I had a rear view camera problem where the screen went blue on my f150. No picture or beeps. I paid over $800 for software and hardware repairs and now there is a recall. Conveniently my vin is not included even though I have the same repairs I had to pay for. Reciepts from Ford Dealership available.
2018 Ford F-150 electrical complaints
Page 3 of 7: complaints 41 to 70 of 173, newest first, as owners wrote them.
SYNC seems to return to factory setting at every start and I need to answer the same series of initial questions to access it. It dumps all of my saved preferences when I turn the truck off. It freezes, particularly when I try a manual soft reboot. Back up camera comes on while I'm driving. I don't have access to audio, navigation, or hands free support.
The radio goes black giving no indication to why and no way to adjust the heated steering wheel or the climate controls.
The button on the steering wheel get hot then fail to work this has happened several times i have complained to ford. The cruise control quits working and all the buttons for the dash menu quit working. I will be driving down the road with the cruise control on and all of a sudden it will quit working. Then it will just come back on like you never shut it off and when you least expect it. when this happens you can not shut the thing off its gonna cause an accident.
My back up camera barely works now. Most of the times that I back up the screen is blue or black. Very rarely it will work. I brought it into my local for dealer and they said moisture somehow got into the sealed connector and started corroding the metal in there making it a bad connection. They told me I needed a new wire harness for over $500 and I don’t have the money to fix it. So now my back up camera is just broke.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the radio and the rearview camera was inoperative. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. The diagnostic result was unavailable. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
The engine system on this vehicle experienced multiple failures, including severe knocking, power loss, and potential oil-related malfunctions. Despite repeated service visits to the authorized Ford dealership, the problem persisted. The dealership performed multiple repairs, but the issue was never fully resolved. The vehicle has been undrivable for over a year, during which I have had to rely on rental cars, borrowed vehicles, and eventually purchased cash vehicles to commute — all while continuing to pay for the truck. This is a severe financial and safety burden for a vehicle sold as reliable. To this day, no clear resolution has been offered, and Ford’s internal support has repeatedly deflected responsibility or referred me to scripted call center processes. The vehicle remains parked, unable to be driven due to fear of catastrophic failure or causing harm to myself or others on the road. The engine should be fully inspected, and the failure reported as part of a broader pattern I believe exists across other vehicles with this powertrain. There were early warning lights, knocking, and oil issues documented during dealer visits. The dealer acknowledged repeated service cases but failed to offer a true fix or replacement. This is more than mechanical failure — it’s a consumer safety and engineering accountability issue. I urge the federal safety agency to investigate the root cause and assess whether a broader recall or investigation is warranted.
See attached document for complaint.
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while attempting to research the vehicle online, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 93,600; it was discovered that the mileage was 200,000.
I had repeated issues with sudden downshifts while driving starting around 80,000 miles. By 83,000 miles it was doing it weekly or more frequently. It would shift down to first gear no matter what gear it was in. I would have trouble getting it to shift back even if I stopped and turned it off or tried the manual’s “fix” of pressing the brake and accelerator pedals at the same time for at least 30 seconds. I paid $2300 to fix a transmission barely past 80,000 miles. Besides the safety issue, the impact on daily life in general is a mess. Ford should have to recall all recent years and fix or repay the customers like me who had to pay Ford to fix their defects.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that after stopping the vehicle, the vehicle would not immediately restart. Also, while at a stoplight with the Auto START/STOP feature activated, the vehicle did not immediately restart after depressing the brake pedal, and the vehicle had to be jump-started. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who indicated that there was no issue with the battery and was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 102,602.
The same problem that is highlighted with the 1.3 million Ford F-150 truck investigation for the 2015 - 2017 models has happened to me. In 2024 my Ford F-150 would switch from 10th to 3rd gear without warning. This has lead to the transmission completely failing. I had to personally replace the transmission myself. I had just went over the warranty mileage. The incident was reported to Ford but nothing was done about it. At the machenic repair shop there were 2 other Ford F-150 that had the same problem.
While driving in manual mode on the road vehicle seemingly came out of gear and then slammed into a lower gear causing me to be slammed forward in my seat and nearly wrecked my vehicle, it then unprotected went to 1st then to 9the gear all while still in manual shift mode. Vehicle also dose not always fully engage park when P is illuminated.
When I tow my boat the starter overheats and when I stop to get gas I have trouble starting the engine or it won't start at all until the engine cools completely.
Radio went out not long after I bought it. Nothing on that end works. No back up camera, nothing. Bad apim module. 1400 to replace. It’s such a common issue and should be a recall.
Powertrain control module software is faulty, causing improper diagnosis of catalytic converters efficiency. Prompting a check engine light and P0430/P0420 code. I could not pass emissions testing with this code. The Ford dealer made me pay out of pocket to replace catalytic converters ~6 months ago, total cost of $2975.12. The have now addressed that it is unlikely the catalytic converters were faulty, and are offering no reimbursement.
The passenger back door latch, sometimes when the door closes it says rear right door ajar. It takes a few times to open and close it for the light to go off.. Noone's safety has been put at risk yet door still locks but could become unsafe over time. The vehicles has not been inspected by manufacturer or insurance or others yet. The door light comes on if door is not closed properly and will stay on sometimes.
Accessory protocol image module (APIM) failed, resulting in frequent loss of power to radio, display, and climate controls.
The Starter on my 2018 Ford F150 XTR (XLT trim to be sold new in Canada) with the 5.0L Coyote V8 engine failed @ only 46,000 miles. I have done my own auto repair for years, and have replaced a few failed or failing starters, none of which were @ less than 100,000 miles. After a little research, I found out that Ford "created" their Coyote engine with the Auto Stop/Start feature as a fuel economy measure to satisfy USEPA. However, this resulted in a several orders of magnitude increase in the number of starts within any given time frame (say, over the course of a year) and, since Ford did not re-design the starter to account for this radical increase in the sheer number of starts, starters are failing early. Mine failed @ 46,000 miles, and I've read multiple online posts from owners of this engine that had to replace the starter, one as early as 27,000. Check out owner comments @: [XXX] I should NOT have been required to pay for Ford Motor Company's design FAILURE. Respectfully, [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was driving, I looked down because my truck was unresponsive, my truck had died, a warning light had come on stating the following: "Auto Start/Stop Shift to P, then Restart Engine". I was on the interstate, in a two lane construction zone, I had to pull over into the construction area, stop my truck, and try and restart. After a minute or two, I was able to restart my truck and re-enter the road way. A very dangerous situation, luckily I did not have my children in the vehicle at the time. I scheduled a service appointment after this and was told it was the fuel pump control module. Unfortunately, it has happened twice since my service appointment... something needs to me done!
The contact owns 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while cold starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the starter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance with the repair. The failure mileage was 87,895.
The vehicle was stopped, preparing to make a left-hand turn at a four-way intersection, in Drive with my foot on the brake. I had manually pressed the button to disable the "Auto Start-Stop" feature earlier in this trip, and the light was on indicating that feature was still disabled. While stopped, the vehicle's engine suddenly shut off. On the dashboard, the informational cluster indicated "Auto StartStop Shift to P, then Restart Engine" with the logo for that feature (An "A" in a looped arrow icon) showing below. I shifted to Neutral and restarted the vehicle with no issue - at which time the warning messages went away - and continued the drive without further incident. I have not been able to reproduce the issue, yet. I was in the vehicle with my 1-year-old son in his car seat, preparing to make a left turn across oncoming traffic when the vehicle shut itself off, placing us at considerable potential risk. The vehicle has not been inspected by police, a dealer, etc. as of yet but I will be bringing it to a Ford dealership as soon as I can. I have included an example photo of the same error I saw, taken from an internet forum. This is not my truck, but is the identical warning message to the one I saw.
10 Speen Auto Transmission is shifting very hard from 1-2 or just skips 2 and goes 1-3. It shifted so hard this morning it chirped the tires. Other times it jolts me forward. When trying to accelerate it will not and almost feels like its going to stall. Almost got rear-ended one morning with my son in the truck. It is scheduled to go to dealership in 2 weeks (next opening). No warnings lights yet. Started about a week ago. Only getting worst each morning.
The alarm system and hazards will randomly go on and will not turn off until you start vehicle and hit the hazard light button. If you hit the hazard button while the vehicle is off, it does not turn the hazards off. They will often remain flashing even if the horn/alarm system isn't blaring. At times hitting the hazard button has made the horn go off. The truck has started locking itself and keypad will not work to unlock only the key fob. Truck has not been driven at night since this has occurred to notice if its affecting the headlights. We have noticed that it is also affecting the cabin climate controls (air conditioning/heat). The source of the problem appears to be a malfunction with the Body Control Module (BCM). Prior to these issues arising, there were no warning or messages that appeared on the dash. The truck has been driving great. Now the check engine light is on and have to disconnect the battery so that it doesn't go off in the middle of the night again.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the driving modes shifted between Tow and Sport Mode. The contact also stated that the instrument panel was showing the incorrect gear. The contact stated that the failure ceased when the vehicle was turned off. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic however, no failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
When the auto stop/start feature is engaged at a stop and I am the first vehicle at the light or stop sign, the steering is unresponsive when making a turn into or through the intersection after the auto start re-engages and has posed a safety issue steering/turning because of the delay that occurs in powering the power steering pump. On repeated instances, I have entered an intersection making a turn expecting the steering to be powered, only to find I have to struggle with the steering manually until the pump engages. The first time I asked the dealer to check the issue, I was told that my battery was dead and I had to buy a new one. I was told that would take care of the problem. The problem returned, however, and I took the truck back to the dealer. During the second dealer visit, I was told that the power steering pump is electric and has to run off the battery for a period of time (they confirmed the battery was fine during this second visit) after the auto stop/start re-engages and that is what causes the delay in power steering after the auto stop/start turns the engine back on. I was told that it gets worse if the battery doesn't have a full charge, but there was nothing that could be done to resolve the issue. On multiple occasions, I have feared that I would end up in a wreck with oncoming traffic after I struggled to steer until the pump engaged. Why would the manufacturer design a system that creates such a safety issue? The date below is the approximate date and mileage for the second dealer visit.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the drive train inoperative warning light illuminated. In addition, the transmission independently downshifted from 10th gear to 7th gear. The contact stated that the engine abruptly seized, and the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with alternator failure due to engine oil leaking onto the alternator. The contact was informed that the alternator needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the transmission shifted independently and unusually hard while shifting. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
Since purchasing the vehicle the infotainment system has and always been substandard. Which is very frustration when your purchasing a new truck. There seem to be many glitches to the system and never reacted the same way twice when I had to reprogram it every time I got into the vehicle. It became an unreliable way to communicate and very unsafe. I felt very insecure using the system knowing that I would have to readjust or touch the infotainment to make it work had to pull over on the side of the road a lot. I believe that this product is completely faulty and could have been a fatal flaw for Many f150 drivers.
I was driving on a congested thoroughfare during rush hour on a Friday night. My truck became unresponsive and the steering wheel locked up. The truck made a screeching stop. With over 100 cars behind me honking. I was unable to drive car off the road shoulder in a safe location. The cars electrical system when dead. With very limited battery life on my phone, I worked to to solve this problem. Luckily I had a few tools in the truck and was able to dismantle the all of the underdash plastic and metal components in about 1 hr with cachophany of honking and yelling with ever car. No stopped to help. I had to push the vehicle approx a quarter of a mile on a moderate incline and jump in the cab without power steering and coast down a side street. I had to learn how to put the car in neutral this way to move. This is Friday night and unable to get a towing service provider to my location, I had to wait in a lesser than desirable neighborhood until 2:30 am to get the car to my place residence. This was one of the scariest and deadliest incidents I have ever had in a motor vehicle. I am deathly afraid this will reoccur on a highway with fatal consequences.
While driving my truck along the highway on April 29, 2024, it spontaneously burst into flames. I pulled it over, and it was completely engulfed in flames and melted into a puddle of molten aluminum. In the last 18 month, this truck has spent over 45 days at the dealership with 10 separate repairs including transmission replacement, cylinder heads, oil leaks, all under 75,000 miles. The smoke and smell began under the back seat passenger floorboards, and within 45 seconds, was burning. I have pictures, video, witnesses, and police reports for corroboration. There was no accident, no impact, no nothing. It simply lit itself on fire.
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