2018 Ford F-150: problems, recalls and reliability
19 recalls and 2,312 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is power train (42% of complaints); the 2017 and 2020 model years look more trouble-free.
Data updated weekly · 55 new complaints in the last 90 days · latest recall Jun 2026
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 2,312 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“Transmission would go from 7th gear to 1st gear causing stalling in busy traffic. Also the truck would be stuck at 7th gear when coming to a stop light and when the light turned green would not shift down to one which caused a power loss. This is a known problem with ford transmission, the dealership diagnosed the issue as a hydraulic circuit leak, which is caused by the cdf cylinder sleeve. This can be found in Ford TSB 25-2126”Owner report · Power Train · Sep 2026
“Driving highway I70 over Vail Pass, vehicle downshifted on it's own nearly causing someone to rear-end my vehicle. Took it to three local automotive business's for a diagnostic service; they all reported the same issue PP07F7-00 CDF drum and the 10th-gear not engaging. This should not be occurring when I've maintained service of my vehicle. I've paid for one diagnostic and shouldn't have to pay for one at my Ford dealer where it was purchased by I will have to again. I know of several owners with the exact same issue and no one is supporting them for this. I've owned four Ford trucks and this is unacceptable. Ford Case# CXH-09395547-R9D3S2”Owner report · Power Train · Sep 2026
“Started with harsh shifting, lead to no shifting and no movement. Shifting came back and lunged forward and harsh stop. Happened multiple times and now vehicle will not move.”Owner report · Power Train · Sep 2026
Show 7 more owner reports
“The 10 speed transmission does not shift smoothly and will periodically shift hard when downshifting from 4 to 3 and 3 to 2. Ford is aware of bushing walking which they addressed in 2022. I am one year out of my warranty which Ford would not address when under warranty but issue was less of an issue. Now that it is routinely shifting rough, they will not stand behind their transmission they knew was problematic. I have on numerous occasions been almost rear ended because they hard shift mimics a hard braking without warning.”Owner report · Power Train · Sep 2026
“The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while stopped at a stop sign and attempting to depress the accelerator pedal, the gear shifter independently shifted to neutral(N) and remained stuck into neutral(N). The gear shifter was shifted back and forth between park(P) and drive(D) and the vehicle responded as needed. A local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.”Owner report · Power Train · Sep 2026
“1st problem transmission: Hard shifting up and down in certain gears. 3 gear seems the worst. When slowing down to almost stop it down shifts and lurks forward which can cause a safety issue. Loud banging noise when it does this hard shift. 2nd problem when starting the truck up get a loud chain rattle. Think it's the phaser/cam rattle I keep reading about with no fix. Mileage on my truck is 63,000 miles never tow or haul anything. Crazy ford can sell something like this and be ok with it.”Owner report · Power Train · Aug 2026
“My 2018 Ford F-150 is experiencing a dangerous loss of braking power, a soft/spongy brake pedal, and brake fluid leaking from the master cylinder into the brake booster. These are the exact symptoms and component failures described in Ford Recall Campaign 25S37 (NHTSA Campaign 25V236). However, when checking my VIN, I am told my truck is excluded from the recall population. Because my vehicle is exhibiting the identical safety defect, the current recall window is too narrow and needs to be expanded to cover my vehicle before a serious collision occurs.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Aug 2026
“The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the lock mechanism to drop the spare tire was rusted and failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the failure failed to allow for the spare tire from being lowered. No warning lights were illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. However, the dealer confirmed that the lock was rusted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,000.”Owner report · Structure · Aug 2026
“Truck will not shift into 7th gear, will down shift to 1st gear once it reaches 6th gear around 40mph. Causing the vehicle back tires to brake and skid and lose control of vehicle.”Owner report · Power Train · Aug 2026
“Odometer Fraud. The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while attempting to trade in the vehicle, there was a mileage discrepancy discovered. The vehicle was a private sale. The mileage at the time of the purchase was approximately 93,000 miles, which was displayed on the odometer; however, the trade-in dealer informed the contact that the vehicle history report listed the mileage at over 190,000.”Owner report · Electrical System · Aug 2026
When filing, owners marked a crash in 64 of these complaints and injuries in 52 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 19 campaigns
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor Super Cab pick-up trucks not equipped with a moonroof. The structural roof braces may be missing rivets at the attachment of the roof rail, thereby reducing the structural integrity.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install the rivets for the roof brace attachments, free of charge. The recall began October 17, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S29.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-150 vehicles equipped with a 3.3L engine, a 6-speed transmission and a column mounted shift lever. Quickly moving the shift lever from Park to Drive may cause a loss of gear indication on the instrument cluster display and a momentary selection of an unintended gear, such as Reverse or Neutral before the vehicle achieves Drive function.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the powertrain control module, free of charge. Owners may contact Ford Customer Service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S35.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-150 vehicles equipped with 3.5L engines. The cylinder heads may have been machined without lubrication supply holes for the camshaft bearing journals.
Remedy: Ford is not aware of any affected vehicles outside of dealer control. Should owner contact subsequently be required, arrangements will be made to transport their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the engine replaced.The recall began October 24, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S37.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020-2025 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, 2020-2024 Escape, Lincoln Corsair, 2018-2024 F-150, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The air bag warning label may be missing from the dashboard. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirement Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Remedy: Ford will mail owners the warning labels, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 19, 2024. Owners may call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24C39.
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.
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.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-150, 2018-2020 F-250, F-350, and 2019 Escape vehicles equipped with Continental tires. On the affected vehicles, it is possible that one or more tires were cured for too long during tire production.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tires, and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 27, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S10.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 F-150 vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 20V097. When the headlight switch is turned from "Autolamps" to "Headlamps On," the Daytime Running Lamps (DRLs) may remain fully bright instead of dimming to parking lamps as intended. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment."
Remedy: ,Dealers will reprogram the body control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 17, 2026. Owners may contact customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C28. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 6, 2026.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-150 vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 17V669. Quickly moving the shift lever from Park to Drive may cause a loss of gear indication on the instrument cluster display and a momentary selection of an unintended gear, such as Reverse or Neutral.
Remedy: Dealers will update the powertrain control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 9, 2026. Owners may contact customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S42. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will become searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 6, 2026.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford Expedition, F-150, and Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI V6 engines. These vehicles have high pressure fuel pump assemblies with welds that can fracture, which may cause an oil or fuel leak.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the high pressure fuel pump and associated components, free of charge. The recall began July 17, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S17.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 F-150 trucks equipped with high series LED headlamps with Autolamp (On/Off) functionality. The Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) may remain activated instead of dimming to parking lamps when the Master Lighting Switch (MLS) is manually rotated from the "Autolamps" switch position to "Headlamps On." As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment."
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the body control module, free of charge. The recall began March 10, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20C03.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-150 vehicles with manual and power release tailgates. The tailgate latches may unlatch unexpectedly while driving.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the left-hand and right-hand tailgate latches, free of charge. An interim notification letter was mailed January 31, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 31, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S53.
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.
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.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 F-150 and 2019-2020 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty pickup trucks, and 2018-2019 Ford Explorer, 2019-2020 Expedition, and 2020 Escape vehicles equipped with driver and/or passenger's manual front seat back recliner mechanisms. Also included are certain 2020 Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with rear outboard seats and manual seat back recliner mechanisms. The recliner mechanisms may be missing the third pawl required for seat back strength, resulting in a loose seat back. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 202, "Head Restraints" and 207, "Seating Systems."
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and Ford and Lincoln dealers will inspect the seat structure and replace them, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 21, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19C07.
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.
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.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2018 F-150, Expedition, and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The brake master cylinder may allow brake fluid to leak from the front wheel circuit into the brake booster.
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. Owner notification letters were mailed September 25, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S37. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall number 22V-150.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-650 and F-750 vehicles equipped with 6-speed automatic transmissions and 2018 Ford F-150 and Expedition vehicles equipped with 10-speed automatic transmissions (excluding Expedition vehicles with a Rotary Gear Shift Dial on the console). The gear shift cable clip may not be properly seated, allowing the transmission to be in a different gear than indicated by the gear shift lever position.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the shift cable locking clip and properly seat it, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began on April 13, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for the recall is 18S10.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Ford F-150 and 2018 Ford Expedition and Mustang and Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with 10-speed automatic transmissions. A roll pin may not have been installed in the transmission, potentially causing a loss of the "Park" function.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the transmission to make sure it has the roll pin, installing one if it is missing, free of charge. The recall began on April 13, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S09.
Trouble codes owners mention
OBD-II codes that appear in NHTSA complaints about this car.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2018 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Counts are not adjusted for time on the road here - see all F-150 years ranked fairly for the age-adjusted comparison.
Check your exact F-150 by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2018 Ford F-150 reliable?
NHTSA has 2,312 owner complaints and 19 recall campaigns on record for the 2018 Ford F-150. The most complained-about area is power train (42% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2018 Ford F-150 problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 43,000 miles or less.
Does the 2018 Ford F-150 have open recalls?
19 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning structure. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.