FORD F-150 · model year

2018 FORD F-150

2582 NHTSA complaints, 101 crash reports, and 17 active recalls for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2018FORDF-150 carries 2582 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 101 crashes, 51 fires, 81 injuries, and 4 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2018 F-150 is power train with 813 filings, followed by engine (476) and unknown or other (219). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 17 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 9 investigation files overlapping the 2018 F-150, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

2582
Complaints
101
Crashes
51
Fires
81
Injuries
4
Deaths

Total Complaints

2582 filings

Crashes Reported

101 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

Above median complaint volume — review patterns below.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
POWER TRAIN813
ENGINE476
UNKNOWN OR OTHER219
STRUCTURE:BODY171
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM144
STEERING82
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING71
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL61
SERVICE BRAKES59
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM52
VISIBILITY/WIPER51
AIR BAGS36
WHEELS34
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH22
SUSPENSION21

Recalls (17)

18V56800031/08/2018

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.

19V63300028/08/2019

SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER

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

17V59800025/09/2017

STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS

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.

17V67200023/10/2017

ENGINE

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.

17V66900023/10/2017

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:LEVER AND LINKAGE:COLUMN SHIFT

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

20V09700021/02/2020

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

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

18V89400018/12/2018

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 causi

21V98300016/12/2021

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:TAILGATE:LATCH

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.

18V39200012/06/2018

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

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.

21E02700012/04/2021

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

25V23600011/04/2025

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDER

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.

22V15000011/03/2022

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.

21V15500010/03/2021

TIRES

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.

24V85200008/11/2024

EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS

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 requiremen

19V27800008/04/2019

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 h

18V21300004/04/2018

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

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.

18V21400004/04/2018

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)

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 ge

Recent Complaints

20260218POWER TRAIN

10 speed transmission started to have hard shifts and dead spots. Some shifting issues happened at low speeds(1 thru 5 speeds) and then others showed at highway speeds; downshifts from 10 to 8 gears. Issue with transmission stated at around 142,000 miles but became very problematic at around 145, 000 miles. At this point I had to get a new transmission; cost was approximately $10000.00. This was a remanufactured transmission with 3 years or 100,000 miles. Note - I really like the truck but the Ford recall plans are terrible; I've already had the cam phaser replaced, front wheel bearing, and internal water pump. This probably cost another $7000.00. A lot of money for a truck that has pretty limited miles.

20260217VISIBILITY/WIPER

I started the truck including the rear and front window defroster. After about 5 minutes, I heard a loud "pop." I looked around the vehicle and noticed that back window was broken.

20260216POWER TRAIN

replaced cdf drum, cdf support in transmission, torque converter at 87,143 miles on odometer

20260215UNKNOWN OR OTHER

I was driving in town, less than 35mph, slowing down to stop at a traffic signal, when my engine stopped and a message came up on my dashboard that said something to the effect of "auto stop start, place transmission in park and restart engine". I did so and it cranked and ran fine. Hasn't happened again.

20260215FireUNKNOWN OR OTHER

Front Driver and Passenger side Wheel Bearing Failure 2 Separate incidents on same vehicle described below Hello, We have a 2018 F-150 Ford Limited and at approximately 50k/60k miles our front passenger Wheel Bearings went bad causing a loss of brakes and then proceeded to catch a fire within the brakes as a result. At approximately 80k miles we are now replacing the driver side Wheel Bearings as they are now currently at risk of failing. We have owned many vehicles and have not had to replace Wheel Bearings on any of them regardless of how we used them, the age of the vehicle and the type. We find that it is oddly unusual for this type of failure to occur let alone on both Wheel Bearings. The only indication of the second failure has been a grinding sound that can be easily mistaken for brakes or rotors needing attention. At the time of the first failure while the truck was in motion on the freeway exceeding 65mph, there was no indication of the failure other than loss of brakes and

20260214POWER TRAIN

Vehicle is experiencing hard shifts pretty regularly in various gears. Look up and read several other owners experiencing the same issue regarding the hard shifts.

