Complaint volume
506 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2020 Ford F-150 Complaints
506 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Ford F-150, grouped by component category.
506 Total complaints
17 Crash reports
3 Fire reports
11 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are power train, engine, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 17 crash reports, 3 fire reports, 11 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 211 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 45,377 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to power train, engine, unknown or other?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2020 Ford F-150?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2020 Ford F-150
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2020 Ford F-150 complaints?
17 Crash
3 Fire
11 Injury
0 Fatality
22 Towed
9 Medical attention
What are the most common 2020 Ford F-150 complaint categories?
POWER TRAIN 160
ENGINE 55
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 35
VISIBILITY 32
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 28
VISIBILITY/WIPER 15
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 14
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 7
STRUCTURE 7
SUSPENSION 7
506 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2023 | POWER TRAIN | Transmission is shifting harshly, slipping, making a clunking noise, and going into neutral when going down the road. It's under warranty and I took it to a Ford dealership in mid August and they said they can't look at it until September 18. In the meantime it continues to do this which is going to cause premature wear and tear on other parts of power train. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Most everytime I start the vehicle, i get asked to confirm settings for the Sync System. I have attached pictures of what the screen says. Sometimes the rear camera works but other times it does not work. Sometimes the system will prompt me while I am driving making the sync navigation unable to be seen on the screen. Sometimes I have a black screen for entire drive with no functions like the backup camera or any other function. Sometimes it shows my reverse camera for my entire drive, even if I never put the truck in reverse. Also the Radio blasts whatever station it feels like which almost caused me to have an accident. I contacted Ford with no timetable for a fix. Was told that this is happening to a lot of vehicles with Sync 3.4. There's a partition on the onboard computer that's responsible for remembering settings that fills up, then you get this behavior constantly - forgetting camera and preset settings, popping up this message, not remembering the last radio station, etc. This is a very dangerous situation that Ford must have not tested for a bug in the Sync system before sending the software update out to be installed in the vehicle. Every time I drive the vehicle, it is dangerous when the sync system malfunctions. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield wipers suddenly started moving very slow moving up and as they go back down they just jerk and take several minutes to go back down. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | POWER TRAIN | Issue: Some 2020 Explorer/Aviator/Police Interceptor Utility vehicles equipped with a 10R60/10R80 automatic transmission may exhibit a harsh engagement/harsh shift/delayed shift with or without an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) or diagnostic trouble codes | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE | Check engine light came on after loud rattle began occurring on acceleration. Took it to dealer who found oil to be 7.9 qts (capacity 8 qt)low since last oil change, less than 5000 miles earlier. Ford has known about this issue on their v8s since 2018 and switched out low oil indicator to conceal problem. Oil loss can cause engine seizure which is dangerous. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | POWER TRAIN,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | while driving truck suddenly decides to go into neutral. this happens twice within an hour. truck is at ford dealership in granada ms. i’m waiting on what they find out | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | POWER TRAIN | Driving at highway speeds, and transmission occasionally slips out of gear and would slam back in. Then transmission will remain stuck in 9th gear and will not shift up and down til vehicle is off for several minutes. Usually it will operate properly for some time after shutting vehicle off some time. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was being inspected, the contact was informed that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The failure persisted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 63,085. | Crash: No Fire: No | 63,085 |
