Ford · Flex · 2016
3
Recalls
79
Complaints
-
Not Rated
The 2016 Ford Flex has 3 recalls and 79 owner-reported complaints on file with NHTSA. Most reported issue: back over prevention (8 reports).
Source: NHTSA Public Records · Updated Apr 22, 2026
This page combines three types of NHTSA data: recall campaigns (official manufacturer or government actions), owner complaints (unverified consumer reports), and crash test ratings (where available). A vehicle with many complaints is not necessarily less reliable — complaint volume correlates with sales volume and vehicle age. Recalls indicate identified defects, not overall quality. To compare this model year with others, use the year navigation in the sidebar or return to the model overview page.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Lincoln MKT and Ford Flex and Taurus vehicles with the Police Interceptor or SHO Performance Pack. The rear suspension toe links may fracture due to stress on the rear suspension.
Remedy Status
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links, free of charge. Remedy parts are not currently available. Owners were notified about the recall on March 3, 2020. A second notice will be mailed when remedy parts become available, which is currently expected to be the end of September 2020. The recall began October 28, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 or Lincoln customer service at 1-800-521-4140. Ford's number for this recall is 20S04.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford Taurus, 2016-2017 Ford Flex, Lincoln MKT, 2017 Ford Explorer and Ford Explorer Police Interceptor Utility vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI engines. Improperly brazed turbocharger oil supply tubes may leak oil on engine components.
Remedy Status
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the turbocharger oil supply tubes, free of charge. The recall began on January 31, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S46.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, intermittent, or blank image when the vehicle is in reverse.
Remedy Status
Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA9. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 14, 2025.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rear-view camera became inoperable. The rear-view camera image was blurry, and on occasions, the camera image was blank. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was not available.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rearview camera became inoperable. The contact stated that the rearview camera image intermittently faded out and occasionally was blank. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Flex. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Flex. The contact stated that after the vehicle was parked, it became inoperable, and the Push-to-Start button failed to function. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the parts for the recall repairs were not yet available. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted, and the contact was advised to remove the battery. While attempting to remove the battery, there were sparks coming from the negative terminal. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The contact was concerned that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 220,000.
My vehicle is affected by recall 25V695. Ford dealership confirmed no remedy parts are available and cannot provide a timeline. This vehicle is part of my commercial fleet and I am unable to operate it, resulting in significant financial loss. The manufacturer issued a recall with no available fix, leaving owners stranded indefinitely.
No accident has occurred. Though potential for accident for battery faulty/ electrical failure. The panel (B?) On the driver door with the keypad gets water when it rains and is constantly on. This is affecting the battery causing high density corrosion the connection points. The keypad is constantly on and no longer functions. Potentially affecting locking mechanism
I am reporting repeated structural failures involving Cooper Zeon RS3‑G1 tires (size 255/45R20) installed on my 2016 Ford Flex AWD. These failures include steel belt exposure, rubber separation, and premature carcass breakdown, all occurring at under 30,000 km (~18,600 miles). This represents catastrophic structural failure well before even half of the expected service life for comparable performance all‑season tires. The failures occurred across two separate sets of RS3‑G1 tires under normal driving conditions. The tires were properly inflated, aligned, rotated, and used seasonally. This is not treadwear, misalignment, or maintenance‑related — it is structural degradation of the tire body. Structural separation with exposed belts presents a serious safety hazard, including the potential for sudden air loss or blowout at highway speeds. Risk is further elevated on AWD vehicles due to driveline sensitivity to uneven rolling diameters or abrupt tire failure. I contacted Cooper/Goodyear beginning 03 NOV 2025, providing detailed written documentation of the failures. The only responses received were generic treadwear/warranty templates that did not address the structural issues reported. I explicitly requested written‑only communication and provided a clear response window plus a 2‑week grace period. No substantive written response was ever provided. All defective tires remain mounted on wheels and stored indoors. I have a complete photographic evidence package and a preserved written correspondence record, available upon request.
I am getting a "Transmission Not In Park" error that will also sometimes flash "Door Ajar" while driving. Door appears to be closed - not sure if it's latched, transmission is obviously NOT in park because the car is moving. I'm concerned that this shouldn't be driven and is a safety issue.
My rear camera has stopped working and ford has issue with many models with this same problem.
The car kept misfiring and it completely stoped on me 2 times in the street it also overheated due to the cooling system
Backup camera is malfunctioning and showing not available. Can't see behind the vehicle.
My 2016 Ford Flex’s reverse camera has been shorting out, blinking off and on. If the camera does come on the picture is upside down. This has been happening for over a month and I have not had it looked at. This is similar to the most recent back up camera recall for other Ford vehicles for this year range.
Rear backup camera constantly blacks out or inverts itself.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera displayed an inverted image. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the rear-view camera. The contact was informed that the rear-view camera needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V951000 (Back Over Prevention), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 115,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Flex. The contact stated that the driver’s side seat belt unbuckled independently. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 61,400.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Flex. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the check coolant warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that the engine had experienced coolant intrusion and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 163,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Flex. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The stability control warning light was illuminated, and the "Steering Failure" message was displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and suggested that the contact file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had frightened him because a pedestrian was nearly struck by the vehicle. In addition, the contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the RPM was elevated and then lowered. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 35,000.
Rear back up camera first started flickering in and out when I would go in reverse and now it doesn’t work at all. No warning before it went out just the flickering and now nothing. Then I seen where other vehicles my year had problems with their camera systems and thought it’s probably the same thing.
Backup camera constantly shows a blank screen or distorted upside down image. There was a recall issued today for my model year, but not my specific model. I was quite surprised because I have the identical issue with my vehicle as well. The camera has not worked in close to a year. At first it started to glitch occasionally, but now it never works. The screen is either blank or shows that distorted flipped image.
Showing 1–20 of 25 complaints
The 2016 Ford Flex has 3 recalls recorded by NHTSA.
NHTSA has received 79 owner-reported complaints for the 2016 Ford Flex.
NHTSA has not published a safety rating for the 2016 Ford Flex.
The most commonly reported complaint categories for the 2016 Ford Flex are back over prevention (8 reports), suspension (8 reports), unknown or other (8 reports).
Yes. NHTSA has 3 recalls on record for the 2016 Ford Flex. Scroll up to review the published recall summaries, consequences, and remedies. To check for unrepaired recalls on your specific vehicle, use your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Look up recalls and complaints for any year, make, and model.
This page summarizes publicly available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA by vehicle owners and do not by themselves prove defect severity or vehicle safety. Safety ratings may not be available for all vehicle-years. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any vehicle manufacturer. For official information, visit the official NHTSA page for this vehicle.