Complaint volume
910 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
2021 Ford F-150 Complaints
910 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Ford F-150, grouped by component category.
910 Total complaints
13 Crash reports
4 Fire reports
6 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, exterior lighting, visibility. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 13 crash reports, 4 fire reports, 6 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 203 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 45,841 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to power train, exterior lighting, visibility?
- 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 2021 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.
2021 Ford F-150
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Ford F-150 complaints?
13 Crash
4 Fire
6 Injury
0 Fatality
27 Towed
3 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Ford F-150 complaint categories?
POWER TRAIN 201
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 75
VISIBILITY 64
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 52
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 52
VISIBILITY/WIPER 41
ENGINE 33
STEERING 24
SERVICE BRAKES 19
BACK OVER PREVENTION 18
910 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | There were no reported maintenance problems with the Ford F150 before the fire occurred. On the day of the fire, the vehicle was being driven by an ADOT employee who was east bound on Interstate 8 near mile post 39 when she began to smell smoke. The employee pulled over to the side of the road and observed smoke emanating from the side of the hood. The employee report that she observed little plastic balls of fire dropping down to the ground. The vehicle continued to burn unabated in this rural area for many hours before most combustibles were consumed and the fire self-extinguished itself. The remains of the vehicle and fire damaged contents were then scooped up by ADOT maintenance personnel and taken to the Yuma maintenance yard where it was later inspected. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ENGINE,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | Lower coolant hose is rubbing on a wire loom which caused wear on the coolant hose causing a leak. We experienced loss of coolant and temperature fluctuating, no overheating because employee reported fluctuating. Vehicle was taken to Sames Ford Motor Company and warranty was honored. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | POWER TRAIN | My latest transmission problem is most noticeable in Tow/Haul mode. It is also the most concerning and dangerous. At higher speeds, such as on the interstate, when braking for some reason, such as traffic congestion, the transmission downshifts and the r.p.m. slows as it should. However around 2nd or 3rd gear and 1,900 r.p.m. the engine speed abruptly increases to around 3,500 r.p.m. and then begins to decrease again. This has happened with or without a utility trailer attached. Luckily I have not had my 24 foot car hauler and 5,000 pound limousine behind me on the way to a car show. With or without a trailer, God only knows what would happen if I relied on adaptive cruise control. I don't use it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V142000 (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 |
| Apr 2023 | POWER TRAIN | Heard a loud clanging noise coming from the right rear tire area of the truck. I removed the center cap on my tire and noticed the axel bolt was sheared off. I drove to the dealership, they looked it over and kept the truck to repair it. They have to order the parts and not sure when it will be fixed. They did mention that they had seen another F150 with the same problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | My 2021 F150 XLT with 19,000 miles has never had functioning trailer brakes. Initially I was plagued with constant trailer wiring fault / trailer disconnected issues, and zero slide or pedal brakes, when trying to tow a travel trailer. Two separate dealerships initially dismissed my concerns because it passed their trailer simulator test. Eventually, Ford replaced the trailer wiring harness under warranty. After that, I had intermittent slide brakes that would work, but I never saw any brake output when using the pedal brakes, regardless of gain setting. Ford then replaced the trailer brake controller, which worsened the issue: once again I am getting trailer wiring faults. My slide brakes are extremely hit or miss, and when they do engage they catch and release several times. I still have zero brake output when using the pedal brakes regardless of gain. The dealership consulted a Ford engineer and assured me that my truck is perfect, I should not expect to see brake output for pedal brakes, and all is working as designed. They blamed my trailer. I demanded to test my trailer with a different F150 from the dealership and it works flawlessly - brake output on both slide and pedal brakes, no error codes. It is horrifyingly obvious that I have never had ANY trailer braking functioning with my pedal brakes now that I have compared the braking distance in the loaner truck to my truck. If I had believed Ford, I would be towing a 7,500lb trailer with zero idea that I did not have any trailer brakes. Dealership and corporate are both kicking their feet on a potential fix to this horrifyingly dangerous trailer brake problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the passenger’s side door failed to close properly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer twice; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200. | Crash: No Fire: No | 200 |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | Park/Emergency Brake system light illuminates and system engages when vehicle is placed from drive to park, and when system is shut down the light illuminates and engages. Also, when vehicle is started the park brake light shows to be engaged. When the vehicle is put in reverse the light is still illuminated while the vehicle is backing up. The light stays on while the vehicle is in backward motion. Safety concerns for me and my family are: 1. What if the Park Brake engaged while driving at normal speed - what could happen? 2. With vehicle parked and brake system engaged driver should not be able to put vehicle in reverse and back up without disengaging brake lever. The vehicle was taken to the local dealership service center twice to try to get resolution of the park brake light issue. They were unable to duplicate the issue and stated that according to Ford's maintenance policy there was nothing more that could be done. We have tried to contact Ford through their main customer service phone number. We literally spent hours on the phone trying to reach someone who could help us with the issue, but no one had an answer for us. A case file was made by Ford Customer Service and marked "RESOLVED". It has not been resolved. As stated, the park brake light started showing up in February 2022. As of this time there has not been an incident, but I can't rule out that something might happen. I think it should be addressed by the dealership and/or Ford engineer with more interest than just a dismissal attitude. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | POWER TRAIN | My pickup was at the dealer getting an oil change and tire rotation (23140 miles) and I was informed that the right rear axle bolt had sheared requiring replacement of the axle assembly and that it was not safe for me to drive the vehicle off the lot. This is the second time that the right rear axle bolt has sheared. The first time, the axle assembly was replaced at this same dealer at 14482 miles. I no longer have the original bolt that sheared, I will request the second sheared bolt so it could be inspected if needed. I do not know what the safety ramifications are except to say that both times, Ford said it was not safe for me to drive the truck off the lot. There are numerous reports of rear axle bolts shearing in 2021/2022 F-150s with the Max Tow package (apparently, this package has a different axle configuration) on the Internet. For example: https://www.f150forum.com/f129/2021-powerboost-rear-rotor-axle-bolt-sheared-515460/index21/#post7265683 The vehicle has been inspected (and the axle assembly replaced already once) by my local Ford dealer. It is currently being held by the dealer for the second repair. There were no warning lights, noises or any other indications that the axle bolt had sheared. When the first bolt sheared, I heard a rattle from the right rear tire and I expected to find a broken lug bolt or loose lug nut but instead found the sheared axle bolt. No noises were heard when the second bolt sheared. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EQUIPMENT | While driving with sound volume at normal setting (volume 8), speakers started to pop and static erratically, which startled me, almost causing an accident. The issue will randomly go away, no warning lights on screen or dashboard. The static and pop sounds still continued at volume setting one. The erratic static and pop goes away then it happens again 20 min later. My ears are ringing from the popping sounds | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The 10 speed transmission used in Ford vehicles is plagued with problems to include, skipping gears while shifting, very harsh upshifts and very harsh downshifts. It's just a matter of time when a failure of this transmission will cause a serious accident. My 2021 F150 exhibits this behavior on a frequent basis yet the Ford dealers tell me this behavior is normal. Every Ford F150 owner I have spoken too are experiencing the same problems. Why isn't NHTSA doing anything about this? Or does it only matter when an accident occurs where is loss of life? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I took my 2021 Ford F-150 VIN [XXX] to a 3rd party mechanic for a TX state inspection as required by law. The mechanic told me he could not preform the inspection because my truck would not communicate with his emissions testing computer. He said this has happened many other times with other newer F-150s. As can be seen with NHTSA ID number 10209217 and Manufacturer Communication Number: SSM 50602. It appears Ford via their software and emissions test is only allowing these vehicle’s to be serviced at Ford dealerships which is wrong. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I have been having exhaust fumes coming out of my dashboard ventilation. These carbon monoxide fumes that affects me and my family while driving. Ford is taking this matter very lightly and that concerns me. I'm crying out for your assistance please. The dealership are not equipped to take care of this situation. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | WHEELS | I took my truck in for an oil change and tire rotation one 3/18/23 and currently has ~13,500. Upon pulling the rear drivers side rear tire the axle bolt fell out as it had been sheared off. There was no notice of the issue and as I understand it could have resulted in my right real wheel to have broken off while driving. The dealer immediately took it out of service and currently is searching the fix. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The Cabin recirculation button turns off by it self, lets air in from outside.. ie. smoke, car and truck exhaust.. cold air. this has been going on since I owned the truck and Ford says it is designed to do that.. window anti fog design.. I will get in my truck in the morning and turn heat on to take chill off... low air speed and 2 clicks past half way on the heat and it will only stay on for 1 -5 min and turn off on its own. I drive 1 hour to work on interstate and everytime it turns off I smell exhaust from semi's and other cars around me in traffic. so I have to keep turning it on to keep from getting choked out by the smells from traffic. Ford says no way to turn off.. This is a design flaw.. I know of no other car manufacture that does this.. I have videos of it turning off.. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Driving down the freeway, horn started blaring and power completely went out in car -engine steering etc The dealership is replacing the computer in the vehicle | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield wipers would not turn on during a rain storm. Water with still squirt now but I had no action in the wiper blades and stuck in the rain. Next day windshield wipers were working fine acted like there was a short in the system ! Forward for months and windshield wipers suddenly stopped working in the middle of a blizzard white out conditions! Dealer finally says that the windshield wiper motors gave way !! I looked into this the first time it happened, and there was a major recall due to these motor defects ! My Vin number was not associated with the recall that they had my local Ford company put it by the wayside and they still are because the Soonest they can have it serviced and new fire put in his two months out!! Ridiculous | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY,BACK OVER PREVENTION | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the infotainment screen failed to operate as needed. Due to the failure, the back-over protection camera and defroster system failed to operate. The dealer was initially notified of the failure and informed the contact that the parts for the repair were on backorder. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and the contact was provided the same information as provided by the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 32,000 |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V842000 (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 |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V250000 (Visibility) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. 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. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle for the wiper arm repair, the dealer informed the contact of a recall on the towing package and performed the repair on that instead. After the repair, the contact stated that the ECO boost feature doesn't work. The wiper arm repair is yet to be completed due to the parts still not being available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 25-65 MPH, the tailgate inadvertently opened without driver input. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to Manufacturer Recall Number: 22M08; however, the year, make, and model is not included in this recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 44,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 44,000 |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Heard a small rattle in my wheel for a few weeks. Checked my passenger rear wheel and I had a rear passenger axle bolt sheer off. Took the truck to local, Mac Haik Ford dealership in Georgetown, TX for repairs. Replaced the bolt and rear axle. This is a known issue in online Ford F150 forums.good thing I decided to check it when I did | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V142000 (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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon engaging the A/C, there was an abnormally strong gasoline odor and smoke coming through the A/C vents. The contact also stated the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. The contact stated that he had been performing an oil change every 2,500 miles. The contact stated that there was blue smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 15,000 |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V842000 (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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |