Ford F-150 Reliability by Year
Based on 2M+ real complaints filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
47,240 NHTSA complaints (1981–2026).Complaint rate: 30.4 per 10,000 vehicles sold in the US.
Compare Ford F-150 vs:
Should I buy a Ford F-150?
Quick answer from 47,240 NHTSA complaints · 1981–2026
Ford F-150 shows elevated crash or fire rates — buy with caution. 4.6% of reported complaints involved a crash — above the ~4% mainstream average. Most complaints relate to transmission / drivetrain. Inspect carefully or consider a different model in the same class.
- 2023 Ford F-150· 6.9/10K sold
- 2020 Ford F-150· 10.2/10K sold
- 2022 Ford F-150· 11.1/10K sold
- 2013 Ford F-150· 50.5/10K sold
- 2011 Ford F-150· 50.3/10K sold
Keep scrolling for year-by-year complaint trends, recall campaigns, and component breakdowns — or click any year above for a full report.
Why these years are worse
The most common issues driving the complaint spikes:
- transmission / drivetrain — 7,043 complaints (1.7% involved a crash)
- engine problems — 4,371 complaints (1.0% involved a crash)
- electrical faults — 2,855 complaints (1.5% involved a crash)
- unintended acceleration — 2,135 complaints (7.7% involved a crash)
- brakes — 2,003 complaints (8.0% involved a crash)
Ford F-150 Generations
Manufacturer redesigns the car every few years (a “generation”). Each generation has different engineering and common issues. Click a generation to see year-by-year breakdown.
| Generation | Years | Complaints | Crashes | US Sold | Volume | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 7 | 1980–1986 | 158 | 3 | — | Show years | |||
| Gen 8 | 1987–1991 | 1,211 | 31 | — | Show years | |||
| Gen 9 | 1992–1997 | 6,670 | 424 | — | Show years | |||
| Gen 10 | 1997–2004 | 12,868 | 851 | — | Hide years | |||
| 1997 | 3,285 | 205 | — | View 1997View→ | ||||
| 1998 | 1,624 | 96 | — | View 1998View→ | ||||
| 1999 | 1,323 | 116 | — | View 1999View→ | ||||
| 2000 | 1,272 | 102 | — | View 2000View→ | ||||
| 2001 | 1,451 | 113 | — | View 2001View→ | ||||
| 2002 | 964 | 63 | — | View 2002View→ | ||||
| 2003 | 520 | 57 | — | View 2003View→ | ||||
| 2004 | 2,429 | 99 | — | View 2004View→ | ||||
| Gen 11 | 2004–2008 | 5,610 | 336 | 2,904,604 | Show years | |||
| Gen 12 | 2009–2014 | 12,624 | 352 | 3,737,733 | Show years | |||
| Gen 13 | 2015–2020 | 11,069 | 343 | 5,091,145 | Show years | |||
| Gen 14 | 2021–present | 2,743 | 116 | 3,794,232 | Show years |
Which Years to Buy & Avoid
Years auto-clustered by complaint volume relative to this model's median.
Rankings based on raw NHTSA complaint counts. Sales volume data not yet available for this model.
Bottom line: Avoid the 2011–2019 Ford F-150 (598 crash-related complaints). The 2008–2009 models had significantly fewer reported issues. Most common issue across all years: Transmission / Drivetrain.
Avoid These Years
Average
Better Years
Too New
Need 3+ years on the road for reliable complaint data.
A model's reputation is just the start.
Even within the “good” years, individual cars can have hidden accidents, title issues, or odometer rollbacks. Check the actual VIN before you buy — full history report for $4.99 (vs. Carfax $44.99).
Complaint Rate per 10,000 Vehicles Sold
Normalized by US annual sales volume — higher = more complaints relative to sales
Show raw complaint counts
Common Ford F-150 Problems
Most reported component complaints to NHTSA. Bar length = volume; color = crash-involvement rate.
Show full table
| Component | Complaints | Crash % |
|---|---|---|
| Transmission / Drivetrain | 7,043 | 1.7% |
| Engine Problems | 4,371 | 1.0% |
| Electrical Faults | 2,855 | 1.5% |
| Unintended Acceleration | 2,135 | 7.7% |
| Brakes | 2,003 | 8.0% |
| Steering Defects | 1,753 | 3.3% |
| Body Structure | 1,202 | 3.4% |
| Engine & Cooling | 1,143 | 0.3% |
| Gasoline Fuel System | 1,088 | 0.6% |
| Fuel System | 1,052 | 0.7% |
When Each Problem Spiked
Year × component heatmap. Darker cells = more complaints that year. Reveals which model years a specific defect concentrated in — useful for spotting redesign-cycle quality dips.
