FORD F-150 HYBRID · model year

2021 FORD F-150 HYBRID

304 NHTSA complaints, 6 crash reports for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2021FORDF-150 HYBRID carries 304 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 6 crashes, 5 fires, 8 injuries, and 1 fatality. 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 2021 F-150 HYBRID is power train with 106 filings, followed by electrical system (29) and wheels (26). 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.

NHTSA currently has 177 investigation files overlapping the 2021 F-150 HYBRID, and 8 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.

304
Complaints
6
Crashes
5
Fires
8
Injuries
1
Deaths

Total Complaints

304 filings

Crashes Reported

6 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

Above median complaint volume — review patterns below.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
POWER TRAIN106
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM29
WHEELS26
UNKNOWN OR OTHER23
ENGINE18
SERVICE BRAKES11
VISIBILITY/WIPER10
STRUCTURE:BODY7
SUSPENSION6
EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:TV/RADIO/SPEAKERS6
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM6
STEERING5
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INTEGRATED TRAILER BRAKE CONTROL4
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL4

Recent Complaints

20260123POWER TRAIN

2021 ford f150 PowerBoost hybrid. There is a LOT of internet chatter and forum chatter about KNOWN issues with the following, and it recently almost led to a major and likely serious injury accident. Specific Parameters: Low speed (~5 mph) slow roll Under internal combustion power, not battery In 2nd gear only When gas pedal is pressed vehicle does nothing. Does not respond. Two choices are to hammer the gas, or hit the breaks. Does two things, slams forward eventually after 3-4 second delay if gas pedal depressed OR shifts down or into electric mode (internal combustion off) and then will once again go from first to third in normal acceleration progression and pace They must have an issue with the standard 1-3 skip programming with ICE power and 2nd gear being a hang-up I almost got T boned by a semi truck due to this with family in car. This could have been deadly. It happens as an annoyance at least once per day but this one was scary. Online, and based on what I can fi

20260123FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

2021 ford f150 PowerBoost hybrid. There is a LOT of internet chatter and forum chatter about KNOWN issues with the following, and it recently almost led to a major and likely serious injury accident. Specific Parameters: Low speed (~5 mph) slow roll Under internal combustion power, not battery In 2nd gear only When gas pedal is pressed vehicle does nothing. Does not respond. Two choices are to hammer the gas, or hit the breaks. Does two things, slams forward eventually after 3-4 second delay if gas pedal depressed OR shifts down or into electric mode (internal combustion off) and then will once again go from first to third in normal acceleration progression and pace They must have an issue with the standard 1-3 skip programming with ICE power and 2nd gear being a hang-up I almost got T boned by a semi truck due to this with family in car. This could have been deadly. It happens as an annoyance at least once per day but this one was scary. Online, and based on what I can fi

20251201FireELECTRICAL SYSTEM

My Ford F150 was traveling on I95 North in Maryland when an emergency notice on the dashboard told be to pull over. The truck would not restart and had to be towed to a Ford dealer. I have since been told a controller module caught fire and damaged the hybrid battery and both would need to be replaced at a cost of over $10,000. This is a know issue and other Ford F150 Hybrid trucks as well as other Ford cars have already been recalled. Ford claims that my VIN was not included in the recall even though I experienced exactly what the recall was suppose to prevent. My wife and I could have been killed while traveling on the highway at 70 MPH and the vehicle was on fire without our knowledge.

20250313VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH during a snowstorm, the windshield wipers failed to function as intended. The contact became aware of an abnormal burning odor coming from under the hood of the vehicle, entering the vehicle through the A/C vents. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the windshield wiper motors had failed and needed to be replaced along with the wiring. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the Extended Warranty was lapsed. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V163000 (VISIBILITY); however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was 37,000.

Mileage: 37,000

20250312UNKNOWN OR OTHER

On numerous occasions, with increasing frequency, the truck has suddenly not responded to pressing the throttle pedal. I have not figured out the exact situation that makes it happen. From the best of my knowledge I am not sure exactly what induces the issue. I have noticed it several times where the truck goes from a mid range RPM (consistent with normal driving conditions) then after the brake or natural deceleration occurs and you go to reengage the throttle pedal the truck does not respond. There is a very extended delay to any speed increases. This has been extremely dangerous when making left turns through traffic as the truck does not respond and leaves you in harms way. It has been happening several times a week now and I have read numerous reports of the same thing on forums. I see no warning lights or pop ups that can support a large issue.

20250306POWER TRAIN

Failure to repair safety recall in timely manner. Manufacturer Recall Number23S65 NHTSA Recall Number23V896

20250306POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was started, and several unknown warning lights illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that the gear shifter failed to shift into neutral while the vehicle was being towed. In addition, the contact stated that the gear shifter was stuck in park(P). The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with powertrain control module failure. The contact was informed that the powertrain control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.