| Aug 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | After work on my way home (clear weather), I was driving my 2020 F150 on the highway with Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) engaged. Suddenly, I noticed that the ACC system was not responding properly to the traffic ahead, and it was not maintaining a safe distance as it usually does. I attempted to disengage the system, but it failed to respond, leaving me unable to control the vehicle's speed manually. Upon investigating, I discovered that the front camera, which is a crucial component of the ACC system, had failed. As a result, the pre-collision feature was also disabled, putting my safety and the safety of other road users at significant risk. Since the failure occurred suddenly and unexpectedly, there were no warning lamps or messages indicating the malfunction before it happened. The issue was not reproducible after the incident. In the meantime, for safety reasons, I have stopped using the ACC system and continue to drive the vehicle with heightened caution. Further more, after a week upon starting my truck, I got "Front camera malfunction" message, and my cruise control, pre-collision assist, and lane keeping assist are not functioning. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE | While driving, the vehicle shut off and displayed a warning on the dash cluster stating that the engine had automatically shut off. It said auto-stop-start was deactivated and that I needed to put the truck in park and then turn the vehicle off and back on to restart. Doing that allowed the vehicle to restart and no malfunction indicators were displayed afterward. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The infotainment system fails to retain configuration settings whereby accustomed “conveniences” have become unavailable such as cell phone hands free operation, back lighting level (nighttime brightness), volume level, audio source, and station presets. The configuration settings occur randomly with each startup of the vehicle and must be re-set in each time or later discovered by the driver while traveling and often lend to distraction and frustration. In reading the Ford F150 Forum online, this is not unique to my vehicle and there are NUMEROUS complaints of this same problem. It is suggested that the problem is either software (Sync 3.4) or hardware (accessory protocol interface module). Some have taken it upon themselves to hack into the system using a rogue interface known as Forscan to correct the problem since Ford is SLOW TO ACKNOWLEDGE the problem. Forscan has vast capabilities that could cause erroneous configuration of anything on the digital communication buses within the vehicle, things set in that could lead to inopportune malfunctions while the vehicle is in operation. There is a possibility that interfacing to the Apple iPhone has caused configuration file corruption (deliberate or accidental). There is also a possibility of APIM chipset failure (deliberate or poor quality). In either case, Ford should have to own up to the problem. It would behoove the NHTSA to investigate this problem for the sake of all motorists. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Trailer brake controller to apply breaks to Trailer is not working and unable to stop safety. Problem has been reproduced with dealership. The trailer control module has been replaced and did not resolve the issue. Still have no trailer brakes. Errors I get is " Trailer disconnected or no trailer hooked up" does this with any trailer I hooked up. Tried with 3 different types. As of right now the dealership does not know what is going on. Everything on my trailer is working according to dealer. I even took trailer to dealership and is there now for testing. It's been a week now and still have no clue what is the problem and spending alot of money to even find the problem that no one knows how to fix. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SEATS | GPS/ RADIO FAILING,UNDER WARRANTY FORD TRIED TO FIX, NEEDS A NEW RADIO BUT DOESN'T KNOW WHEN THEY CAN GET ONE. ALSO CRUSE CONTROL NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY- FORD DEALER REPLACED STEERING WHEEL BUTTONS BUT ON ONE OCCASION WHEN PUSHING THE REDUCE SPEED BUTTON THE TRUCK KEPT ACCELERATING TO 10 MILES ABOVE SPEED LIMIT BEFORE IT DISENGAGED. FORD GARAGE SAID IF THEY CAN'T GET IT TO REPEAT THIS PROBLEM, THEY CAN'T FIX IT. DRIVERS SEAT WHEN PARKED RECLINES ON ITS OWN, AGAIN GARAGE COULD NOT GET IT TO REPEAT THE PROBLEM SO NOT FIXED. POSSIBLE EMERGENCY BRAKE RECALL. TRUCK GIVES NO FAULT CODES. WAS TOLD NOT TO USE CRUSE CONTROL BUT THEN IF IT DOESN'T REPEAT THE PROBLEM FORD WON'T FIX IT. I AND MY WIFE NO LONGER FEEL SAFE IN THE TRUCK AND AM TRYING TO GET FORD TO BUY IT BACK. NO PAPERWORK GIVEN AT THE TIME OF REPAIRS BECAUSE THEY COULD FIX NOTHING. SPITZER FORD IN DUBOIS IS THE GARAGE I USED. 3 YEAR ORIGINAL TRUCK WARRANTY WILL SOON EXPIRE, I BELIEVE IN SEPTEMBER OR EARLY OCTOBER OF 2023. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Having issues with sync 3. Radio default settings are not being saved, phone will not stay connected, sync auto update confirmbscreen appears at every vehicle start up, voice command will not work for phone calls, some times when using "call person abc" the system navigation wants to start up. Sync boot up is very slow to start up. I attempted system master rest working with Ford customer care. The sync system went screen blank and locked up. I eventually had to disconnect battery to final get a successful boot up. This seemed to clear up issues for about 1 week then all symptoms came back but worse. I brought this to dealer three times. First two times they could not reproduce issues but tried master rest of sync 3. This was only a short term fix (a couple days at best). They were very helpful but were having very difficult time to reproduce. Third time they finally got APIM to fail. Prior to replacing module dealer called me back and said they just had another customer come in with similar F150 to mine stating same issues. Dealer investigated again and found that we both had the same over the air updates pushed to our vehicles within a 2 week time frame around February to March 2023. Dealer believes Ford may have sent out corrupt update. The recommendation by dealer was to wait a month or so to see if Ford pushes out new update. They did not feel by replacing APIM would resolve if software was corrupt. It has now been about 30 days and no news of any new sync 3 updates. Issue has progressively gotten worse to the point that I have to reload my phone everytime I start my truck and hope maybe it will work with voice activated hands free feature. Radio still will not hold previous settings in memory and system auto update screen consistently pops up with every vehicle restart. Attempted to to manual software updates but it reports my sync software is up to date. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The F150 was in a Park position while running in our driveway and lunged forward hitting our 2022 Toyota Highlander causing over $11,000 in damage on bother vehicles. ($1,428.69 Truck/ $9,000 estimate for Highlander). The vehicle was taken to Mooresville Ford on June 21, 2023 (earliest appointment available for this issue) to evaluate and repaired the transmission and transaxle. (Currently a class-action lawsuit was filed (Orndorff, et al. V Ford Motor Company concerning this same issue). We believe either this malfunction caused the F150 to unexpectedly lunge forward or another malfunction caused the F150 to lunge forward. We called Ford Headquarters and was told to file a claim with our insurance company. Very Unresponsive! We recently discovered a recall "where a partially seated clip may allow the transmission to be in a gear stated different from the gearshift position selected by the driver. this could allow the drive to move the shifter to Park and removed the ignition key, without the transmission gear actually being in Park. The vehicle could move unintentionally. (Article by Jimmy Dinsmore, April 7, 2020 in Torguenews.com). Also, in some cases the complainants have reported the gearbox slip and enter Park from Drive, stalling the engine. This issue has also caused the truck to lunge forward, causing unintended acceleration. (Article in Carhp.com March 9, 2022). We strongly believe one of the above named issues caused our vehicle to lunge forward causing over $11,000 worth of damage and would like to be reimbursed. We have had no luck with Ford and would like help from you. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Ford issued an update for the sync 3 system (3.4) and now the radio / camera system resets on each start up. When this happens, the back up camera feed gets hung up and freezes, causing either a collision unknowingly or difficulty on backing with a trailer. The radio loses most of the settings that are usually saved. There is a whole internet discussion about this problem and it seems that the memory does not overwrite and causes the system to reset each time. Ford has not addressed this issue with an update yet. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Did not receive recall info from Ford | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION | The Sync 3 system has been rendered useless by recent software upgrade by Ford. Rear camera sporactically remains on when moving in forward direction. Pop-up messages requiring driver conformation occur after vehicle startup. Navigation, phone, radio are all associated with upgrade. Ford has acknowledged problem and stated that they are working on a software upgrade, none is available at this time. Ford will replace the ATIM which corrects the problem. The ATIM will be replaced under warranty. Vehicles out of warranty can have ATIM replaced at owner expense (+$1000). I find the Sync 3 system's random operation a distraction while driving and a safety hazard. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact's company owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The company received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V250000 (Visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated the vehicle decelerated with an abnormal rattling sound. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the cam phaser needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 70,000 |
| Jun 2023 | POWER TRAIN | My 2020 Ford F-150 with the 10R80 transmission has been involved in transmission failures on multiple occasions. The last 2 incidents nearly resulted in car accidents. I had complete power failure while moving through an intersection and was narrowly avoided by another vehicle that thankfully was able to steer clear of my decelerating truck. I would have been hit on the driver side at around 45 mph. my vehicle rolled to a stop after hitting the curb on the other side of the road. I then sat with the truck off for 5 minutes, then turned it back on, got power back, and drove straight to the dealership. Lights flickered on the screen indicators saying "Pre Collision off, wrench light on, and complete loss of the gear screen." Ford had the truck for 2 weeks and replaced the transmission wiring harness saying there was a loose connection. The day after I picked the truck up I was accelerating from a stopped position at a light. Around 7th gear and around 45 mph the entire truck suddenly downshifted into 1st gear with a loud bang causing me to launch forward. It almost felt like my truck hit something as I went from 45 mph to about 20 mph in one second. The vehicle behind me honked his horn, slammed on his brakes, and swerved around me into the other lane - another accident narrowly avoided. I pulled over shut the truck down, turned it back on and drove some 10 miles never going over 40 mph. The wrench light was on. The drive modes were unavailable. The gear shift screen was gone. I was not able to get more than 3,000 rpms while driving giving me very little acceleration. Ford currently has the vehicle again. I am terrified to get back in this truck. There appears to be NO SOLUTION to the problems and I simply can't risk my life or someone else's by taking a chance of driving this truck again. Ford knows there are transmission problems. They are unable to solve it. I do not know what to do as I still have $44,000 to pay it off. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the air bag cover on the steering wheel was cracked. The contact stated that no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the cover was replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact stated that the failure recurred approximately 6-8 months later and was awaiting the repair part to be delivered to the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised that the repair was covered under warranty. The failure mileage was unknown. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Tailgate unexpectedly opens. This has been going on the duration of ownership. Had items blow out. Had the “fix” done on it. 5 days later, tailgate opened again. Again, item blew out. Concerned about this bc it could cause an issue while towing and not allowing vehicle to turn properly due to tailgate hitting trailer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | My check engine light came on. Vehicle would not operate. Checked oil and it was down over 5 quarts of oil but I still had 2,000 miles until oil change was needed. Took to Hiller Ford with excessive oil consumption complaint. New oil dipstick, oil plug, oil change, and reprogrammed PCM. Returned at later date with same issue. Was told to monitor oil levels and sent on my way. Returned to Hiller at a later date with even faster consumption than earlier visits. Was told I had to pay for oil change and come back in 2,000 miles. At 1,000 miles engine sounded rough so I returned to Hiller Ford who agreed the oil was low. They topped off oil abs told me to come back in another 1,000 miles. 500 miles later I checked oil and barely appeared on the dipstick. I returned to Hiller Ford who agreed my truck was consuming oil faster than it should per Ford specs. Hiller kept my vehicle and ran compression test and then scoped my motor to observe damages. Hiller said that I needed a new motor and it falls under warranty and has been approved by Ford. They then followed up with the new motor would not be available for 18 months. I was told that no rental reimbursement allowance and that I'd have to operate my non conformity vehicle for 18 months. Operating this vehicle is unsafe and is prone to cause damage to other components of the vehicle. Engine could over heat causing its to seize or even start on fire. The increased emissions are not only bad for the environment but would decrease fuel efficiency and be very costly having to add a quart of oil every 500 miles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | After heavy rain storms in Colorado water started pouring through the passenger side floorboard of my vehicle. I pulled off the molding by the doors, the wires were buried in water, then I started getting a powertrain error. This is the second time that I have received the power train error, although the dealership is telling me that they cannot find a problem. I am also being told that TSB 19-2345 does not apply to my Vin although it seems to be ant least part of issue. My carpet is now musty and I cannot seem to get it to dry as the leak continues. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |