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.
Trailer brake system fault. This fault warning displays when there is a possible lack of trailer brakes. On this vehicle it is on every time the vehicle starts. It began after the recall for the trailer brake module update in June of 2022. It has been to the servicing dealership 4 times and has been there for the past 23 days without resolution. There are many other accounts of this situation on-line also with no resolution.
The standard trailer brake controller does not function. I have tried it on 2 known trailers that function with other trucks and this truck's does not work.
Towing faults. Trailer brake faults. System resets itself after truck shuts down and problems go away until an unknown later time. These problems can happen at any time while towing and can cause the tow vehicle to loose control especially when brakes are applied. Happened many times over a 4800 mile trip. The work around fix is to stop every now and then, turn off truck and wait 15 min before reattaching trailer wiring. This problem has not be reproduced by a dealer because the problem goes away after the truck sits and resets itself. At first a trailer module fault would appear when the problem started, after some time the faults would not appear and the trailer brake module would just stop working without warning.
While pulling a trailer, truck stops recognizing trailer brake connection without warning. Driver only notices truck brakes are no longer working because trailer is pushing truck while stopping. All other trailer connections, lights, turn signals, are working. When applying trailer brakes from truck controller, truck message says no trailer connected. This problem is intermittent and unpredictable. Sometimes it can be corrected by reconnecting 7 pin adapter but sometimes this does not work and the truck battery has to be disconnected and reconnected. Online forums show this to be a common problem.
When towing a trailer with trailer brakes, the trailer brakes are tested and confirmed to be working at the beginning of the journey, but at some point during the journey, the trailer brakes will stop working with no indication compromising my stopping ability. This issues has occurred multiple time and can confirm there are no problems with the trailer brakes themselves. This same issue is being reported by multiple other 2021 F150 owners.
- Livonia, MI, USA
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THE TRAILER BRAKING SYSTEM ON MY NEW 2021 F150 POWERBOOST MALFUNCTIONS EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. WHILE TOWING MY 27 FT AIRSTREAM TRAILER THE BRAKES WILL OFTEN STOP WORKING. THEY ALWAYS WORK WHEN I BEGIN A TRIP, BUT THEN THE BRAKES FAIL DURING THE TRIP. I RECEIVE A NOTICE WHEN ATTEMPTING TO MANUALLY APPLY TRAILER BRAKES FROM INSIDE THE CAB THAT THE TRAILER IS NOT RECOGNIZED. SEVERAL OTHER NEW F150 POWERBOOST OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE AND THEIR EXPERIENCES CAN BE FOUND ON THE F150GEN14.COM USER FORUM. I HAVE INCLUDED A LINK TO THE FORUM THREAD. https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/trailer-brake-not-working.3039/ SO FAR NONE OF US HAVE ANY SUCCESS WORKING WITH FORD DEALERS. I HAVE TRIED SEVERAL AND THEY ARE NOT HELPFUL. I ALSO CALLED FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE BUT THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING IN THEIR DATABASE INDICATING THERE IS A PROBLEM. THE ONLY CLUE I'VE FOUND SO FAR, FOR MY TRUCK, HAS TO DO WITH THE SEVEN PIN PLUG. WE HAVE TRIED TWO DIFFERENT TESTING DEVICES AND BOTH SHOW THERE IS ABOUT A 6 SECOND DELAY SENDING A SIGNAL TO THE EBRAKE PIN. THE OTHER PINS FOR LIGHTS FIRE IMMEDIATELY, BUT THE EBRAKE PIN HAS A DELAY. OTHERS ARE LOOKING AT THE BRAKE MODULE IN THE TRUCK AND OTHER PROGRAMMING ISSUES. AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE USER FORUM THERE ARE MANY THEORIES AND NO SOLID SOLUTIONS YET. I HAVE HAD MY AIRSTREAM BRAKES INSPECTED TWICE AND THEY HAVE NOT FOUND ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE A 7K LB TRAILER PUSHING YOU DOWN A STEEP MOUNTAIN WITH NO BRAKES IS TERRIFYING. SOMEONE IS GOING TO HAVE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT IF FORD DOES NOT TAKE THE ISSUE SERIOUSLY AND FIND THE CAUSE.
Trailer brakes although operational at start of journey intermittently fail to operate some time thereafter at which point they stay failed. This happens without any warning or notice to the driver. All indications are that trailer is attached correctly e.g. vehicle self diagnosis of trailer lights shows lights operational and trailer connected. Operating the trailer brake via. dash brake controller either shows normal BUT no trailer braking occurs OR will show an error message "No Trailer Attached" but trailer attachment is verified through trailer lights shown (by truck) as operational. Safety implications of this should be obvious - no trailer brakes will force truck to stop truck+trailer combo using only the truck brakes, leading to drastically increased stopping distance or possibility of brake failure e.g. on long downhill stretch of road. Dealer is unable to reproduce the problem, has suggested changing brake controller (but really for lack of other ideas) and agrees that the physical fit/dimensions of the trailer plug itself seem poor quality compared to other trucks - possible cause? Other instances of owners experiencing this problem are documented in this forum thread: https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/trailer-brake-not-working.3039
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Wilmerding, PA, USA