Year-by-Year Breakdown
NHTSA complaint count per model year — click any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
| Year | Generation | Complaints | Rate | US Sales | Crashes | Fires | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981NO DATA | Gen 7 | 2 | — | — | 0 | — | View → |
| 1982NO DATA | Gen 7 | 5 | — | — | 0 | 1 | View → |
| 1983NO DATA | Gen 7 | 12 | — | — | 0 | 4 | View → |
| 1984NO DATA | Gen 7 | 16 | — | — | 1 | 2 | View → |
| 1985NO DATA | Gen 7 | 45 | — | — | 1 | 7 | View → |
| 1986NO DATA | Gen 7 | 78 | — | — | 1 | 20 | View → |
| 1987NO DATA | Gen 8 | 109 | — | — | 3 | 49 | View → |
| 1988NO DATA | Gen 8 | 170 | — | — | 3 | 54 | View → |
| 1989NO DATA | Gen 8 | 260 | — | — | 5 | 45 | View → |
| 1990NO DATA | Gen 8 | 315 | — | — | 8 | 35 | View → |
| 1991NO DATA | Gen 8 | 357 | — | — | 12 | 52 | View → |
| 1992NO DATA | Gen 9 | 553 | — | — | 25 | 48 | View → |
| 1993NO DATA | Gen 9 | 753 | — | — | 32 | 24 | View → |
| 1994NO DATA | Gen 9 | 908 | — | — | 79 | 114 | View → |
| 1995NO DATA | Gen 9 | 788 | — | — | 61 | 124 | View → |
| 1996NO DATA | Gen 9 | 383 | — | — | 22 | 87 | View → |
| 1997NO DATA | Gen 9 | 3,285 | — | — | 205 | 296 | View → |
| 1998NO DATA | Gen 10 | 1,624 | — | — | 96 | 107 | View → |
| 1999NO DATA | Gen 10 | 1,323 | — | — | 116 | 85 | View → |
| 2000NO DATA | Gen 10 | 1,272 | — | — | 102 | 385 | View → |
| 2001NO DATA | Gen 10 | 1,451 | — | — | 113 | 292 | View → |
| 2002NO DATA | Gen 10 | 964 | — | — | 63 | 115 | View → |
| 2003NO DATA | Gen 10 | 520 | — | — | 57 | 44 | View → |
| 2004NO DATA | Gen 10 | 2,429 | — | — | 99 | 53 | View → |
| 2005 | Gen 11 | 1,363 | 15.1 | 901,463 | 66 | 41 | View → |
| 2006GOOD | Gen 11 | 740 | 9.3 | 796,039 | 72 | 21 | View → |
| 2007GOOD | Gen 11 | 623 | 9.0 | 691,589 | 51 | 16 | View → |
| 2008GOOD | Gen 11 | 455 | 8.8 | 515,513 | 48 | 15 | View → |
| 2009GOOD | Gen 12 | 397 | 9.6 | 413,625 | 34 | 8 | View → |
| 2010 | Gen 12 | 1,134 | 21.5 | 528,349 | 33 | 46 | View → |
| 2011AVOID | Gen 12 | 2,943 | 50.3 | 584,917 | 70 | 27 | View → |
| 2012AVOID | Gen 12 | 2,424 | 35.0 | 692,589 | 57 | 21 | View → |
| 2013AVOID | Gen 12 | 3,859 | 50.5 | 764,402 | 102 | 45 | View → |
| 2014 | Gen 12 | 1,867 | 24.8 | 753,851 | 56 | 26 | View → |
| 2015AVOID | Gen 13 | 2,058 | 26.4 | 780,354 | 65 | 24 | View → |
| 2016AVOID | Gen 13 | 2,394 | 29.2 | 820,799 | 67 | 36 | View → |
| 2017 | Gen 13 | 1,621 | 18.1 | 896,764 | 47 | 22 | View → |
| 2018AVOID | Gen 13 | 2,646 | 29.1 | 909,330 | 104 | 51 | View → |
| 2019 | Gen 13 | 1,546 | 17.2 | 896,526 | 30 | 11 | View → |
| 2020GOOD | Gen 13 | 804 | 10.2 | 787,372 | 30 | 5 | View → |
| 2021 | Gen 14 | 1,168 | 16.1 | 726,003 | 19 | 7 | View → |
| 2022 | Gen 14 | 723 | 11.1 | 653,957 | 29 | 12 | View → |
| 2023GOOD | Gen 14 | 518 | 6.9 | 750,789 | 28 | 8 | View → |
| 2024TOO NEW | Gen 14 | 209 | 2.5 | 834,641 | 31 | 1 | View → |
| 2025TOO NEW | Gen 14 | 125 | 1.5 | 828,842 | 9 | 2 | View → |
Year-by-Year Breakdown
Tap any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
Data Sources & Methodology
Complaints: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation consumer complaint database (47,240 records for this model). Public domain data, updated monthly.
Sales data: US annual vehicle sales from goodcarbadcar. Coverage: 47% of model years have sales data. Total US sales: 15,527,714.
Rate calculation: Complaints per 10,000 vehicles sold = (complaint count / US annual sales) x 10,000. This normalizes for sales volume so high-volume models like Civic or Camry aren't unfairly penalized.
Year classifications: AVOID = 1.5x+ the model's median complaint rate. GOOD = 0.6x or below. Years less than 3 years old are marked TOO NEW (insufficient data).
See also: Ford F-150accident & safety statistics from our vehicle history database.
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