letting people drive around with vehicles that can lose engine acceleration power at any time, anywhere. We could have died today, and realistically, us and everyone around us are at risk of injury or death every time we drive this thing. We can't get any answers, and Ford dealership either can't or won't help.
- Cedarburg, WI, USA
This truck is plagued with electric problems that the Ford dealership cannot solve. No other local ford dealer will even look at it. See problems below: Engine light with varying codes Tire pressure sensors stopped displaying on screen O2 senor codes Intake camshaft position sensor codes Electronic steering gear stop working Left half of steering wheel option wont work (cruise control, menu, etc.) radio stays on (even with battery disconnected at one point) taillights stop working intermittently (good bulbs, fuses, etc.) blinkers stop working intermittently (good bulbs, fuses, relays, etc.) windows rollup/down by themselves Synch displays messages at odd times while vehicle is in motion 911 assist tries to dial out AC stopped working intermittently Transmission tries to downshift by itself Four wheel drive selector knob wont engage sometimes Engine will run fine then continually die and rough rough (then will have periods of no issues.)
- Ben Lomond , CA, USA
The "service advance trac" light would come on and the vehicle would go into limp mode. Limp mode would last until the vehicle was turned off. This happened 4 times in all. Once in March and three times in June. It always occurred shortly after the initial start of the day. The vehicle is available for additional inspection if and when needed. When the vehicle goes into limp mode, a loss of power occurs. This is a safety concern as moving through intersections from a complete stop is unusually slow and lagging. The Ford dealership did not find the root cause during initial inspection, which resulted in a bad diagnosis and an unneeded repair. The second dealership visit, 3 months after the initial, resulted in finding a chafed wiring harness. It had rubbed against a frame rail near the radiator. The chafing not only rubbed through the harness insulation, but also the insulation on some of the wires inside of the large harness/bundle of wires. The warning lights first appeared in March of 2024 when the unneeded repair was performed. Three months later, in June of 2024, the chafed wiring harness was discovered and repaired by a Ford dealer in Apple Valley, MN. I will do my best to provide the dealer video of the issue as well as the two invoices associated with the repairs. Within the invoices there are excellent notes left by the technicians that describe their findings. With the June invoice resulting in repairing the root cause. I cannot upload the video, so I posted it to YouTube. The chafed wires and rubbing on the frame rail can be seen near the end of this 95 second video: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Eagan, MN, USA
So I was driving my 2016 Ford F150 3.5L v6 twin turbo today. I turned a corner and punched the accelerator to get up to speed and it felt like I ran into a brick wall and the truck began chiming and I lost all power. I mean I had *zero* power - I pushed the gas pedal down and nothing at all happened. The warnings were: "Service AdvanceTrac System" "Hill Descent Control Fault" "Collision Warning Not Available" "Hill Start Assist Not Available" There was an orange wrench on the dash, the air bag light was on, the traction control light was on. The truck was idling super rough the whole truck was shaking. I shut the truck off - gave it a second and started it back up and Everything disappeared. It started happening maybe once every six months and now it-??s multiple times a day. Today, i was in the middle of an intersection when it happened and barely made it to the side of the road.
- Visalia, CA, USA
The truck went into limp mode while driving in the highway and did a hard shift down. The truck almost crashed due to the sudden problem. The code that came up was P0706 and P0707. From what I understand, Ford has had problems with this in previous years. The problem still occurs with my truck model as well.
- Sanford, FL, USA
A) Phone will no longer connect to vehicle - California is a hands-free state. B) Intermittent screen black-outs so back-up camera not functioning during these times. C) Locks on left rear door will intermittingly not disengage requiring rear-seated passengers to exit out other side or exit through front seats. Dealer stated APIM needed replacement after assessing a $265 labor charge. Cost to replace is in excess of $1100 (pre-tax).
- Livermore, CA, USA
The radio and backup camera screen flickers continuously.
- Apex, NC, USA
Transmission will down shift to first while driving on highway. Code come up for transmission speed sensor short. Same as in the 2011 to 2013 models. That tab should be extended to later models. It is unsafe and could cause an accident/ death in high speed driving.
- Coral Springs, FL, USA
Vehicle stalls out at an idle. Several forum postings on Ford forums that owners of 2015 to 2017 F150 5.0 truck have had the same issues. Several users have said ford has replaced the VVT solenoid, and the issue has been resolved.
- Vineland, NJ, USA
plastic oil pan leaking. had to replace it with a factory improved since many problems have been reported with this truck. Replacement cost was $1,343.87. The electrical problems deals with the radio sometimes it does not work until the next day. Has been that day since day 1 with the new truck. Dealership said nothing was wrong!!!!
- Council Bluffs, IA, USA
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 40-45 MPH, the contact heard a loud exploding sound coming from under the hood. The contact stated that she was able to drive to her destination. The contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle, she noticed that the rear sliding window motor had exploded. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 46,750.
- Orangevale, CA, USA
APIM unit and plastic body components 2016 F150, 31,071mi., Sync3 v3.0.20204 Symptoms: Malfunction of the power window controls, radio controls and instrument panel. The APIM also controls many other safety functions, such as rear camera, safety lanes, park assist, backup guides, gps, cruise control, trailer/tow information, and other warnings/features. It is notable that Ford has issued recalls for the APIM due to safety issues in different year F150s, as well as Explorer, Escape, Expedition, Fusion and Lincoln models Navigator and MK2 models, to name a few. This has been reported once, I spoke with a Ford representative and he setup an appointment at the dealership that was to setup an appoint for diagnosis before they setup a repair/replacement appointment. An appointment to setup an appointment to setup a diagnosis appointment to setup a repair appointment. Seriously, what is up with that? Finally, a plastic component from a side-step flew of while traveling a highway, narrowly missing an on-coming car.
- Hutto, TX, USA
The trucks horn and hazard lights contiunsley goes off anytime it rains. We can be driving down the road and the truck will start going haywire, lights flashing horn won't shut off. There's been times when the truck itself wouldn't turn off even after removing the key. It's very bad wiring problem with this truck.
- Bluefield , WV, USA
See attached document for complaint
- Hutto, TX, USA
Today 10/23/23 I remote started my f150 and the defrost on the rear window overheated causing the glass to explode and shatter. The wires burnt to the point of smoking out and catching on fire
- Selah, WA, USA
UNKNOWN Called a Ford dealership and they stated 2 other vehicles of the same year/make/model had similar issues. They couldn't find the issue. The touch screen radio got super hot to the point of not being able to touch it. Can't control the radio or climate from main panel. Can't lock or unlock truck manually or with key. Can't roll down windows from drivers side or adjust mirrors. Blind spot warning came on and at the same time all the tire pressure sensors lit up on the dash as well as the parking aid warning and airbag light. Worried about the risk of airbag deploying without cause, or fire from the radio getting so hot.
- Henning, MN, USA
The vehicle experienced intermittent starting issues for a few days, then left my son stranded in the middle of an intersection after it would not crank. Was able to finally get it started and get it home, but had to get it towed to the dealership the next day. I was able to get a code with a scanner that pointed to a fault in the transmission range sensor circuit. I did some research and discovered the problem was likely a defective molded lead frame inside the transmission. There have been many instances when this part has failed and there was a known problem with earlier model year vehicles that had an extension of the factory warranty. I paid to have the repair completed at a cost of $1430.31 but I believe this should have been a service bulletin item or a recall because of previously reported problems. I was without this vehicle for over 2 weeks.
- Williamston, MI, USA
- Rockford , IL, USA