Total Complaints
8 filings
FORD F-SERIES · model year
8 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2004FORDF-SERIES carries 8 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 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 2004 F-SERIES is visibility:power window devices and controls with 2 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:cooling system (1) and engine and engine cooling (1). 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 1 investigation file overlapping the 2004 F-SERIES. 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.
Total Complaints
8 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS | 2 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
| VISIBILITY:GLASS, SIDE/REAR | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN | 1 |
STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS LAST YEAR WITH TRANSMISSION. OVERDRIVE WOULD GO OUT AND SOMETIMES TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT ENGAGE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. JULY OF THIS YEAR WAS AT A STOPLIGHT TRUCK WOULD NO MOVE , AFTER RACING ENGINE TRUCK MOVED , FAULT CODE SHOWED ON DASH. WHEN GOT TRUCK HOME REVERSE WOULD NOT ENGAGE, I FINALLY GOT IT TO ENGAGE INSTEAD OF GOING BACKWARDS IT WENT FORWARD. *TR
Mileage: 104,000
WHILE DRIVING DOWN INTERSTATE DRIVERS WINDOW FOR NO REASON JUST FELL DOWN CAUSING A LOAD CRASHING NOISE I NEARLY WENT INTO DITCH. TWO DAYS LATER THE DRIVERS REAR WINDOW DID SAMETHING. I WAS NOT ROLLING WINDOWS UP OR DOWN THEY JUST FELL CAN FORD ADMIT THEY HAVE PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE GETS INJURED. *TR
Mileage: 86,520
WHILE DRIVING DOWN INTERSTATE DRIVERS WINDOW FOR NO REASON JUST FELL DOWN CAUSING A LOAD CRASHING NOISE I NEARLY WENT INTO DITCH. TWO DAYS LATER THE DRIVERS REAR WINDOW DID SAMETHING. I WAS NOT ROLLING WINDOWS UP OR DOWN THEY JUST FELL CAN FORD ADMIT THEY HAVE PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE GETS INJURED. *TR
Mileage: 86,520
WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH,WITH CHILDREN IN BACK SEAT,WINDOW ON PASSENGER SIDE IN BACK FELL DOWN,ABOUT A WEEK LATER THE OTHER BACK WINDOW DID THE SAME THING .SCARED MY WIFE AND KIDS BECAUSE IT FELL SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING. COULD HAVE CAUSED ME TO SWERVE INTO ONCOMING VEHICLE.I REPORTED TO FORD BUT THERE ONLY RESPONSE WAS THEY SENT ME BROCHURES TO BUY A NEW TRUCK[HA HA}.I RESPONDED BY TELLING THEM THAT MY NEXT NEW TRUCK WILL BE CHEVY OR CHRYSLER. *TR
Mileage: 99,500
THE SPARK PLUGS IN THE 2004 F-150 PICKUP TRUCKS DID NOT GET ANIT-SEIZE COMPOUND WHEN INSTALLED IN FACTORIES. JUST GOOGLE 2004 F-150 SPARK PLUGS AND YOU WILL SEE MUCH MORE INFORMATION. NOW WHEN YOU REPLACE THE SPARK PLUGS, THEY HAVE A TENDENCY TO BREAK OFF. DEALERSHIP COST TO REPLACE THE SPARK PLUGS IS $350.00 PLUS $90.00 FOR EACH SPARK PLUG THAT IS BROKEN. THIS IS AN OBVIOUS DESIGN FLAW THAT IS COSTING THE PUBLIC MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORLD WIDE AND THE NTSB NEEDS TO STEP IN AND ORDER A RECALL TO PROTECT CONSUMERS AND STOP FORD FROM TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE CONSUMERS BECAUSE OF THEIR SPARK PLUG DESIGN FLAW.. *TT
Mileage: 100,000
WHILE DRIVING MY 2004 F150 AND APPROACHING A RED LIGHT OR TURN MY TRUCK WILL INTERMITTENTLY SHUT OFF AND NEED TO BE RESTARTED. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS I HAVE HAD TO PUT BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL AND CRANK (NO POWER STEERING) OR BOTH FEET ON THE BRAKES (NO POWER BRAKES) BECAUSE THE TRUCK TURNED OFF AND I LOST ALL POWER FUNCTIONS. IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN AS BIG OF A DEAL IF THE DEALER IN MY AREA HADN'T TOLD ME THIS WAS "NORMAL" FOR F150S AND SENT ME ON MY WAY. SINCE THAT DEALER I HAVE DEALT WITH 2 OTHERS IN MY AREA WHO SAY ITS NORMAL AND TO JUST DRIVE MY TRUCK UNTIL IT FIXES ITSELF. I WASN'T AWARE THAT FORD MADE SELF DIAGNOSING/FIXING VEHICLES. IN EITHER CASE I AM EXTREMELY UPSET THAT THIS PROBLEM IS FOR SOME REASON NOT CONSIDERED A PROBLEM AND THAT THERE IS NO CURRENT FIX FOR THIS ISSUE. I NO LONGER FEEL SAFE IN MY TRUCK AND HAVE RESORTED TO DRIVING MY PARENTS VEHICLES UNTIL I CAN RID MYSELF OF THIS DEATH TRAP. ON ANOTHER NOTE I HAVE ALSO HAD THE VEHICLE FLASH DASH BOARD LIGHTS AT ME AFTER GO
Mileage: 110,000
2004 FORD F-150 POWER WINDOW REGULATOR FAILED ON TWO OF THE FOUR DOORS WHILE DRIVING CAUSING THE WINDOWS TO COME CRASHING DOWN SHATTERING ONE. CONTACTED LANDERS FORD IN COLLIERVILLE, TN, WHO SOLD ME REPLACEMENTS PARTS BUT, SINCE THE PARTS ARE NOT PART OF A RECALL, WOULD NOT PROVIDE WITHOUT COST. BOTH ASSEMBLIES HAD TO BE REPLACED ALONG WITH ONE WINDOW. *TR
Mileage: 45,000
I BOUGHT A FORD F450 NEW AND FROM DAY ONE I HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE 6.0 DIESEL ENGINE. THE LATEST WAS A BLOWN INTERCOLLER AND TO ENGINE CYLINDERS. *TR
Mileage: 48,000
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.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.