20260213ENGINE

I own a 2018 Ford F-150, with the Cougar V-8 and a turbocharger. A few years ago, while on the expressway, I had to accelerate to clear a dangerous situation. A message came up on the instrument cluster saying that I was seriously low on oil. I pulled off on the shoulder and shut the engine off. I checked the oil level and it was almost empty. The truck only had about 10,000 miles on it at the time. I had checked the level prior to leaving and it was full. Luckily, I carry extra oil on long trips, a habit I got into back when I used to drive beaters. I had enough oil to fill the engine back up with oil and proceed on my way. I have not had any oil loss since then, although I rarely drive the truck, except to pick up lumber or other large loads, and it currently has about 23,000 miles on it. A few years ago, I read about an F-150 whose driver tried to pass a slow moving vehicle on a mountain road and was hit by an oncoming vehicle. Everyone in the truck was killed. When I read that arti

20260213FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

I own a 2018 Ford F-150, with the Cougar V-8 and a turbocharger. A few years ago, while on the expressway, I had to accelerate to clear a dangerous situation. A message came up on the instrument cluster saying that I was seriously low on oil. I pulled off on the shoulder and shut the engine off. I checked the oil level and it was almost empty. The truck only had about 10,000 miles on it at the time. I had checked the level prior to leaving and it was full. Luckily, I carry extra oil on long trips, a habit I got into back when I used to drive beaters. I had enough oil to fill the engine back up with oil and proceed on my way. I have not had any oil loss since then, although I rarely drive the truck, except to pick up lumber or other large loads, and it currently has about 23,000 miles on it. A few years ago, I read about an F-150 whose driver tried to pass a slow moving vehicle on a mountain road and was hit by an oncoming vehicle. Everyone in the truck was killed. When I read that arti

20260213UNKNOWN OR OTHER

My 10R80 transmission shifts very hard then goes into limp mode when im driving in 4th gear scared its gonna cause me to get in a wreck and injury myself or other drivers this has been an issue with all these transmission and this should be a recall where customers shouldn’t have to pay to get this fixed Ford should get this fixed ASAP

20260210POWER TRAIN

We were driving on the interstate and suddenly the truck increased RPMs rapidly with no acceleration when pressing the gas. The vehicle began to decelerate quickly on its own. We turned on our flashers to warn drivers around us. The truck suddenly gained back some acceleration, enough for us to move to the right, and lost full power again, and we coasted to the shoulder. If the vehicle had not gained back some acceleration after the initial deceleration, we may have been rear-ended. We had it towed to the nearest Ford Dealership. They confirmed the transmission had a total failure. They quoted around 4500 for a rebuild, or 9500 for a new transmission. The truck has only about 53,000 miles on it. I wanted to report this concern because I’m now aware there are many reported issues with this 10-speed transmission, and the sudden complete loss of power as we were driving was extremely dangerous for us and the people around us. We did sometimes experience slightly rough shifting when the

20260209POWER TRAIN

While cruising on the highway at 55 to 60mph, the transmission will suddenly and without warning rapidly downshift resulting in unstable and dangerous conditions. This has occurred multiple times on icy or frosty roads and the vehicle becomes difficult to control. My safety and that of oncoming traffic was compromised. A "wrench" light comes on in the dash following the event. Once the vehicle is power cycled, the wrench disappears.

20260209POWER TRAIN

Hard clunks when shifting Hesitation or delay when accelerating RPM flares between gears Jerking when slowing down or taking off Slipping or feeling like the truck goes into neutral Shuddering

20260209POWER TRAIN

My 2018 Ford F-150 experiences harsh, erratic, and unpredictable transmission shifting. The truck frequently hesitates during acceleration, followed by sudden and violent gear engagement. It also makes abrupt downshifts while driving, causing unexpected deceleration that can be dangerous in traffic. The truck will shift from 8th, 9th, or 10th gear down to 1st at highway speeds. This causes abrupt deceleration and significant loss of speed on the highway. On multiple occasions, the transmission has delayed engagement when shifting from a stop, creating hesitation when entering intersections or merging, followed by a sudden surge of power. This creates an unsafe driving condition and increases the risk of rear-end collision or loss of control. The shifting behavior is inconsistent and unpredictable, occurring during both in traffic and highway driving. The problem is worsening over time. Given the frequency and severity of these events, I believe this transmission behavior represents a

20260209VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

My 2018 Ford F-150 experiences harsh, erratic, and unpredictable transmission shifting. The truck frequently hesitates during acceleration, followed by sudden and violent gear engagement. It also makes abrupt downshifts while driving, causing unexpected deceleration that can be dangerous in traffic. The truck will shift from 8th, 9th, or 10th gear down to 1st at highway speeds. This causes abrupt deceleration and significant loss of speed on the highway. On multiple occasions, the transmission has delayed engagement when shifting from a stop, creating hesitation when entering intersections or merging, followed by a sudden surge of power. This creates an unsafe driving condition and increases the risk of rear-end collision or loss of control. The shifting behavior is inconsistent and unpredictable, occurring during both in traffic and highway driving. The problem is worsening over time. Given the frequency and severity of these events, I believe this transmission behavior represents a

20260208POWER TRAIN

with only 70000 miles on vehicle, complete failure of the 10speed automatic transmission. Transmission shifts extremely rough and between 2 and 3 gear it loses engagement while driving for several seconds and then reengages. Vehicle has also downshifted from 4th gear to 1st gear unexpectedly.

20260208POWER TRAIN

My truck would drop from 10th gear down to 2nd or 3rd on the highway. Then it would shift rough and jerk my truck hard. Started losing gears and having lots of transmission issues. Ended up taking it to a shop and had to get a new transmission

20260208POWER TRAIN

The vehicle intermittently experiences delayed gear engagement and hesitation during acceleration, most noticeably when the transmission is cold. During several incidents, when pulling out from a stop onto a main road and attempting to accelerate into traffic, the vehicle failed to shift or engage power normally. The engine remained running, but the vehicle did not accelerate as expected, creating a temporary loss of forward momentum. After a delay, the transmission would suddenly engage and the vehicle would accelerate normally. This condition creates a safety risk because when entering traffic from a stop sign or side road, other drivers expect normal acceleration. The hesitation or delayed engagement creates a risk of being struck by oncoming traffic. The issue occurs most frequently when the vehicle is first driven after sitting for several hours, especially in colder temperatures. After the vehicle is fully warmed up, the condition is less noticeable or may not occur. The probl

20260207POWER TRAIN

At about 70,000 miles, my truck's transmission began to shift extremely hard in the low gears, between first and fourth, and at times of sudden acceleration (from a stop sign or on ramp) the transmission would fail and I would need to put the vehicle in neutral then back into drive. This happened a few times before I had to have my transmission replaced at a cost of about $9,000. I read that there is an investigation into this issue but the investigation does not include 2018 trucks. The investigation should include 2018 to 2021 models as well.

20260206POWER TRAIN

Recently noticed sharp downshifting of auto transmission. Usually going up or down grade when I take foot off accelerator. Last week someone behind me needed to brake hard and change lanes in an emergency manner. The transmission change it hard and drops two or three gears. Very scary.

20260206UNKNOWN OR OTHER

MY TRUCK RANDOMLY DOWNSHIFTS AND ABRUPTLY SLOWS VEHICLE WHEN DRIVING

Compare 2018FORDF-150 to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 1 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2018 FORD F-150 have?
The 2018 FORD F-150 has 2582 NHTSA complaints, 101 crashes, 51 fires, 81 injuries, and 4 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2018 FORD F-150?
Yes, the 2018 FORD F-150 has 17 recall(s). The most common affected component is SEAT BELTS:PRETENSIONER. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2018 FORD F-150?
The most-complained component for the 2018 FORD F-150 is POWER TRAIN with 813 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ENGINE and UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
Is the 2018 FORD F-150 safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.