This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
On two occasions I have been stopped and waiting to turn left across two lanes of traffic on a four lane state highway. The engine auto stop feature shut the engine off. When I let of the brake, the engine auto started and I began to accelerate. I had no power steering and nearly drove into a ditch. It seems that there is a delay between when the engine auto starts and when the power steering works. This is very dangerous as it is difficult to turn the wheel without power steering. Especially when crossing lanes of oncoming traffic.
My truck had a total powering steering failure today(4-12-2020). No advanced warning. The truck was being driven when the failure occurred. Thank god no accident!
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving and turning left, the vehicle stalled with the shift to park warning displayed. The contact stated that the power steering assist was inoperable. The contact also stated that the back-up camera failed intermittently. The vehicle was taken to mace Ford located at (4501 us-41, terre haute, in 47802) twice to be diagnosed. The mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure or retrieve a fault code for the cause of the failure. The contact was concerned about oil consumption. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.
The steering on this vehicle will lock in place when making a left turn. You have to physically force the steering wheel to release to keep from either crossing the center line or running off the road. This happens at speed around 50 mph and up. Have not wrecked it yet but have come close.we have had it in the Ford dealer 4 times with not success yet.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. Contact stated that while driving at various speeds the steering wheel drifted to the left without warning. The vehicle was taken to casco bay Ford 1213 us 1, yarmouth, me 4096, (207) 846-2222 where it was diagnosed however, the technician was unable to retrieve a fault code or duplicate the failure. The vehicle was test driven without a recurrence of the failure. The vehicle received 3 front wheel alignment and tire rotation however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 228.
- Georgetown, ME, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
1.) F150 supercab drifts erratically. Ford has aligned vehicle twice, but issue remains. Feels like truck is in a high-wind environment, but it is a calm day. Truck will veer off road unless extreme care is exercised. 2.) transmission lugs on acceleration, particularly @ 1100rpm and 38mph. 3.) hard "clunk/thump" sensation at low speeds, causing severe "whip-lash" action to occupants of vehicle. 4.)when taking slow left turn up a steep incline the truck lugs and transmission feel like it is slipping and unable to downshift, causing a significant loss of power and momentum. 5.) engine stalls when leaving stop light. Dash lights come on saying" auto startstop shift to P, then restart engine."this is in the middle of a busy intersection. I am attaching a picture of the dashboard error. Please notice I am still in "D" drive when this message came up.
When vehicle is stopped and the auto start-stop is engaged, moving the vehicle steering wheel becomes very difficult. Upon releasing the brake pedal, the vehicle will start and begin to move forward however, the vehicle still is extremely difficult to steer. This difficulty will last for a few seconds until power steering is restored. This problem started intermittently but has now become a regular event.
I purchased the used 2018 Ford F150 platinum at lithia Ford, boise id with 15K miles on it. Since the day I bought it the front end has been hard to keep on the road. I have taken this unit to the dealer twice now and they have had the unit 40 plus days trying to repair the steering issue. The truck will pull into a right or left by itself and is very unsafe at the dealership they verified the complaint and said the steering gear was the defect after having the unit 2 weeks. They replaced the strg gear and said it was repaired. I picked the unit up and drove it and it was the same so I took it back the next day. They drove it with me and again we verified the complaint. The Ford technical rep came out to the dealer and checked the truck. He also verified the complaint the then said it was the tires and wheels and they all drive like that since its a platinum model. He stated I drive one and it does the same thing. The tires and wheels are the factory oem parts nothing has been changed or modified. The truck is unsafe and not stable. The service writer drove it for a week and he confirmed the defect but said Ford will not make any more repairs because they do not know how to repair the issue and said we will call you if they come up with something. I am filing this complaint due to the safety concern of myself and other people on the roadways. Its dangerous. I had another 2018 F150 sport without lane assist and it drove fine. Both units were purchased from the same dealership.
Truck has 24,000 miles going down the interstate truck will jerk right or left and steering gets hard have to keep very alert while driving not know when it will jerk right or left very dngerous
The automatic start/stop function turns the truck "off" at a stop. When waiting to make a left turn across traffic and the engine has turned off and the wheel is engaged in a turning angle, the power steering does not turn back on as the engine turns back on. The result is a loss of power steering through the turn putting me in multiple situations where I have no power steering into oncoming traffic until it finally engages approximately 2 seconds later. In multiple situations I have had to use all of my strength to turn the wheel and the vehicle without power steering, out of the way of traffic as I am making a turn.
I performed a wheel alignment but the car is still going to one side if I let go of the steering this vehicle was involved in a car accident I dont feel safe because I cant keep the car in a straight line
After stopping in traffic and waiting to turn left in front of oncoming traffic, the truck would not steer as I accelerated from a stop. This caused me to drive straight across the intersection into oncoming traffic rather than making my planned, immediate left turn. As the truck drove straight rather than turning, and as I was attempting to force the wheel left with both hands, suddenly the steering function returned to normal. I narrowly avoided an accident due to the unexpected loss of steering control. I immediately stopped the truck and contacted the service department at the nearest Ford dealership. A service appointment was not available until the following week so I drove the truck home. The next day (Saturday) a service adviser from the Ford dealer called and asked me to drop the truck off the following Monday afternoon. I have been able to duplicate the problem since the initial incident. In my opinion the issue may be related to the improper function of the power steering after the stop /start function of the truck is activated. There is a measurable lag between the engine's re-start and the reactivation of the power steering. The truck is allowed to travel before the power steering is functioning normally. I feel this is a very serious safety issue and needs to be corrected.
The steering wheel wanders or drifts slightly left or right on its own requiring excessive driver input to maintain a straight line. It can be alarming if you look down for a second to change a radio station or check a mirror and look back forward and notice you are drifting into another lane.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the power steering failed without warning intermittently. While turning the vehicle at a traffic light, the power steering failed in mid turn and the vehicle drove into the opposite side of traffic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided phone numbers to dealers to have the vehicle serviced. A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 24,300.
Was driving back to my office and on the on ramp from a highway to interstate 95 South. I eased left to merge onto the interstate going about 45mph and increasing speed when my steering wheel pulled left quickly on its own power and steered us head on towards the metal guard rail in the center median. I tried to pull right but there was resistance. I noticed an 'uphil decent fault' on my dash just before my truck struck the guard rail. Luckily I was able to last second pull the vehicle right enough where it wasn't a full head on collision and my employee in the passenger side was just sore after the fact. I am currently undergoing medical tests for back, neck and shoulder numbness as well as tension headaches. No airbags deployed! Ford said once the body is fixed where they can run tests they will see what can be done, but I do not feel safe driving this vehicle. It literally tried to kill us. There was also a 'service advancetrack' light on the dash. I previously had those faults and the dealership said it was a wheel bearing that they needed to replace. Something is going on with these vehicles.
Started to pull through a residential intersection after stopping at a stop sign. The truck completely shut off after moving about 5 feet pulling into the intersection. A message popped up on the dash screen about auto startstop and that I needed to put the truck in park and restart it. This is not something that can be done while the vehicle is in motion. I slowly rolled to the side of the street, put it in park and restarted. There were no more issues on the remaining 25 mile drive. The autostop feature had been disabled via the dash switch before ever leaving home. The switch was still illuminated amber showing that autostop had in fact been turned off manually before it happened on its own, while under power. With the engine not running, the power steering is also disabled. After a bit of investigation, I have found via online truck dedicated forums that I am not alone and this has happened to numerous people with F150's since 2015. The picture that I am attaching is not my own, but is the same message that was generated to me this morning. This picture is from another individual that this has also happened to and reported in the above mentioned forums. Autostop initiation of its own Accord while underway could have dire consequences if pulling into oncoming traffic, through a busy intersection or simply driving down the road.
Ford automatic engine off at idle feature causes power steering failure when active. When engine reactivated upon hitting gas the power steering is delayed. This is a problem when waiting at stoplights for a turn., especially a left turn into oncoming traffic. Requests to Ford to allow deactivation of the feature as opposed to having to manually disable it every time I enter the vehicle has been ignored. This feature can be dangerous and there is no reason Ford can't reprogram the bypass. Instead they choose to ignore while allowing this dangerous feature to remain active by default.
While driving down interstate 10, my transmission abruptly downshifted to 1 at ~55 mph!! this was the worst of several instances of the transmission either failing to shift properly or jerking the vehicle when shifting gears. I've also had the vehicle stuck in 2nd gear while trying to enter the freeway. The dealership and Ford Motor Company show no concern as they rely on service codes instead of road tests and customer input. I hope I'm able to get another vehicle from a manufacturer I can trust. It's unfortunate because I have owned Ford F-150S for the past 6 years and driven them since high school. This new 10-speed transmission should've never been released to the public. I see others are having the same issue so hopefully a class action lawsuit is soon to follow!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Clayton, IN, USA