Open safety recalls, the components owners report failing most often, crash-test results and running costs for the 2016 Ford F-150, assembled from NHTSA and EPA records.
Everything on this page applies to the model as a whole. Run its VIN to decode that exact car, its engine, trim, assembly plant and factory equipment, alongside these records.
Open a VIN recordRecalls and complaints are filed against a specific model year, so figures differ from one year to the next even within a single generation. See every Ford F-150 year.
NHTSA lists 14 recalls for this make, model and year. Recalls apply to the model, so some may already be fixed on this specific car. A dealer can confirm from the VIN.
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Ford F-150 and 2017-2019 Ford F-250 Super Duty, F-350 Super Duty, F-450 Super Duty, and F-550 Super Duty pick-up trucks equipped with an engine block heater. Water and contaminants may get into the block heater cable's splice connector causing corrosion and damage.
Risk: When the heater is plugged in, prolonged corrosion could cause a resistive short, increasing the risk of overheated or melted wiring which can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will disable the block heater cable, free of charge. Once parts are available, Dealers will replace the engine block heater cable, free of charge. The recall began June 3, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S45.
Campaign 18V894000
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Ford F-150 and 2017-2019 Ford F-250 Super Duty, F-350 Super Duty, F-450 Super Duty, and F-550 Super Duty pick-up trucks equipped with an engine block heater and previously remedied under recall 18V894. During the previous repair, the block heater cable's splice connector may have been damaged.
Risk: A damaged cable could cause a resistive short, increasing the risk of overheated or melted wiring, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will disable the engine block heater from being used. When replacement cables become available, a second notice will be mailed and dealers will replace the engine block heater cord, free of charge. The recall began May 31, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S11.
Campaign 19V278000
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Ford F-150 Regular Cab and SuperCrew Cab vehicles. If a front seat belt pretensioner deploys as the result of a crash, the sparks may ignite materials such as carpeting or insulation within the B-pillar area.
Risk: A vehicle fire could result if materials ignite inside the vehicle.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will remove the B-pillar insulation material and wiring harness tape, and install heat resistant tape, free of charge. The recall began September 28, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S27.
Campaign 18V568000
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Ford F-150, and 2017 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty trucks. The doors on these vehicles may have a bent or kinked actuation cable or the door latches may freeze after water gets into the latch. Either condition can result in the doors opening while driving although they appear to be closed.
Risk: A door that opens while driving can increase the risk of injury.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the door latch actuation cables and repair if necessary, and install water shields over the door latches, free of charge. The recall began October 12, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S33.
Campaign 17V652000
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2017 F-150, and 2017 F-250 and F-350 trucks equipped with a crew cab. The left rear inflatable seat belt buckle assembly may be inadequately attached to its mounting bracket. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."
Risk: If the left rear inflatable seat belt buckle separates from it's mounting bracket, the seat occupant may not be adequately restrained, increasing their risk of injury.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat belt assembly, replacing the attaching rivet as necessary, free of charge. Interim notices informing owners of the safety risk were mailed October 18, 2017. Owners will receive a second notice when the remedy becomes available. Owners may contact Ford Customer Service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17C12.
Campaign 17V526000
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2017 F-150, and 2017 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 vehicles originally produced with black or body colored exterior door handles that may have been subsequently equipped with a chrome exterior door handle cover accessory kit purchased from a Ford dealer. These accessory door handle covers may cause the doors to unlatch in a side impact collision. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 206, "Door Locks and Door Retention Components."
Risk: If the doors unlatch and open in a side impact collision, the occupants have an increased risk of injury.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will remove the accessory covers and refund the purchase price. The recall began July 13, 2017. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for the recall is 17C09.
Campaign 17V331000
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford Explorer and F-150 vehicles equipped with a manual recline driver's seat. The seat back frame may have insufficient welds which may not meet the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 202, "Head Restraints" and 207, "Seating Systems."
Risk: The seat back may not adequately restrain the occupant during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the seat back frame, free of charge. The recall begin on August 18, 2016. Owners may contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 16C11.
Campaign 16V475000
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016 F-150 and Explorer vehicles. Loose power seat adjuster pivot bolts may cause the front seat cushions to detach and not properly restrain the seat occupant in the event of a crash.
Risk: In the event of a crash, a seat occupant that is not properly restrained has an increased risk of injury.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tightness of the power seat track upper pivot link bolt, either applying threadlocker or replacing the lift link and hardware, free of charge. Interim letters are expected to go out January 15, 2018. Owners will receive a second notice when the remedy becomes available. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S40.
Campaign 17V767000
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 F-150 trucks manufactured April 27, 2015, to November 22, 2015, and equipped with Multi-Contour Seats (MCS). The front passenger seat Occupant Classification System (OCS) that calibrates the air bag deployment level may incorrectly classify an adult as a child when the seat massage feature is activated.
Risk: If an adult is incorrectly classified as a child, the passenger frontal air bag will not deploy during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the Occupant Classification System Module (OCSM) with new software, free of charge. The recall began on March 11, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S05.
Campaign 16V110000
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2016 F-150 pick-up trucks equipped with 3.5L GTDI engines and block immersion heaters that were potentially relocated from their originally installed location. The incorrect location could put the heater too close to hot engine components, possibly resulting in a damaged cable.
Risk: A damaged cable could cause a resistive short, increasing the risk of overheated or melted wiring, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the block heater's location and its cable, replacing components as necessary, free of charge. If the replacement parts are not available, dealers will disable the existing block heater cable from being used until parts become available. The recall began April 9, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S08.
Campaign 20V098000
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2017 F-150 pickup trucks equipped with 3.5L Ecoboost engines. The brake master cylinder may leak brake fluid into the brake booster.
Risk: A loss of brake fluid may result in a change in brake pedal travel and feel, increased pedal effort and reduced front brake function, possibly requiring greater effort and distance to stop the vehicle. These conditions can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake master cylinder and inspect the brake booster, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. Ford issued owners an interim notification on June 30, 2020. The recall began on October 28, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S31.
Campaign 20V332000
Issue: Tenneco Automotive (DRiV) is recalling certain MOOG K500359 ball joints, for aftermarket installation on 2015-2018 Ford F-150 trucks. The ball joint may have a misaligned dust boot and may be missing alignment hole and installation warning tag, which may lead to improper alignment of the ball joint.
Risk: An incorrectly installed ball joint may cause the ball joint stud to break, which can compromise front wheel control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: DRiV will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and if necessary replace the ball joint, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 5, 2021. Owners may contact Tenneco Automotive customer service at 1-877-489-6659.
Campaign 21E027000
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, and 2016-2018 F-150 vehicles equipped with 3.5L Ecoboost engines. The brake master cylinder may allow brake fluid to leak from the front wheel circuit into the brake booster.
Risk: A loss of brake fluid may result in a change in brake pedal travel, increased pedal effort and reduced front brake function, requiring greater effort and distance to stop the vehicle. These conditions can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder. If the master cylinder is leaking, the brake booster will also be replaced. Repairs will be performed free of charge. An interim owner notification letter notifying customers of the safety defect were mailed on April 29, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed April 29, 2022. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall number 20V-332. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S11.
Campaign 22V150000
Issue: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2017 F-150 vehicles. A loss of signal between the transmission range sensor and the powertrain control module can cause the transmission to unexpectedly downshift into second gear.
Risk: Unexpectedly downshifting into second gear may result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the powertrain control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 24, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S28. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on April 15, 2026.
Campaign 26V237000
NHTSA has no NCAP crash-test rating for this model year, which is common for older, low-volume and heavy-duty vehicles.
No EPA fuel-economy match for this model. Naming may differ, or it predates EPA records.
The parts named most often across 63 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this make, model and year.
1 crash
1 crash · 1 injured
1 fire
1 crash
Complaints are self-reported and skew toward problems people find alarming, so read this as where to look rather than as a defect rate.
Performance Ford in Utah falsified a federal safety recall completion for Recall 26S28/19V446000 on my 2016 F-150. They only performed a software flash, manually wiped the transmission's safety fault codes from the memory cache, and joyrode my vehicle for 200 unauthorized miles. They returned the vehicle to me unrepaired, where it immediately suffered an erratic downshifting hazard and engine limp mode, endangering my safety.
Ford mailed me a XXX Customer Satisfaction Program 26N04 letter for my 2016 F-150, VIN [XXX]. That letter offered a one-time, no-charge replacement of the transmission molded lead frame if the dealer determined replacement was needed, and it described a malfunction indicator lamp and/or wrench light when that part fails. My truck did exactly that. It stored P0715 and P0717, went into limp mode, and the wrench came on. Titus-Will Ford in Tacoma confirmed the turbine speed sensor is part of the lead frame and replaced it (part AL3Z-7G276-D). They denied 26N04 because those codes are not P0705, P0706, P0707, or P1702 — a code list the customer letter never disclosed. The failed part is the part named in your letter. The symptoms are the symptoms named in your letter. I paid invoice XXX dated XXX. The lead-frame line was $1,630.02. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The body control module was destroyed when water leaked on it. Apparently there is a failed windshield seal(maybe) that causes leaking down the A pillar. That pillar leads the water directly to the wiring harness for the BCM. When my BCM went out, wipers, blinkers, external lights, speedo/tach, power windows (in the front), all HUD, all stereo, and I think the security system too, stopped working. It was raining hard, it was a very dark day/difficult to see. I and others could easily have been killed. VERY, VERY DANGEROUS! Why the BCM isn’t in a sealed box, is mind blowing. The fact that the computer to my truck can get wet at all is nothing short of asinine. The vehicle was inspected by ICDI Diesel in [XXX] [XXX]). The part is currently on order and isn’t expected to be delivered until XXX. The truck is available for inspection. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Powertrain recall stated because the code didn’t show on a SAFETY RECALL that can cause vehicle to shift from 5th to 1st gear while driving per stated recall Ford will not honor because it’s not one of the codes they state but the recall doesn’t specify a code. We had it at the dealership twice and they said they would fix it for $ 1400.00 well we didn’t cause the recall and we should not be responsible for paying. Would just like someone to contact us before my husband or someone else gets hurt in an accident.
The vehicle experienced a sudden and unexpected loss of power steering assistance while being driven on a highway. The failure made the vehicle extremely difficult to steer and nearly caused an accident, creating a serious safety hazard. After pulling over to get off the highway, it was observed at lower speeds, the vehicle did not have its full range of steering also creating a safety hazard. The problem was confirmed by the dealer, who determined that the power steering gear system had failed. The dealer replaced and repaired the entire power steering system. No warning lights or other alerts appeared before the failure. The sudden loss of steering assistance occurred without warning while the vehicle was in motion, significantly increasing the risk of a crash.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while attempting to depress the horn pad on the steering wheel, the horn failed to provide an audible sound as intended. The air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the clockspring needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 39,825.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to 3rd gear. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V237000 (Power Train); however, the dealer and manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in the recall, and the fault code listed in the recall was not retrieved from the vehicle. The contact stated that after the vehicle skidded on the roadway after the unexpected downshift, there was an orange WRENCH light illuminated on the instrument panel. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired.
In April of this year my 2016 F150 began having issues related to the automatic transmission. Symptoms included unexpected and irregular downshifting from 6th gear into 4th gear while traveling on the highway, random and irregular shifting from gear to gear, and not gearing down below 3rd gear when coming to a complete stop. While these symptoms were happening the truck displayed the MIL and powertrain warning lamp. These issues put myself and others at risk because having the vehicle unexpectedly downshift while traveling at a high speed causes the vehicle to become difficult to control, increasing the risk of a crash. It is also difficult for the vehicle to increase speed in a timely and safe manner when it is starting out in 3rd gear. In May I received a recall notice from Ford, eventually in July having the dealer closest to me perform a PCM software upgrade. While waiting for Ford to make this software upgrade available I received a notice from Ford referencing Customer Satisfaction Program 26N04. This notice states that if my vehicle set a MIL and/or powertrain warning light (which my vehicle did both) I may need to get the transmission molded leadframe replaced as part of this recall program. When I picked up my vehicle from servicing dealership I was informed my vehicle "did not have the appropriate code" to warrant this repair. However, the software upgrade performed has done nothing to fix the problem I am experiencing. My vehicle still downshifts randomly and unexpectedly while displaying a powertrain warning light, and making my vehicle unsafe for highway travel.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact received an unknown recall notification. The dealer was contacted by phone and scheduled an appointment for a technician to pick up the vehicle. The technician drove the vehicle to the dealer. The unknown recall repair was completed. The contact received a phone call from the dealer and was informed that while the technician was in route and driving the vehicle back to the residence, the transmission independently shifted from fourth gear to first gear. The technician drove the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was with the dealer for two weeks. The contact received a phone call and was informed that no warning lights were displayed, and the failure could not be duplicated. The contact was informed to pick up the vehicle. The dealer informed the contact that there was no fix available. The contact was informed that the dealer would not be offering any additional repairs. The contact stated that the vehicle had no issues prior to the unknown recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 128,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that vehicle was taken to the local dealer for a recall repair associated with the PCM reprogramming. Upon retrieval, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode while driving. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to a lower gear, and the vehicle lost motive power. The dealer was contacted and provided the contact with an estimate for a diagnostic test. The contact spoke with a supervisor, but no additional assistance was provided.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired under an undisclosed recall; however, the recall repair failed to prevent a failure. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated while upshifting or downshifting between 4th and 6th gear. The same local dealer was contacted and advised the contact that the 4th and 6th clutches were burned. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 249,000.
I would like to file complaint against Ford for their latest recall (26N041) and how they are not doing replacing the defective Lead Frame in customers vehicles. It's a big scam and a waste of time. I brought my 2016 Ford F-150 in for Ford’s latest recall (26N04) affecting 2015–2017 models due to the transmission leadframe issue. I explained that I’ve been dealing with an intermittent problem for the past seven months: while driving, the gear indicator lights on the dash begin to flicker, and when that happens, the transmission shifts extremely hard and slams into the next gear. Ford kept my truck for a week and told me they were unable to duplicate the issue. They stated that multiple technicians drove the vehicle and none of them observed any problems. When I arrived to pick it up, I was handed a bill for more than $250 for a diagnostic fee. Within four miles of leaving the dealership, the gear indicator lights began flickering again. It’s difficult to accept that several technicians drove the truck over multiple days and never encountered the issue I experienced almost immediately. The entire process felt like a waste of time and money, and I’m left without any resolution to a problem that clearly still exists. They are not honoring the recall, they are trying to charge customers for the repair.
Showing 12 of 63 complaints.