2018 FORD F-150 — Complaint #1766483
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:TAILGATE:LOCK filed September 3, 2021
NHTSA complaint #1766483 (ODI reference 11431589) concerns a 2018 FORD F-150 and was filed on September 3, 2021. The owner reports the failure occurred on September 2, 2021. The vehicle had 26,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Indiana based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as latches/locks/linkages:tailgate:lock, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same FORD F-150 cohort independently describe similar latches/locks/linkages:tailgate:lock failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2018 FORD F-150 shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while transporting a wild animal in the bed of the truck, with the top lid enclosed, the tailgate failed to open. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where the contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under the extended warranty. The dealer was unable to open the tailgate. The vehicle was diagnosed that the actuator was inoperable. The actuator was replaced. The animal died in the truck. The contact was concerned about a child being trapped in the bed of the truck. The manufacturer was notified however, no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1766483 |
| ODI Number | 11431589 |
| Date Filed | September 3, 2021 |
| Failure Date | September 2, 2021 |
| VIN | 1FTFW1RG1JF |
Similar LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:TAILGATE:LOCK Complaints for 2018 FORD F-150
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Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.