10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
30,323 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.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2018 Ford F-150:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #91

Feb 152012

F-150

  • 48,000 miles
Have problems with transmission and making clucking noise when move it from park to drive and at low speeds sometimes and also when it shifts it is very jerky and not smooth. And it jumps gear like 1 to 4 and 5 to 8.

- Campbellsport, WI, USA

problem #90

Feb 162021

F-150

  • 34,490 miles
On or about the week of 10/26/2020, I took my truck to J.C. lewis Ford in savannah, ga for a transmission shifting issue to be looked at. While there, they also checked the oil in the vehicle and noted it was very low. As a result of this, they completed an engine oil change, reprogrammed the computer and replaced the oil level indicator per tsb 19-2365, and I could pick up the truck, which I did. This past Tuesday, 2/16/2021, I checked the oil level in my truck and found it to be over a quart low. The vehicle has only had a little over 3000 miles put on it since the Ford provide warranty oil change. I phoned J.C lewis Ford after noticing the oil was low and they requested that I bring my vehicle in to be looked at. The vehicle is currently at the dealership.

- Guyton, GA, USA

problem #89

Jan 022021

F-150

  • 40,000 miles
Engine oil is leaking.

- Aurora, CO, USA

problem #88

Jan 282021

F-150

  • 38,500 miles
After towing for an hour or more, pulling into gas station, low RPM, engine stops, auto start.stop warning comes on, asked to put in park and restart ---I have to rev gas to keep started--only when towing for awhile

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

problem #87

Apr 272020

F-150

  • miles
My Ford F150 began to have two distinct rattles at about 1 year old and 15,000 miles. One rattle happens when my foot comes off the gas and sounds like a flutter like something is loose. The other rattle happens at 1500 RPM and sounds like a metal on metal or a chain rattle. This happens on public paved streets. The Ford dealership verified my concern with both noises and worked with Ford with more than 10 attempted repairs. I have the list of attempted repairs that I can share but they include chain tensioners replacement, exhaust inspection, reprogram, phasers replacement, transmission replacement, and vct solenoids replacement. Neither the dealership nor Ford knows what is wrong but claims it is a "common characteristic" after over 35 total days of attempting to be repaired over several months. I am not the only F150 owner with this problem. Without knowing what is wrong with the truck, I do not know it is safe to drive. I contacted BBB who verified that I am not eligible for the lemon law and advised me to contact your organization to address my safety concern. I did not get anything in writing that says the truck is safe to drive and that worries me.

- Lovettsville, VA, USA

problem #86

Dec 232020

F-150

  • 21,476 miles
Clicking/grinding noise on deceleration between 1000-2000 RPM. I had the necessary tsb 18-2354 (reprogram PCM for noise complaint) completed on vehicle with no change. I've read many articles about this issue and no one has had their vehicle fixed from this issue. Ford has said this is normal but a clicking noise under deceleration is never normal especially when it started happening after driving 500-1000 miles on the vehicle. My vehicle currently has 22,000 miles on it and when I first bought the vehicle at 21,000 miles it never made the noise until about 500 miles into it. I fear that the noise could be causing debris to get into the engine and or transmission. I wish Ford would be more serious about this issue since many people have had this problem with their 2018-2019 Ford F-150 and mustangs. Ford says this is a normal characteristic but it can't be normal if the noise was never their and starts up after 500-1000 miles of driving. Many people have had this issue and it hasn't been resolved. Please find a fix. I just spent $33,000 on a vehicle and I do not wish to spend money to replace an engine or transmission.

- Martinez, CA, USA

problem #85

Dec 102020

F-150

  • miles
Leaks oil dealer cant stop the problem. Constant leak. 2018 should not have this type problem going to cause engine failure. Not safe this is an ongoing issue.

- Gallatin, TN, USA

problem #84

Nov 212020

F-150

  • 10,500 miles
When towing a trailer and you come to a stop, the engine shuts off displaying "auto stop/start shift to P then restart engine". when you restart the engine it immediately dies again. You are left with disabled power steering, disabled power brakes, and have to rev up the engine while keeping one foot on the brakes, and slam it into gear to try to get moving, all while towing a large trailer behind you and typically in an intersection.. this is a very dangerous situation. Ford is aware of the problem, but will not do anything to fix it, even if you bring your truck to their service center reporting the problem. There is an ntsb bulletin describing the problem and required repair, # 18-2249, but Ford does not perform the work unless you provide a copy of the bulletin and insist on the work being done. This ntsb bulletin needs to be a recall! this is a very dangerous driving situation which needs to be corrected.

- Bonaire, GA, USA

problem #83

Nov 112020

F-150

  • 62,000 miles
Timing chain stretched. Only 62,000 miles. Poor design by Ford. Over $3,500 to repair. Fighting with Ford for help. Rattling sounds at cold start.

- Manor, TX, USA

problem #82

Nov 102020

F-150

  • 30,750 miles
I was driving out of a gas station and the auto stop start warning came on as I was accelerating and lost all power steering and I was able to coast away from traffic. I had to put it in park and restart the engine. I have no idea what caused this issue as I put well over 400 miles a week on my truck and this was the first acurrance.

- Port Orange, FL, USA

problem #81

Mar 062020

F-150

  • 29,500 miles
At <30,000 miles the engine would make a 'diesel' like rattle for several seconds on a cold start. Brought the vehicle to my Ford Canada dealer and they immediately diagnosed the issue as a cam phaser problem and ordered the parts/replaced the cam phasers under warranty. I now live in the usa, and am hopeful that the problem is permanently resolved vs having a costly repair at a later date outside of the warranty period. I have followed all the manufacturer maintenance recommendations and pre-paid for 5 years of service.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #80

Nov 042020

F-150

  • 35,974 miles
Shield under engine between vehicle and road surface is falling for no reason. It is made of fabric that quickly wears out specially in winter driving conditions. Manufacturer says it is normal and it is not normal as they say it will happen again.

- Chardon, OH, USA

problem #79

Nov 012019

F-150

  • miles
Engine rattling noise when accelerating at around 1500-2000 RPM and decelerating at around 800-1000 RPM.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #78

Oct 272020

F-150

  • 16,531 miles
Vehicle shut off while driving 30 mph down the highway. Dash display said auto shutoff, shift to park and restart. The auto shutoff was disabled when this happened.

- Kernersville, NC, USA

problem #77

May 282020

F-150

  • 66,894 miles
My vehicle I purchased in 2019 second owner is now not running. I am unsure as to what is going on or why it stalled on me approximately 3 months ago. I filed a claim with my insurance company they closed it without assistance. I had it towed home. It will start up but it has a really loud clanging in the motor area. I don't know what's going on with it. My vehicle has not been neglected and it has been taken care of and I don't understand why it's not running to only be 2 years old. I was driving my vehicle to pick up my daughter from work in town. I noticed a very loud sound and I pulled over at a local circle K and it didn't start back up at that time. I am finding recalls, but not specific to my VIN.

- Trilby, FL, USA

problem #76

Sep 062020

F-150

  • 33,000 miles
While driving, there has been rough intermittent shifts/acceleration, particularly from a stopped position. I have noticed it happens between 5-7 gears. Vehicle will be stopped at a stop light, as you accelerate, the vehicle will go through first few gears with normal acceleration and pick up speed, the sudden jerking of the vehicle seems like it just did an engine break(?). vehicle will be accelerating to 40+ mph and feel as if it did a sudden brake and decelerate rapidly to than resume acceleration. Additionally, when vehicle is parked, when switching between park and drive or park and reverse, the shift is sometimes rough as if the clutch was never engaged and it was forced into the drive mode. Not only will the be a large noise, but a slight jerk. Also, I have had my phasers replaced already due to loud engine noise.

- Clarendon Hills, IL, USA

problem #75

Jul 192020

F-150

  • 26,000 miles
First time towing our 5000lb trailer; drove without stopping for approximately 200 miles on highway. As pulling off highway on exit ramp the truck stalls as we come to a stop and it will not start again. Gives a message something about turning off the auto stop. Only way to get the truck to move is to give lots of gas and let off on brake slowly and hope truck moves. Next trip with trailer we turned off auto stop feature, this did not help as again the truck stalled as we came to a stop at a highway exit and would not come back on. Dealership discovered technical service bulletin18-2249 for 2.7L F150 built on or before 27-Nov-2017 "while towing-intermittent engine stall when coming to a stop" service bulletin instructs mechanic to reprogram the PCM using the appropriate Ford scan tool at the latest software level. Dealership did this reprogramming on our truck, but since they can't test the truck for a fix, because it only stalls when towing for an extended period of time, we have to put our safety at risk again and drive the truck towing our trailer at least hundred miles to see if the stalling happens. This has been a very stressful situation since we were unsure when the truck might decide to stall again while towing our trailer, as perhaps when we are making a turn. And now the only way we will know if the stalling is fixed is to take the truck out on the highway pulling our trailer for a 100 mile ride-wish us luck! there is definitely a problem and it seems to us a very dangerous problem with the Ford 2018 F150 2.7 eco-boost truck. Please investigate before some family on a camping trip gets killed towing their trailer. Thank you.

- Haslett, MI, USA

problem #74

Jul 242020

F-150

  • 17,000 miles
2018 F-150 with 5.0 litre V-8 engine has loud and concerning knocking when accelerating. This is especially noticeable when the transmission has recently shifted into a new gear and before engine rpms have climbed back up. When I pulled our boat out of the lake a month or so ago, my gasoline engine sounded like an old diesel engine due to the knock. I have had the vehicle in the shop three times for this issue, and the technicians have confirmed the knock. On the second visit, Ford engineers had the technicians take apart the engine and replace some vct valves. This did not solve the problem. The last time it was in, the Ford engineers had the technicians drive a like model truck (2018 F-150 with 5.0 litre V-8), and that truck made the same knocking noises. Following that, Ford concluded that this is just "normal operation" of this engine, and there is no concern. I have owned many vehicles, and this is certainly not "normal operation". I contacted Ford coorperate customer care, and they informed me that there is nothing further to be done, and they now consider this issue closed. In addition, a quick search on google shows pages of complaints of this engine knock issue. It's interesting that no previous year models of this 5.0L V-8 had this problem, but, Ford now considers it normal. Thank you for your time with this issue.

- Great Falls, MT, USA

problem #73

Aug 092020

F-150

  • 33,061 miles
My vehicle complete turned off in the middle of the highway at 60 mph. No steering wheel no brakes after that and in the middle of the highway took this truck to the dealership and they said that the problem is related to the internal timing of the engine and it will take 3-4 weeks to get it repaired however I do not trust in the correct functioning of this vehicle anymore. I have a video of the incident but I cannot load it here. My truck was bought new in 2018 and it just have 30K miles

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #72

Jan 132019

F-150 8-cyl

  • 2,363 miles
THE CONTACT OWNED A 2018 FORD F-150. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE HAD TAKEN HIS VEHICLE TO THOMASVILLE FORD LINCOLN (1515 E JACKSON ST, THOMASVILLE, GA 31792) ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS DUE TO ABNORMAL NOISES COMING FROM THE ENGINE, THE TRANSMISSION SKIPPING GEARS, AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATING. ON HIS LAST VISIT, A DIAGNOSTIC WAS PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE AND MULTIPLE FAILURE CODES APPEARED ON THE VEHICLE. THE DIAGNOSTIC HE RECEIVED FROM THE DEALER STATED FOR HIM TO LEAVE THE VEHICLE AT THE DEALER; HOWEVER, THE DEALER ALLOWED THAT CONTACT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE HOME. UPON RETURN OF HIS VEHICLE, THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 10 MPH AFTER MAKING A RIGHT TURN, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT LOST COMPLETE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND CRASHED INTO A TELEPHONE POLE. THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED UPON IMPACT. THE POLICE WERE CALLED TO THE SCENE AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT RECEIVED MEDICAL ATTENTION AT THE SCENE AND WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL WHERE HE WAS TREATED FOR A CONCUSSION, AN INJURED VERTEBRA, A HERNIATED DISC, AND INJURIES TO HIS LEFT ARM, LEFT HAND AND LEFT THUMB. THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED AT THE SCENE AND WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT COLLISION CENTER. THE SAME DEALER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND A CLAIM WAS FILED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,363. Consumer stated vehicle decelerated on the hwy from 80 mph to 20 mph on its own.

- Valdosta, GA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »