10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
52,245 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 2013 Ford Flex:

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

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #175

Mar 302020

Flex

  • miles
Door ajar warning sensor previously failed on front passenger side door twice. Repaired under warranty, N/C. now the rear drivers side door ajar sensor periodically indicates the door is ajar when it's not after opening or closing the door. Dome lights stay on. Have to repeatedly open and close door, hard, to get the sensor to correct. Out of warranty, 147,000 miles on Flex.

- Florissant, MO, USA

problem #174

Dec 152019

Flex

  • miles
Received letter from Ford advising they would replace driver door sensor due to issues that result in it reading door ajar, resulting in dome lights staying on and battery drain. The same issue occurs on other doors, specifically on mine the back driver side door. This happens sporadically, while driving, while parked, even when the door is not utilized.

- Cumming, GA, USA

problem #173

Oct 122019

Flex 6-cyl

  • 134,000 miles
While driving my 2013 Ford Flex the power steering disappeared and I almost lost control of the vehicle. I pulled over and turned it off, when I started it back up the power steering returned to normal. I stopped at my destination but when I returned to leave I found that the power steering was not responding. I drove it home with great difficulty. This repeated several times over the next two weeks, functioning at the start of the day but failing after the vehicle was turned off. The power steering finally gave out altogether. I checked and found that there was a recall that was announced on June 02 of 2015 for this exact issue covering Ford flexes from 2010 to 2013. I scheduled an appointment with my Ford dealership to get the issue resolved. I was told that my vehicle was manufactured a few months after the recall date, which covered vehicles manufactured up until Feb 28th of 2012. I can't understand one, how does a recall cover the years 2010 to 2013 but has an end date for eligibility of 2012?, the recall was announced on June 02 of 2015 and my vehicle suffered the exact same issue of those that the recall extend to. As well as what was done to remedy the part failure after the June 02, 2012 date that my vehicle (suffering the same malfunction/failure and manufactured just outside of the end date of the recall) was not included in the recall? I have found that the issue is within the sealed steering assist assembly itself witch suffers heat damage due to the placement of other components. Heat shielding within the unit has been reported to break down, resulting in the interior components to fail due to excessive heat exposure.

- Myakka City, FL, USA

problem #172

Apr 012019

Flex 6-cyl

  • 47,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Flex. The contact stated that several various electrical failures occurred with the vehicle, including the power locks being unresponsive while driving and unlocking on their own even when parked. Also, the interior lighting illuminated on their own and the front passenger door light remained illuminated while the vehicle was driven. As a result, the battery would run excessively and needed to be replaced. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 47,000.

- Irving, NY, USA

problem #171

Jul 082019

Flex

  • 23,000 miles
Left passenger door ajar alarm comes on randomly and causes the dome light to stay on and drain the battery when the car is stationary. Unsafe when it happens when driving at night as it is hard to see the road and causes stress to the driver and to passengers, especially children as the doors will not lock whole moving.

- Cortland, OH, USA

problem #170

Jul 012019

Flex

  • 85,000 miles
Front passenger door sensor thinks that the door is open when it is closed. The sensor has already been replaced on the drivers side rear door. This appears to be a common problem on the 2013 Ford Flex as evident when searching for answers. This sensor causes the lights to remain on and drain the battery. It is also affecting the car alarm.

- Appleton, WI, USA

problem #169

Jul 012019

Flex

  • 88,000 miles
Have had multiple door latch/sensor assemblies fail which results in: Door ajar message constantly being given. This results in dome lighting staying on while door is closed and depleting the battery causing an unmonitored electrical use. It also is a distraction to the driver due to both the warning light but also the audio alert that plays when under a certain speed telling you to park and close the door. This takes away from other possible alerts the cars could give you due to overly alerting the driver.

- Mcdonough, GA, USA

problem #168

Jul 132019

Flex

  • 786,475 miles
Driving down the road and out of nowhere my vehicle started stalling as if vehicle had no gas. Gas tank was full and vehicle showed me a wrench sign as I was looking at my dashboard

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #167

Dec 102017

Flex

  • miles
Apim failed over a year ago. This is a large vehicle to not have a backup camera, no navigation or radio adjustments. I was never included in the recall. I reached out to Ford to see why and they said my car was not in the system. I have 2 Flex and a Lincoln mkt and the dealers are terrible about doing anything without charging. 89.9O tk check a recall problem.

- Shelbyville, KY, USA

problem #166

Feb 232019

Flex

  • 85,000 miles
2 door lock/sensors replaced to date (6/2019). Door sensors say it is open when all doors are closed. Occasionally it will decide the door is open while driving, causing all lights in the vehicle to go on. Hazard when driving in the dark. Doors do not lock at all while driving if sensor says door is open. Was also unable to lock the car while the sensor issue was ongoing because the alarm would go off multiple times a night. Battery drained multiple times because interior lights remained on all night and there is no way to turn off interior lights in the 2013 model.

- Powhatan, VA, USA

problem #165

Apr 012019

Flex

  • 85,000 miles
I have had issues with the rear passenger door ajar light coming on and staying on. This results in lights staying on inside the car. It has also resulted in the car alarm going off numerous times. However the door appears to be closed all the way. This has happened when the car is stationary as well as randomly turning on and/or off while driving down subdivision street and major highways. When it is ajar the doors will not lock automatically. This can be a major safety issue and is becoming a major problem for my and my family. Please let me know what I can do to have this looked at as it appears I am not the only person having these issues. When the car randomly seems to register the door as closed while driving the doors will then lock, but otherwise the doors will not lock appropriately, I do not have any pictures or documentation I can upload at this time, but I will try to obtain some for you. This issue has been going on now for a few months.

- O'fallon, MO, USA

problem #164

Jun 012017

Flex

  • 60,000 miles
I have had two door latches fail in the same vehicle within 2 years of each other. No matter whether the vehicle is moving or stationary, I got a warning stating the right rear (and now the right front) door was not closed when in fact it was. There is a faulty sensor in the door latches. This also prevents the child locks from engaging since it thinks the doors are open.

- Van Wert, OH, USA

problem #163

Nov 072018

Flex

  • 75,000 miles
I have had two door latches fail in the same vehicle within 2 years of each other. No matter whether the vehicle is moving or stationary, I get a warning stating the right front (and previously the right rear) door was not closed when in fact it was. There is a faulty sensor in the door latches. This also prevents the child locks from engaging since it thinks the doors are open.

- Van Wert, OH, USA

problem #162

Apr 022019

Flex

  • 66,000 miles
Door ajar indicator falsely indicates door is open causing interior lights to remain on while driving as well as an audible alarm. Occurs while stationary and while moving. Interior lights are distracting at night and unnecessary illumination after park causes battery to drain.

- Loveland, CO, USA

problem #161

Dec 052018

Flex

  • 60,000 miles
Door sensor on front passenger door stays on causing dome to stay on. Runs battery dead keeps panel lights on. Already replaced back passenger door under warranty last year. At 60000 miles warranty is out and cost is $500 to fix. I have read a lot of complaints about this issue.. I cannot let anyone sit in my front passenger seat for fear of not being able to shut door for door sensor to go off and not come out to a dead battery. Now the door open light comes on without the door being opened and won't go off. This causes do.E lights to stay on resulting in draining the battery..this is obviously a big issue now. As I have read there is a lawsuit..

- Saint Petersburg, FL, USA

problem #160

Apr 042019

Flex

  • miles
The door sensors do not work properly. These sensors sense when the door is open or closed. The sensor malfunctions causing the doors not to lock or causing them to unlock while driving or even while parked. It will not allow you to lock the doors even when the car is in park. When you try to lock the door manually they will immediately unlock. This inability to even lock the door manually is a an additional safety issue. We cannot feel safe when traveling because we cannot lock the doors and trust them to stay locked. This sensor also causes the interior lights to stay on intermittently. Sometimes the lights will be on for hours at a time and you cannot turn them off. Often, the battery is dead because the lights have been on. These sensors cause the car alarm to go off if the car is parked and locked because it suddenly shows the doors as open. Our doors constantly trip. Sometimes when you press the brake to stop the Flex, the alarm will ding saying that the door is open and to put the car into park. It is almost like the door sensor moves or tilts when stopping the car losing its connection that allows it to sense to door closure. All of this happens daily! help!!!

- Muskogee, OK, USA

problem #159

Mar 052019

Flex

  • 87,853 miles
Failure of engine to start/run due to a faulty fuel pump control module. Current Ford safety recall #16S31 (NHTSA #16V621) is limited only to Ford/Lincoln vehicles equipped with the ecoboost turbocharged engine. The faulty component on my normally aspirated engine, fuel pump control module #aa8Z-9D370-B, is the same component being replaced on vehicles affected by the #16V621 NHTSA safety recall. To avoid engines shutting off at speed or not starting, it appears that the recall will need to be expanded to include normally aspirated engines as well. We were fortunate because our vehicle failed sitting in our driveway, not at 75 mph on the highway. My wife's concern is what would have happened to her and our four grandchildren if this failure had taken place on the interstate in busy traffic at 75 mph. Why is the same component that is failing on ecoboost turbocharged engines being covered by Ford safety recall #16S31 not being recalled on similar vehicles equipped normally aspirated engines using the identical component? failure of the component has the same effect of an engine that cuts off at speed or will not start. Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. The safety of the owners of these popular Ford/Lincoln family vehicles is at stake.

- Wilmington, NC, USA

problem #158

Aug 012018

Flex

  • 149,000 miles
I bought my 2013 Flex in July of 2015. In August of 2018 my back passenger door started reading as open, at all times. Causing interior lights to stay on. Also the car alarm started going off at random times.

- Middletown, OH, USA

problem #157

Jan 102019

Flex

  • 76,000 miles
While driving, the car just stops. No power, cannot turn wheel, gas nor brake pedal works. Have to restart by pushing ignition button. This has happened a few times already and is a major safety issue.

- Loma Linda, CA, USA

problem #156

Sep 282018

Flex

  • 65,000 miles
Id number 16V621000 isn't associated with my Ford Flex 2013 even thought the fuel module failed while driving and left us stranded

- Leesburg, VA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »