Car Issues Tracker
Vehicle complaints, recalls & safety data — sourced from NHTSA

2016 Ford F-150: Complaints, Recalls, and Known Problems

Owners have filed 1,686 safety complaints about the 2016 Ford F-150 with U.S. regulators. Here's what the federal data shows, system by system.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · Retrieved July 14, 2026 · Counts change as new reports are filed

1,686
Complaints
14
Recalls
4
Investigations
5★
Overall crash rating

Complaints for this vehicle report 48 crashes, 22 fires, 44 injuries. No deaths have been reported.

Key findings
  1. Brakes & stability leads the complaint list, cited in 339 of 1,686 complaints, followed by Power train / transmission.
  2. Stalling is a recurring theme. 116 of the 1,686 reports describe the engine stalling — many while driving.
  3. One recall is a do-over. NHTSA records show recall repairs that were previously performed incorrectly — worth a VIN check even if you had recall work done.
  4. 4 NHTSA defect investigations are associated with this vehicle.

What owners report

Complaints filed with NHTSA name the vehicle system involved. For the 2016 Ford F-150, here is how reports break down by system.

Complaints by vehicle system
System mentions in 1,686 complaints · a complaint can cite more than one system
Brakes & stability
339
Power train / transmission
326
Engine & cooling
306
Body & structure
237
Other / unspecified
208
Electrical
151
Visibility & lighting
143
Fuel & propulsion
91

"I have now had two brake lines burst (both in the front) which resulted in loss of braking ability. The first incident was in March of this year, and the second was in October of this year. This has cost me at least $800 in repairs plus towing costs."

Owner complaint filed October 2024 · Service Brakes · NHTSA ODI 11621504

"When braking, the brake pedal goes to the floor and makes stopping the vehicle difficult. There is no sign of leaks from the lines, and is acting like the open recall on other VIN numbers on this model however Ford does not have an open recall on this VIN. The recall is the brake booster leaking into the master cylinder."

Owner complaint filed January 2024 · Service Brakes · NHTSA ODI 11566996

When complaints were filed

Complaint filings for the 2016 Ford F-150 over time:

Complaints filed per year — 2016 Ford F-150
Year the complaint was filed, not the incident year
153
152
191
207
155
142
152
185
184
165
16171819202122232425
2026 is a partial year (through July 14, 2026).

How the 2016 compares with other model years

Across the Ford F-150 model years we track, the 2013 has the most complaints on file (2,796); the 2016 ranks 5 of 8.

Total complaints by model year — Ford F-150
All complaints on file per model year, as of July 14, 2026
2,137
1,717
2,796
1,362
1,425
2016
1,686
1,066
1,835
Older model years have had more time on the road to accumulate complaints — compare adjacent years, not endpoints.

Recall history: 14 recalls, including a do-over

14 recalls apply to some or all 2016 Ford F-150 vehicles. Note the flagged campaign: it covers vehicles whose earlier recall repairs were performed incorrectly.

Feb 201616V-110
Air Bags:Sensor:Occupant Classification

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 class…

Jun 201616V-475
Seats:Front Assembly:Recliner

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 Restra…

May 201717V-331
Latches/Locks/Linkages:Doors:Latch

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 …

Aug 201717V-526
Seat Belts:Rear/Other

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 M…

Oct 201717V-652
Latches/Locks/Linkages:Doors:Latch

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 doo…

Nov 201717V-767
Seats

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.

Aug 201818V-568
Seat Belts:Pretensioner

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.

Dec 201818V-894
Engine

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…

Apr 201919V-278Repair done incorrectly
Engine

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 hea…

Feb 202020V-098
Engine

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…

Jun 202020V-332
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Components:Master Cylinder

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.

Apr 202121E-027
Suspension:Front:Control Arm:Upper Ball Joint

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.

Mar 202222V-150
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Power Assist

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.

Apr 202626V-237
Power Train:Automatic Transmission

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.

Does your car have an open recall?

Recall repairs are free at any dealer, with no time limit. Look up your 17-character VIN on the official NHTSA site to see open recalls for your specific vehicle. Check your VIN at NHTSA.gov →

Crash-test ratings

NHTSA crash ratings measure how the car protects occupants in a crash — a separate question from the reliability complaints above. A vehicle can be both crashworthy and trouble-prone.

★★★★★
Overall
★★★★★
Frontal crash
★★★★★
Side crash
★★★★☆
Rollover

Frequently asked questions

How many complaints does the 2016 Ford F-150 have?

As of July 14, 2026, owners have filed 1,686 complaints about the 2016 Ford F-150 with NHTSA. The most-reported system is brakes & stability.

How many recalls does the 2016 Ford F-150 have?

The 2016 Ford F-150 has 14 NHTSA recalls on file. One recall reopens earlier campaigns whose repairs were performed incorrectly. Recall repairs are free at any dealer.

Is the 2016 Ford F-150 safe in a crash?

NHTSA gives the 2016 Ford F-150 an overall crash rating of 5 out of 5 stars. Crash ratings measure occupant protection in a collision; they do not measure reliability, which is what the complaint data above reflects.

Methodology & source

All figures come from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public APIs: the Office of Defects Investigation complaint database, the recalls database, and NCAP safety ratings, retrieved July 14, 2026.

Complaints are self-reported by consumers and are not verified by NHTSA or by this site. A single complaint may cite multiple vehicle systems, so system mentions can sum to more than the complaint total. Complaint volume is influenced by fleet size, media attention, and recall notices, and is not by itself a measure of defect rates.

This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer. Nothing here is repair, purchase, or legal advice. For your specific vehicle, use the official NHTSA VIN lookup and consult a qualified technician.