10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
29,225 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 #334

Nov 062024

F-150

  • miles
The 3.5L ecoboost engine in my truck has the Ford cam phasers used also in the 2.7L and 3.0L engines. The cam phasers rattle when the engine starts, and are experiencing failure. The vehicle has been diagnosed by Ford and the quote for repairs is 6,000. To which I am responsible as Ford fails to admit that this engine has the same cam phasers that are also on the recall for other models. This engine has had several complaints and is a common issue and Ford has released a TSRB pertaining to exactly this issue. The problem with this, is that when you buy the truck as used, they don't tell you about the TSRB. Nor does Ford when you service the truck at the Ford Dealerships, tell you about any TSRBs either. My truck has had all of it service requirements met at Ford Dealerships since I have owned it. I bought the truck with 18k on it in 2020. Ford has failed to ever state at all that there was an issue with the cam phasers until I brought it in.

- Wapakoneta, OH, USA

problem #333

Nov 112024

F-150

  • miles
Driving down interstate and as I start to go uphill or pass a vehicle I accelerate and engine starts to sputter. Engine light blinks but I ease off gas and it goes away. If I accelerate in higher speed it continues to sputter.

- Sonora, TX, USA

problem #332

Mar 012024

F-150

  • 120,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal ticking sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal whining sound coming from the engine and the vehicle intermittently hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the contact stated that the check engine warning light was flashing on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact was informed that the CDF drum inside the transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the vehicle occasionally stalled while idling. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case number was provided; however, the contact was then referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

- Milford, OH, USA

problem #331

Nov 122024

F-150

  • 112,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle began to vibrate abnormally. The contact turned off the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed failures with the camshaft and timing chain, resulting in damages to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V444000 (Power Train), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 112,000.

- Fruitland Park, FL, USA

problem #330

Sep 012024

F-150

  • 105,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced hard shifting and an unexpected downshift into first gear. Additionally, while operating the vehicle, the transmission became overheated. During the failure, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the power train message was displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 105,000.

- Paris, TX, USA

problem #329

Jul 072024

F-150

  • miles
2018 ford f150 bought used @44k miles with a ford cpo 85k warranty truck has been at the dealership multiple times for months at a time for blue smoke out of the exhaust along with warranty coverage of the catalytic converters from excessive oil consumption issue making its way into the exhaust giving area for extreme fires for oil changes and dye test also loosing around 4qts of oil at every 2k miles with no leaks so after inspecting the engine found the cylinders to be oil washed with excessive piston to wall clearance and sleeve scaring and being a master ford certified tech its sad to show ford is bypassing the warranty on these engine's by showing no proof of what the main issue is no diagnostics are being done no tear downs are being done all they do is pull a dipstick and say it failed a oil consumption test they first told us to do pcm updates for the emissions issues with the pcv system and programming of the pcm allowing excessive oil to flow up from vacuum on decel allowing oil into the intake and washed into the cylinders and bore washing the sleeves then they tried the longer dipstick trick and when that wasn't working out they found a loop hole in a third party extended warranty that is allowed to cover whatever selling them as factory ford certified warranty's crazy how a multi-billion dollar organization can do this to customers and employees I've personally delt with the ford motor company and there solution is they will cover half the repairs only which is $6603.37 or you can pay for engine tear down to see if they will allow warranty coverage which is funny enough $6603.37 and being with ford they sell the engine at the dealership to us for $6603.37 so either way there loop hole makes you pay for the base cost of the engine they sell it for when it cost them only $1256.49 to buy one to stock on the shelf at the dealership they basically said you can either take the deal or sue us so that's what ill be doing truck currently has 73k miles barley driven.

- Porter, TX, USA

problem #328

Oct 232024

F-150

  • 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle was making an abnormal engine rattle sound during deceleration. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle made an abnormal chirping sound while idling warm or hot. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under TSB Numbers: 18-2354 and 19-2140. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

- Pike Road, AL, USA

problem #327

Oct 292024

F-150

  • miles
The cam phasers failed at under 65K miles. Engine makes a loud noise and the transmission shifting is affected. Took the vehicle to the dealer for inspection and I declined to repair it for now.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #326

Mar 172024

F-150

  • 81,790 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while parked, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 81,790.

- New Iberia, LA, USA

problem #325

Apr 012024

F-150

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon a cold start of the engine, an abnormal, rattling sound would emit from the engine without warning. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to the engine's cam phasers which were associated with Technical Service Bulletin: 21-2119. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer where they acknowledged the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was notified but informed the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer later referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

- Hales Corner, WI, USA

problem #324

Feb 112024

F-150

  • 76,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal sound; the contact was unable to switch the transmission. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The contact did research and was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V672000 (Engine) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000

- Perry, GA, USA

problem #323

Jul 012022

F-150

  • 30,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle while cold starting the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had occurred once before and that the failure was linked to the cam phasers. The cam phasers were initially replaced under warranty by a dealer; however, the contact was recently informed that the warranty had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

- Rices Landing, PA, USA

problem #322

Sep 062024

F-150

  • miles
The Starter on my 2018 Ford F150 XTR (XLT trim to be sold new in Canada) with the 5.0L Coyote V8 engine failed @ only 46,000 miles. I have done my own auto repair for years, and have replaced a few failed or failing starters, none of which were @ less than 100,000 miles. After a little research, I found out that Ford "created" their Coyote engine with the Auto Stop/Start feature as a fuel economy measure to satisfy USEPA. However, this resulted in a several orders of magnitude increase in the number of starts within any given time frame (say, over the course of a year) and, since Ford did not re-design the starter to account for this radical increase in the sheer number of starts, starters are failing early. Mine failed @ 46,000 miles, and I've read multiple online posts from owners of this engine that had to replace the starter, one as early as 27,000. Check out owner comments @: [XXX] I should NOT have been required to pay for Ford Motor Company's design FAILURE. Respectfully, [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- West Chester, PA, USA

problem #321

Sep 212024

F-150

  • 105,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal ticking, tapping, and rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin 23-2143. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 105,000.

- Watseka, IL, USA

problem #320

Aug 152024

F-150

  • miles
Cam phaser noise, replaced already at 29000 miles and failed again at 78000 miles, Ford had a Program 21N03 to replace phasers, but expired Jan 2023, was informed this morning by ford dealer. >$4000 to replace a know design issue on these phasers. believe there is a new design but Ford will not warranty the change per 21N03 program. When called Ford customer care, no program available to support a change and rep could not give me assurances if the vehicle is safe to drive. I do not think this is acceptable given a know design issue on this engine.

- Westminster, CO, USA

problem #319

Aug 242024

F-150

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle while cold starting the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed with defective cam phasers. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

- Honaker, VA, USA

problem #318

Aug 282024

F-150

  • 115,000 miles
I was driving, I looked down because my truck was unresponsive, my truck had died, a warning light had come on stating the following: "Auto Start/Stop Shift to P, then Restart Engine". I was on the interstate, in a two lane construction zone, I had to pull over into the construction area, stop my truck, and try and restart. After a minute or two, I was able to restart my truck and re-enter the road way. A very dangerous situation, luckily I did not have my children in the vehicle at the time. I scheduled a service appointment after this and was told it was the fuel pump control module. Unfortunately, it has happened twice since my service appointment... something needs to me done!

- Gifford, IL, USA

problem #317

Sep 092024

F-150

  • miles
When starting the engine there is a loud rattle for a few seconds. After research there seems to be other Ford recalls related to the cam phasers that were recalled in other models but I believe the series or production line when mine was produced should be added as well. I have talked to Ford service already and spoke with a customer advocate. My case number is [XXX] Thank you [XXX] C [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Glen Ridge, NJ, USA

problem #316

Apr 202022

F-150

  • miles
misfire on cylinders1,3,5 timing chain, inter cooler a/c hoses. paid over $5,000 for these repairs. 1 month later engine failure. traded it in and took a $7,500 loss for repair of new engine. 83,000 miles on the engine. 2018 3.5 liter v6 ecoboost for platinum. engine light would blink if it received to much acceleration. would have to pull over and turn off engine. for the engine light to go away. ford never did replace or fix this issue. next thing I know I need a new engine. had this truck less than one year. and a loss of 12,500. the moonroof pillars brackets started to brake off not able to use the moon roof. thermostat removed and replaced. bg cooling system service, oil cooler lines replaced, intake tube boot replaces, radiator hoses replaced, heater hoses replaced,

- Hays, MT, USA

problem #315

Sep 092024

F-150

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the upper part of the dashboard nearby the windshield was fractured and raised upward, causing a 3-inch gap. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle made an abnormally loud grinding sound. Additionally, the contact stated that while accelerating from a complete stop, the vehicle hesitated to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 21N03. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »