NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2018 Ford F-150. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
Recently took my truck to Discount Tire for a tire rotation and rebalance. I was made aware that the lugs nuts on the truck are swollen. I was told by the Discount Tire employee this is common on F-150 trucks. He highly recommended that all lug nuts should be changed for safety and that the proper lug nut socket can be used. The lug nuts were so swollen that the recommended 21mm socket would not fit. The employee also said that the lug nuts should not do this and there is a potential for the lug nuts to fail. Discount Tire was able to remove the swollen lug nuts safely without damage and I paid to get new lug nuts installed. The other reason for replacing is that if I needed to change the tire the provided lug wrench that comes with the truck would not fit the swollen lugs. The lug nuts provided with my F-150 are defective and the cost of replacing should not be put on the consumer.
My 2018 Ford f-150 super cab has a problem with the doors not latching when it's cold or after a storm and it is below freezing. I have owned this vehicle since Nov. Of 2021 with 35,000 plus miles on it I have had five incidents from 2021 through Dec. Of 2022 where the doors won't unlock or they unlock but won't latch. Doors fly open while driving down the road. Also had one Incident where drivers side door would not unlock but passengers side door did unlock. Had to climb in and out through passengers side door. I now drive with a bungee cord hooked to the drivers side and passengers side doors when it's below freezing to keep my doors from flying open. When this first happened I called my Ford dealer about the problem they told me They were inundated with calls of problems related to the freezing rain storm. They told me to wait until it warmed up and things would start working again.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that whenever the temperature was approximately 20 degrees or lower, the doors failed to latch and close securely. The contact stated that while driving, he had to hold the front driver's door closed until the vehicle warmed up. The door ajar warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, but the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred him to the dealer for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
The rear passenger side door did not latch. My 6 month old son could have fell out because his car seat is on that side. Luckily I noticed it when I was backing out of the driveway and not on the expressway. I pulled back into the drive way and tried to shut the door about 30 times. It would not shut. All the other doors worked fine. The only way to keep the door shut was to hold the door shut and lock the truck. After I did that my door would not unlock. It tried doing it manually but it was stuck in the lock position. It seems something is wrong with the door latch and I am glad that I caught it or my baby could have gotten hurt. The door latches in the truck have to be looked at. I just bought this truck from a dealership last week too.
My door latch froze open during the recent hard freeze in Louisiana. The door would not latch closed. I had to drive home, holding the door closed with my hand. I previously brought my forward to the dealership because there was a door latch safety recall, but Ford would not fix it, saying I lived in a warm climate.
After loading groceries into the rear seats, I shut the passenger door and thought it was latched. I started to drive off and the door came open. I spent 20 mins trying to get it to latch and although I could move the door latch mechanism with my fingers, the door would not latch and remain shut. I ended up tying the door shut in order to drive home 7 miles.
While driving at generally any speed from 8mph up to 70mph the electronic steering wheel will pull in either direction, I have brought this truck into a certified Ford dealership and they said everything they checked out was okay with said truck. This is not okay as it almost pulled me into the ditch while turning a corner. Other then that incident this erratic steering situation arises anytime I am driving, it does not appear to be intermittent.
Frozen door latch,unable to close or lock,must hold door closed with one hand while steering with the other hand,extremly unsafe!!!
The truck was sitting in the driveway and out of nowhere the alarm went off. Go out to inspect and the vehicle is showing that the driver and left back door are not closed. The driver side door will not latch it opened up out of nowhere and will not latch. Apparently this issue is know with Ford trucks when it gets too cold. This is a safety issue because the door will just open while driving.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated over time upon starting his vehicle an abnormal rattling noise could be heard coming from the engine, and no warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed and the contact was advised that the camshaft phasers were faulty and that they would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 113,445. The contact referenced Customer Satisfaction Programs 21B10, 21N03, and 21N08 as probable cause for the failure.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 5 MPH, the rear windshield shattered without warning or impact. The dealer was contacted and stated that there was no recall on the vehicle related to the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no recall on the vehicle related to the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000.
We were driving and another car told us our tailgate was down. We did not put anything into the truck before we started our drive and no buttons were pushed. The tailgate went back up without incident, however there was also no indication from inside the truck that the tailgate was down.
I opened both front doors this morning after freezing temperatures last night. Once opened neither door would latch close. In order to get my truck to the Ford dealership, my passenger and I both had to physically hold the doors closed while going down the highway. This is the second time this has happened.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the rear OEM passenger’s side rim inadvertently fractured in half. There was no warning prior to the failure. The contact stated that she was able to place the spare on the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.
Drivers door fails to latch, appears to be similar to Freezing issue on NHTSA Recall ID: 17V652000.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, he observed a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the knocking lasted for approximately three to four seconds and then disappeared. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 55,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle and attempting to close the front driver's side and passenger's side doors on a freezing day or in cold weather, the doors failed to close securely. The contact stated that the doors closed as needed after the vehicle had warmed up. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver's side door suddenly opened, which required the contact to manually hold the door closed while driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired under Ford Campaign Number: 18N03 unless the failure was duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F150. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the contact heard a rattling sound coming from the vehicle, and the steering wheel started shaking abnormally. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the PCM was reprogramed but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and the contact was unformed that the timing chain needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but provide no assistance. The failure mileage was 100,172.
The wiper motor has failed. Yes, it is available for inspection. This is a safety issue as rain or snow cannot be cleared for visibility during inclement weather. No, it has not yet been inspected by the dealer. There are no warning lamps or indicators associated with the failure. It first started to appear as degraded performance (slow moving) in December of 2022 and has progressively gotten worse.
Truck was in first gear and pulled out into intersection to make left turn. When depressing gas pedal no power to truck and was almost t boned in the middle of intersection. The issue has happened multiple times when driving. The vehicle has only been looked at by mechanic who recommended it be taken back to ford dealership due to transmission issues that should be under powertriain warranty 5years 60,000 miles. Issue started happening with approx 45,000 miles and now has 51000 miles as of december 2022.
12 Dec 2022. In southern Maryland I started my truck remotely. About 15 minutes later I went out to the truck, opened up the back rear door and placed a roll of Christmas paper on the floor. I closed the door and then a loud explosion took place. The Rear window (Not door windows), with a center motorized sling window, had completed shattered throwing glass all over the covered truck bed and inside of the back seat. No one was in the car when I closed the door. Did an internet search and this is a major problem with these trucks in the USA and Canada. Called 2 Ford dealers. First was no help at all and the other professed to look into it and has not called back. Contacted my insurance Company and it is covered but I have to pay a $1,000 deductible. This is a serious hazard to anyone sitting in the back seat. There are currently no recalls for this issue just a leaking back window recall. Thank you.
Moonroof malfunctioned- causing it to be left open in the winter with poor conditions rendering the vehicle unsafe to drive. Discovered that internal mechanism for opening and closing (made of plastic) had broken in the track. Was able to get it closed for now but I don’t feel safe driving myself and twin toddlers. Saved the portion of the clip that broke off.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the transmission was slipping with the engine revving. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not yet taken to an independent mechanic or local dealer for diagnostic tests or repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
The 10R80 transmission in this truck has hard shifting and finally at 120,000 miles began shifting from 7th gear to 1st gear while driving on roadways. The truck would lose power has hesitation like the gears slipping and hard downshifting. Dealership stated the Drum Clutch Basket had failed and requires a new transmission. Unknown to me the vehicle also had the motor replaced at 62,000 miles due to "oil consumption" issues. Ford has issued multiple TSBs in regards to these issues. The hesitation is so bad that the vehicle looses power and can happen at any time such as merging into traffic. The downshifting causes significant jerking of occupants.
This is a messed up known issue with Ford F-150 2013-2018 model years with intermittent/unintended 4WD engagement. The system would lose vacuum and cause the hub to attempt 4WD engage at speed with loud grinding noise. Dealer for longest time could not/would not properly diagnose until I physically brought in the service bulletin. Ford’s fix is to seal the vacuum hose and disable 2wd. And run AWD 24/7. #1 - lost 3-4 mpg average #2 - wore out the wheel bearing at 45,000mi. That was a $750 repair. Totally unacceptable!
My vehicle engine stalls, the engine failed few times while driving at different speed. My F150 also suffers from oil consumption, low oil levels, rattling noise, valve noise while accelerating, and I had to replace the catalytic converter and both oxygen sensors due to that problem but that didn't solve the issue as it does exist and I was told by several experts that this problem is popular with the Ford 5.0 Coyote engines.
The driver's door freezes, so once the door is opened it will not latch closed until the door is warmed up. Additionally, the door can catch when closed, but if any pressure is put on the door, it pops open because the latch or mechanism is frozen and will not function properly. This has happened multiple times now, and Ford has stated that we don't live in a 'cold' climate region, so the can not get the cold weather 'repair' to fix this issue. I believe this is a significant safety issue, I can't drive the vehicle until the weather warms up so the door latch will work again.
2018 Ford F-150 in 28 degree temperature the driver's door latch failed and will not latch and stay closed causing an extremely unsafe and hazardous condition.
My truck has been shifting hard into 3rd gear in the mornings when the transmission is cold. I have reported to ford and a fix was attempted but nothing got better. This morning while taking my kids to school the 10 speed automatic transmission downshifted from 7th to 2nd gear while going 45 miles per hour. It reved the engine super high and slowed the truck quickly. It feels unsafe and I'm scared to put my family in my truck.
Cam phaser issue. There is a recall on this already. But my vehicle hasn't been reported yet.
Transmission slips when cold or hot. Had fluid flushed and filled and situation has gotten worse. Transmission shop said the valve assembly is defective and will cost $1,500+ to repair.
Radio, SYNC system. safety concern, no back up camera. Radio would work intermittent, many complaints on the web.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, there was a rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact indicated that the failure was present during cold starts. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the engine cam phasers were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 61,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH and merging onto the highway, the vehicle independently shifted out of low gear and into high gear but lost forward momentum. The contact stated that the vehicle was revving; however, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the gear shift indicator was intermittently inoperable. The contact stated that the failure had become a recurring failure. The contact stated that she attempted to pull off the roadway to attempt to get the transmission to work correctly. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be rebuilt or replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,350.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F150. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the transmission was not shifting gear properly. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the VIN was not included in any recalls. The failure mileage was 43,000.
2018 Ford F150 with 5.0L V8, front drivers wheel bearings are failing prematurely. My vehicle showed symptoms around 40k miles and replacing both sides wheel hubs at 50k miles. Online Ford forums are have common threads of people addressing the wheel bearing failures and most common with the V8s. OEM parts for each wheel hub from the dealer were $400each. If unaddressed the wheel bearing could fail causing serious safety risks. Owners manual scheduled maintenance does not list replacement of wheel bearings within the first 150k miles.
My truck stalls when I brake to a full stop when the auto start/stop is deactivated. It is an intermittent problem that I have had the Ford dealer investigate twice with no resolution. It is a bothersome irritation that can potentially get me rear-ended when, at a traffic light, the truck dies and I have to shift to park, restart the engine, shift back into drive, and hopefully make it out of there.
tHE WIPERS WILL STAY ON. THE REAR SUSPENSION IS RATTLING. I HAVE NOT HAD AN ACCIDENT IN MY TRUCK. THERE WAS NO INCIDENT WITH MY TRUCK. THE DEALER AT BBMOTORS CONFIRMED THE SUSPENSION RATTLING THE LAST TIME I HAD SERVICE THERE.
Engine makes awful rattling and consumption of oil is ridiculous even after I had them supposedly fix problem which was change the dipstick and reprogram the PCM I believe that's it and now the rear end is being changed for the 2nd time in a year. All the oil is still being consumed somewhere no leaks and my engine shakes and bogs and makes noises like driving a standard. Transmission is lacking on shifting and hard shifting for sure. It needs to be on a recall to fix transmission and engine issues. I barely got 87k and I got it at 56k and I have had all this crap. Done with it.
Bought new in February, 2018. Vehicle has the 3.5L EcoBoost with 10-speed transmission, currently just over 50,000 miles, regularly maintained with Ford service providers. Since ~48,000 miles, when the engine is cold it occasionally produces a grinding noise at take-off or low speeds for 10-30 seconds or until ~35-40MPH when it stops, usually with a thud or a crunching sound, and it doesn't happen again once the engine is warm. It gets worse as you apply the gas, and the RPM sticks when you let off like it can't shift up or down. Ever since they did the transmission reprogramming a couple of years ago it's gotten BAD. Since then, when the engine is warm it's occasionally really rough when shifting up or down: the RPM will stick high or low for a second before thudding into the next gear with a jerk, to the point I can tell it's coming and can brace for it. I've complained about it to Ford, but nothing was resolved. "It's just one of those things." At 37,000 miles the internal transmission sensor that tells it to shift up or down failed (according to Ford), so it had become a manual transmission, shiftable only via the "Manual" option on the gearshift and the thumb rocker. That was fixed at Ford's expense, but the grinding is new, since ~48,000 miles (and I'm getting close to the end of the powertrain warranty). Ford couldn't replicate it when I brought it in (I thought it was a bad wheel bearing until I saw the RPM sticking this last time) because it doesn't always happen. Now that it's happening again with more frequency, they gave me an appointment three weeks out...hopefully it will live that long (and they figure out what's wrong with it).
Tailgate opens while driving and has occurred many times.
Transmission goes slamming into gear on downshifts from 10 to 8 and 5 to 3. Terrible smoothness and it feel like the drive train is getting huge shock each time this happens. Upshifts from 3 to 5 are not smooth either under normal driving conditions
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that on numerous occasions when the vehicle is powered up, the engine compartment rattled and the check engine light warning light was illuminated. The contact added that the check engine light remained illuminated for a short period of time and then disappeared. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed as needing the cam phaser replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.
The transmission skips gears. It shifts from 1 to 3 and 3 to 5 skipping 2 and 4 gears and I took to dealership and they said it’s normal. When it shifts from 3 to 5 it’s jerks all the time and it’s not a smooth shift like every other shifts so there’s something wrong with transmission or software. Recently I had issues while driving on freeway around 70-75 mph the truck was on 10th gear and it automatically shifted to 1 and then 5 then 6 then 9 and then shifted to 10. It happened like 2-3 from when I had this truck. When it did that it lost acceleration momentarily. Feel really unsafe when it does that because it can cause a wreck. The truck don’t have engine light on but it definitely have some transmission issues and dealerships doesn’t respond as there’s no codes and I have extended warranty and dealership wants to charge me money for inspection. Please review my concern.
The outer casing of the lugnuts break off, needs to be recalled and replaced
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission shifted roughly from third to fourth gear. Additionally, the transmission inadvertently upshifted and then downshifted before returning to the selected gear while driving. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that there was transmission failure experienced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at a slow speed, the vehicle shut off with the "Auto START/STOP - Shift to Park - Restart Engine" message was displayed. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle resumed normal operation. The contact also stated that while driving at a high speed, the vehicle shuddered while depressing of the accelerator pedal. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer on several occasions; however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.
the transmission slips and gives no power when starting from a stopped position. during driving it slips gears including during highway driving. the issues started after 58000 miles.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the tailgate opened independently twice. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V983000 (Latches/Locks/Linkages) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,361.
Ford has multiple Customer Satisfaction Notices on this problem, as well as is Listed on the NHTSA site. My vehicle is a 2018 Ford F-150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost engine. I have approximately 64K miles on this vehicle. I began to hear a rattle in the engine during cold starts. I took it to the dealership, and the vehicle requires cam phaser, etc… replacement. Ford has offered some customers assistance on this repair, and not assisted others. I fall into the not assisted portion. This is a common problem with these vehicles. One only has to do a Google search, or YouTube search, to find many unhappy customers. There should clearly be a recall on the vehicles with this motor installed, but Ford refuses to stand behind their product.