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Ford F-150

Every model year 2016–2026: recalls, owner complaints, NHTSA crash ratings and EPA efficiency side by side, each value traced to the file it came from.

11 Model years 2016–2026

168 Recalls NHTSA campaigns, all years

10,949 Complaints owner reports, all years

F Newest grade 2026 Safety Signal

2020 Best on record cleanest filed year

The 2026 F-150 →Which years to avoid Compare it

Ford F-Series (fourteenth generation) — photograph via Wikimedia Commons — Ford F-Series (fourteenth generation) · Photo: Kevauto · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Active NHTSA advisory on 1 model year of the F-150 — park outside or do not drive. The year rows below carry it.

Every Ford F-150 model year

Source: NHTSA · EPA · one row per year

Year	Powertrains	Safety	Recalls	Complaints	Crash	Best efficiency
2026	Hybrid Gas	F	8	18	★★★★★	24 mpg
2025	Hybrid Gas	F	16	128	★★★★★	23 mpg
2024	Hybrid Gas	F	11	231	★★★★★	23 mpg
2023	Hybrid Gas	F	13	510	★★★★★	25 mpg
2022	Hybrid Gas	F	23	814	★★★★★	25 mpg
2021	Hybrid Gas Diesel	F	29	1,299	★★★★★	25 mpg
2020	Gas Diesel	F	11	739	★★★★★	24 mpg
2019	Gas Diesel	F	9	1,341	★★★★★	25 mpg
2018	Gas Diesel	F	18	2,325	★★★★★	25 mpg
2017	Gas	F	17	1,460	★★★★★	22 mpg
2016	Gas	F	13	2,084	★★★★★	21 mpg

Which model year the record favours

Source: recalls and complaints per year on the road

Years to avoid, with the reasons →Best on the record 2020

On the filed record so far, the 2020 is the cleanest F-150 year we hold, and the 2021 the one to check hardest. The 2021 carries a standing park-outside or do-not-drive advisory, which outranks every other number on this page.

Both figures are divided by the number of years the car has been on sale, because otherwise the oldest year on the page loses every time simply for having been around longer. The current model year and any year under three on the road are left out: their records are not finished.

Year	Safety Signal	Recalls /yr	Complaints /yr
2020	F	1.8	123	1 critical
2019	F	1.3	192	2 critical
2022	F	5.8	204	3 critical
2018	F	2.2	291	4 critical
2023	F	4.3	170	4 critical
2016	F	1.3	208	5 critical
2017	F	1.9	162	6 critical
2021	F	5.8	260	Advisory

Which Ford F-150 years reported which system early

Source: NHTSA complaints, odometer at report

Earliest on the record: 2022 engine complaints at 0.29× the mileage of same-age vehicles (median 12,000 miles). Latest: 2020 visibility/wiper at 3.15× (22,025 miles).

Year	Power Train	Engine	Service Brakes	Structure	Electrical System	Visibility/Wiper
2023	1.43×	—	1.0×	—	0.69×	—
2022	1.05×	0.29×	—	—	0.8×	—
2021	1.12×	0.96×	2.0×	—	1.07×	2.59×
2020	1.44×	1.18×	—	1.15×	0.49×	3.15×
2019	2.53×	1.67×	—	0.56×	2.95×	—
2018	1.74×	1.26×	1.52×	0.56×	1.24×	1.68×
2017	2.12×	1.2×	0.82×	0.61×	1.31×	1.73×
2016	1.92×	0.92×	0.9×	0.44×	0.89×	1.33×

Each cell is that model year’s median odometer when owners reported the system, divided by the median for the same system across every make’s complaints on the same model year. under 0.67× reported early; 1.5× or more late; a dash means too few readings. When problems get reported, not how often — complaint counts are in the table above. Across the whole fleet: which systems go first.

What owners filed about the Ford F-150, by system

Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsEvery system, every year →

The systems the federal record is deep on for this nameplate: the complaints per model year, the mileage owners reported them at, and every recall, investigation and manufacturer bulletin filed under the heading — each one linked, none a failure rate.

transmission and drivetrain problems 4,272 complaints, every model year engine problems 2,117 complaints, every model year electrical problems 1,268 complaints, every model year brake problems 756 complaints, every model year visibility and wiper problems 583 complaints, every model year body and structure problems 556 complaints, every model year exterior lighting problems 234 complaints, every model year fuel system problems 226 complaints, every model year

What changed year to year

Source: computed from the filed record

2026: best combined mpg 23 → 24; 11 → 12 EPA configurations
2024: best combined mpg 25 → 23; 25 → 11 EPA configurations
2023: 21 → 25 EPA configurations
2022: dropped diesel; 22 → 21 EPA configurations
2021: added hybrid; best combined mpg 24 → 25; 17 → 22 EPA configurations
2020: best combined mpg 25 → 24; 30 → 17 EPA configurations
2019: 38 → 30 EPA configurations
2018: added diesel; best combined mpg 22 → 25; 20 → 38 EPA configurations
2017: best combined mpg 21 → 22; 14 → 20 EPA configurations

Compare

All F-150 head-to-heads →Which is better for you? →

Head-to-head	Verdict
2026 F-150 vs Chevrolet Silverado · Large Pickup truck	Silverado +2.6
2026 F-150 vs GMC Sierra · Large Pickup truck	Sierra +5.7
2026 F-150 vs Ram 1500 · Large Pickup truck	F-150 +19
2026 F-150 vs Toyota Tundra · Large Pickup truck	Tundra +7.4
2026 F-150 vs Chevrolet Colorado · Large Pickup truck	F-150 +4.1
2026 F-150 vs Jeep Gladiator · Large Pickup truck	Gladiator +20.3
2025 F-150 vs Tesla Cybertruck · Large Pickup truck	Cybertruck +47.8
2025 F-150 vs Honda Ridgeline · Large Pickup truck	Ridgeline +22.7
2020 F-150 vs Jeep Gladiator Pickup · Large Pickup truck	F-150 +9.9

In the studies

Source: computed from the same record, method on each page

Odometer at first complaint · rank 69 of 79 1.92× the mileage of same-age vehicles Ford F-150 owners reported problems to NHTSA at a median 43,000 miles across 2018–2022 (fleet 23,512), later than vehicles of the same model year. 2,090 readings.

Common questions about the Ford F-150

Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kits

Which Ford F-150 year is the best used buy?

On the recall record, the 2020 F-150 comes out top of the years before the current one: Safety Signal grade F (53/100), 11 recalls and 739 owner complaints on file. That ranks paperwork, not condition — a specific car's history and service record still decide it.

What Ford F-150 years should I avoid?

2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 have the weakest recall records in this range — one carries an active park-outside or do-not-drive advisory. The year pages list every campaign, its severity and whether a repair exists yet. Every F-150 model year ranked, with the reasons.

How many recalls does the Ford F-150 have?

Across model years 2016–2026, NHTSA has posted 168 recall campaigns for the Ford F-150. They are counted per model year in the table above, because a campaign almost never covers the whole run — it covers a build range.