FORD · vehicle model
FORD F-53
162 NHTSA complaints and 10 safety recalls across model years 1995–2024.
- Complaints
- 162
- Recalls
- 10
- Model years
- 19
The FORDF-53 appears in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database with 162 consumer safety complaints and 10 recall campaigns across 19 model years (1995–2024). That averages roughly 9 complaints per model year. Report counts can differ between model years for many reasons; this dataset does not establish the cause of a difference.
Complaint volume on a nameplate alone is not a reliability verdict: a long-running bestseller can accumulate more filings than a low-volume niche model because more vehicles are on the road. The table below shows report counts and published NHTSA crash-test ratings side by side for each model year. The filing-year histogram shows the timing of submitted reports, not a causal trend.
NHTSA has 179 investigation files tied to this model, with 6 currently open. Investigation records, complaint reports, and recall campaigns each provide different context. Use the official NHTSA VIN lookup and the underlying notices to research a specific vehicle; PlainCars does not infer a vehicle-risk or pricing conclusion from these records.
Complaints by Year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 |
| 2023 | 9 |
| 2022 | 6 |
| 2021 | 15 |
| 2020 | 26 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2018 | 7 |
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2016 | 18 |
| 2015 | 8 |
| 2014 | 26 |
| 2013 | 10 |
| 2012 | 1 |
| 2011 | 9 |
| 2010 | 1 |
| 2008 | 1 |
| 1997 | 3 |
| 1996 | 2 |
| 1995 | 6 |
Complaint Filing Trend
NHTSA complaint volume by year filed (not model year).
Filings moved from 51 in 2017-2021 to 57 in 2022-2026, a rise of 11.8%. That is the 65th percentile of change across the 772 nameplates with enough filings in both windows to compare, where 0 is the steepest fall and 100 the steepest rise.
Filing volume, not a reliability verdict: counts also move with how many vehicles are on the road, how old they are, and whether a recall drew attention. Computed from this portal's NHTSA filing-year records over the same two windows the trend rankings use.
Year filed (bar labels show the complaint count).
Compare FORDF-53 to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations 6 Open
Timing Belt Failure
Anti-lock brake system (ABS) Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) illuminated
Unintended Transmission Downshift and Rear Wheel Lock-up
Timing Belt Failure
Underbody shields detachment
B-Pillar Trim Detachment
Unintended Transmission Downshift and Rear Wheel Lock-up
Collisions Involving Ford BlueCruise
Seat Belt Retractor Pretensioner Inadvertent Deployment
Loss of Motive Power
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is the FORD F-53?▼
What years of FORD F-53 are available?▼
Does the FORD F-53 have safety ratings?▼
What are the most common FORD F-53 complaints?▼
How do I check if my FORD F-53 has been recalled?▼
Data sources
Data vintage: August 2026. 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.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. FORD F-53 totals are aggregated from the linked NHTSA model-year rows; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.