Mileage: 102,000

20250304POWER TRAIN

I purchased my truck in March of 2024 with an undisclosed problem from a dealership in Texas. I contacted them two weeks after it began and they said they couldn't do anything as is the greatest business disappointment of American commerce when used vehicles are purchased under the "As Is" clause. The undisclosed problem is this, my truck loses acceleration power for up to 20 seconds in dangerous situations when I attempt to increase speed from a stop or slower speeds and the truck doesn't shift to accelerate to reasonable speeds. This situation happens each time I drive this truck. The scarier situations happen when changing lanes, turning left, or right, or making U-turns. Each of these conditions threatens safety every time this happens, but more so when there is fast-moving traffic coming behind after changing lanes or if on-coming traffic approaches my now power-less truck when making a left/u-turn. My local dealership shop found the CBF drum in the transmission to be faulty causi

20250303ENGINE

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. While at a stoplight, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to move or respond as needed. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, who informed the contact that the failure might be battery-related. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

Mileage: 140,000

20250303ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. While at a stoplight, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to move or respond as needed. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, who informed the contact that the failure might be battery-related. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

Mileage: 140,000

20250303VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled. While at a stoplight, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to move or respond as needed. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, who informed the contact that the failure might be battery-related. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no warranty coverage on the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

Mileage: 140,000

20250227FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

Vehicle has completely unresponsive gas pedal for 3-5 seconds. Gas pedal is completely dead. This occurs randomly but mostly in a stop and start accelerating situation. Once the 3-5 seconds passes gas pedal responds normally. No codes generated during incident.

20250227ENGINE

Vehicle has completely unresponsive gas pedal for 3-5 seconds. Gas pedal is completely dead. This occurs randomly but mostly in a stop and start accelerating situation. Once the 3-5 seconds passes gas pedal responds normally. No codes generated during incident.

20250226STRUCTURE:BODY

: Driver side door latch, yes it's available for inspection and has been inspected by Tasca Ford Cranston RI 02920. : In a cold environment Driver side door can not be opened from the inside. Interior door latch freezes making it impossible to open door. Door must be opened from the outside. In some cases latch freezes and door will latch closed. You have to physically hold the door shut in order to drive! : This was inspected and issue confirmed by Ford Dealership and service advisor. Video has been taken. : First issue was in 2023 after used vehicle purchase. Issue is on going, during below freezing days.

20250220POWER TRAIN

Many times I have experienced a delay in acceleration or where it fails to accelerate relative to the pedal position and will then suddenly aggressively accelerate. This has resulted in me almost being hit in traffic due to the lack of power output leaving me panicked as vehicles barrel down on me while I’m stuck waiting for the truck to get the signal to accelerate. The issue has begun to occur more often but is spontaneous when it occurs leaving me with huge trust issues with the vehicle not knowing when it will decide if it wants to output power or not. It occurs most often after the vehicle has been sitting unused, like first thing in the morning or after work when it has been sitting for hours, and most often when executing a turn from either a slow roll or a stop. Meaning if I’m on a side street and wish to pull out into traffic, it will just decide not to accelerate and leave me sitting in the road as vehicles approach scaring me into pumping the throttle or attempting to pu

20250218ENGINE

Vehicle suddenly overheated affecting ability to drive in traffic. Discovered coolant leak. The very issue determined by the dealership is the exact issue of a current recall. They say it’s not associated with my vin despite being the exact issue for the exact make and model. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

20250217UNKNOWN OR OTHER

My cluster gauge is turning off while I’m driving and turning on after by itself. It happened too many times maybe 20 times in last 2 months. When this happens I’m loosing all my settings I have done before. While it’s off I can’t see any information including my speed and distracting me. I share this issue on platforms and too many people having same issue. I found too many video on YouTube about exact same problem. It happens on the f150 trucks with digital cluster gauge produced after 2020 and even brand new ones having same issue still problem is ongoing. Ford and ford dealerships aware of the problem but they aren’t doing anything about this and they say it’s well known issue.

20250205STRUCTURE:BODY

Tailgate opening without interference from driver

20250203POWER TRAIN

10 speed transmission has started shifting hard at times and is random when it occurs. At times the hard shift comes with some stuttering under normal acceleration.

20250127POWER TRAIN

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the transmission independently shifted to neutral, and the vehicle decelerated. In addition, the power train failure warning light illuminated. The contact stated that within several seconds, the vehicle returned to normal speed, and the power train failure warning light was no longer illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred while driving on a major highway. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with an external transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced, and the software needed an update. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed of an unknown recall however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.

Mileage: 79,000

Compare 2021FORDF-150 HYBRID to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 8 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2021 FORD F-150 HYBRID have?
The 2021 FORD F-150 HYBRID has 304 NHTSA complaints, 6 crashes, 5 fires, 8 injuries, and 1 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2021 FORD F-150 HYBRID?
The most-complained component for the 2021 FORD F-150 HYBRID is POWER TRAIN with 106 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ELECTRICAL SYSTEM and WHEELS.
Is the 2021 FORD F-150 HYBRID 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.