Complaint volume
908 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
908 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Ford F-150, grouped by component category.
908 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 200
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
908 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | There is no fix or remedy available for this recalled fuel problem. The recall and fuel pump replacement isn't available and is taking too long. There is hesitation due to this issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2026 | STEERING | Was driving and all the sudden the steering went out. Was really hard to steer and almost crashed. Very dangerous. Came up "Steering Assist Fault" | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1. Electrical System Failure: While traveling on highway, alternator failed suddenly within 2 minutes of “service soon” and “check electrical system” warnings. Caused complete loss of motive power, electronic parking brake locked up while driving, loss of power steering, all gauges failed, transmission shifted into park while in motion. Battery was damaged (“fried”). Engine continued running for several minutes after stop without ability to shut off ignition. Incident documented by Ohio State Highway Patrol. 2. Seat Belt Issue: Driver-side seat belt interlock sticks in unlocked position, creating risk of failure to lock during a crash. 3. Electronic Parking Brake: Intermittently engages while vehicle is moving downhill to a stop (mostly at or below 5 mph). Parking brake light flashes three times then turns solid while in motion. Ford TSB indicates vehicle not eligible for related recall. 4. Infotainment System: Intermittently freezes, requiring forced reboot. Preceded by audio glitches, laggy dash computerized systems. 5. Transmission: Severe clunk and physical jolt when decelerating from ~30 mph to 8 mph. Also occurs during acceleration, particularly upshifts from 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th gears, more pronounced when turning. 6. 4WD System: Intermittently fails to disengage from 4WD HI to 2WD HI. “Failure to shift” message appears several minutes after command to return to 2WD HI. 7. Front Differential/Axle: Previously, faulty front differential housing fractured due to system malfunction, causing intermittent loss of front driveline engagement in 4WD LO (250-500ms delay then re-engagement under throttle). Ford replaced front differential and axle under warranty after vehicle out of service for 2.5 months. Abbreviations: 4WD HI = 4-Wheel Drive High Range; 2WD HI = 2-Wheel Drive High Range; TSB = Technical Service Bulletin. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2026 | STRUCTURE | My 2021 Ford F-150 Lariat has a door latch defect that occurs in freezing or near-freezing temperatures. The failure occurs without warning in cold conditions, causing the door latch to freeze and not fully engage. When this happens, the door is able to freely swing open while the vehicle is in motion and also freely open when the vehicle is parked. This creates a serious safety hazard, including the risk of occupant ejection and loss of vehicle control. The vehicle has no aftermarket modifications and is maintained per manufacturer recommendations. The issue is temperature-dependent and has occurred on multiple occasions. Ford has issued recalls for similar door latch freezing defects on multiple other Ford vehicles and model years. Despite this, my vehicle has not been included, even though it exhibits the same failure mode. This defect presents a significant safety risk and should be investigated for potential recall inclusion. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2026 | POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Giving an error of reverse assist and not available when starting truck and when placing truck in reverse. Have look up to seen if included in the recall that was issued 6 days ago. Have called dealership to confirm that not part of recall. The message just showed up last night. This truck should be included in the recall | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2026 | POWER TRAIN | I had my 2021 F-150 into the local ford dealership not even a year ago due to a shifting issue. I was on the interstate and passing a car in the passing lane on the interstate and my truck shifted so hard I thought I lost something and then kinds lost power for a minute. The dealership ran a test on it, and it failed. It was some type of valve that was bad I guess ford and GM are having the issue. Now I am starting to have the same issue on now it is down around 4th to 3rd or 3rd to 2nd gear, but when it shifts once in a while it is a very hard shift and it scares the hell out of you. Now once in a while when I go to shift from drive to park or drive to reverse the shifter will not move. Like I said I am getting ready to get ahold of the dealership again and get it in to be looked at I am just waiting for winter to be over. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | My vehicle loses power when turning into traffic, when stopping and taking off. There have been SEVERAL close calls when pulling into traffic as my vehicle will stall out and won't accelerate causing traffic to have to swerve to miss hitting me. I am going to end up getting hit one of these days. Also, it is very dangerous on snow and ice. When trying to accelerate, it cuts out losing power. Keeping my foot on the accelerator, it will eventually get power amd take off unexpectedly and fast. This causes a hazardous issue as well. I have tried to get Ford to buy back the truck or trade for a different one but they refuse to do anything. This is my only transportation and I have to drive it. I am going to end up seriously injured or dying if my truck stalls out in traffic. I can't travel with my grandson because I would be risking his safety. Please make Ford Company replace or buy back my truck and full loan pay off. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | ENGINE | My son is a mechanic and realized there was an issue. He found this issue: The engine loss compression on number four-cylinder severe power loss inspected; found damage to top of number four piston, most likely due to valve failure. He took to Ford dealership in Tuscaloosa, AL. They agreed with the assessment. Ford Motor Co.would not repair, stating this issue was not caused by recall. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | The transmission shifts hard when downshifting from 10th gear on the highway. There is a loud audible clunk that you can also physically feel. Also when shifting around 3rd gear during city driving there is the same problem. Both of these could lead to loss of traction/vehicle control. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Two things, the dash stopped displaying speed. As I was driving the dash glitched out and the digital speed would not display. It started only showing the top half of how fast I was going. Then it completely went out. Second, the radio also glitches. Won't let me change station or sources. I usually have to turn the truck off for 10 to 15 minutes, then it starts fixing the issues. This has been an ongoing problem. And no recalls for this issue have been placed | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | ENGINE | Excessive oil consumption. Consumes more than 1 quart of oil every 5k miles | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | 10 Speed transmission jumps at highway speeds, clunks when stopping, and slips when cold. I've had it to the dealer and they replaced the torque converter, and I've had it back several more times. The garage refuses to allow another appointment since Ford engineers say the slipping and jumping is within specs and since no lights or warnings are noted I just have to live with it. The mechanics can feel it but are helpless to do anything about it. Ford refuses to fix it and it is a well-known problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | My truck has harsh shifting when I accelerate and when I slow down. It skips out of gear into neutral and then goes back into gear. I believe the problem is that my system isn’t communicating with the transmission correctly.There weren’t any warning messages before or after this problem started. I did some research, and my model and year of my truck do have a problem like this no dealership or service center has not inspected this problem | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Here is what happened on Feb 21st 2026 at about 8:00 AM MST. We were driving east in the mountains on I-70 in Colorado approaching the Eisenhower tunnel. The truck had been parked in a heated garage overnight. There had been some snow the night before which had been melted by sand and salt, so the road was wet and messy. The vehicles ahead and around my truck were kicking up a mist of water and sand and dirt. My windshield quickly became covered and obstructed. I attempted to apply some windshield washer fluid, but nothing came out. To make matters worse, the wipers automatically turned on turning the speckled dirt and sand to be smeared across the windshield making it almost impossible to see. The smear was too dry that any further wiper action did nothing to clear the windshield. This happened while entering the tunnel. In the dark or the tunnel I could barely see the road – only by ducking way low and peeking through a small portion of the windshield below the wiper smear. There is no place to pull over inside the tunnel. As we exited the tunnel, we were facing the east sun which lit up the smear and made the windshield completely obscured - even my last tiny piece. We were still at 50 MPH with surrounding traffic. My only option was to ease right and hope the emergency lane was clear. I had to hang my head out the side window to determine how far to ease right. It was a miracle we were able to pull off and not hit any other vehicles and come to a stop (I was completely blind). I tried the washer fluid many more times but nothing. I opened the hood and verified I had plenty of fluid and that it was liquid and not frozen. I checked the spray outlets and made sure they were not blocked in any way. Nothing. The washer spray would not work. After turning the truck off and back on - the washer/wipers worked fine. I believe this is a software issue. My family and I were quite shaken up. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V896000 (Power Train); 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH and leaving a parking lot, there was an abnormally loud banging sound coming from the rear end of the vehicle, before the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road and the vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the rear axle bolts had fractured. The contact was informed that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V896000 (Power Train); and the VIN was included; however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired, and the contact was referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | My truck has had both rear axle bolts broken since October of 2025. This is part of the recall 23S65/23V896 for the max tow axles. My dealer ordered parts in October, yet they're still supposidly on national backorder from Ford. New vehicles are coming off the assembly line with these axles every day, and I can find several OEM parts websites online selling the fixed axles, yet Ford continues to tell me that I need to wait longer. This is a safety issue since both of my rear axle bolts are broken, so if the axle were to slip out of the splines I could lose all power. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was parked on the shoulder of the roadway. The following day, the vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with rear axle failure. The contact was informed that the rear axle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the parts were on back order. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V896000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 137,192. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 137,192 |
| Feb 2026 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V455000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked abnormally. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired due to parts not being available. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 98,000 |
| Feb 2026 | ENGINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated with an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine compartment. The Ford App indicated a timing failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact believed that the failure was associated with an undisclosed recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 58,000 |
| Feb 2026 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle started jerking abnormally while attempting to accelerate. The vehicle was driven to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and the failure was associated with NHTSA ID Number: 25V455000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 113,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V896000 (Power Train). The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the passenger’s side rear axle shaft assembly had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer informed the contact that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unavailable. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I've been having issues with the vehicle having a lag when accelerating. Upon leaving Arizona and traveling to Oklahoma I proceeded to pass a vehicle and upon accelerating there was a delay causing a near collision 3 different times. I've contacted the dealership and Ford Corporation and they just keep pushing the issue off. 7 months and still no remedy for the fuel pump issue that they have a recall for. Their solution is for me to pay for parts and labor to have a new fuel pump installed which will not fix the problem because it will be the same style of pump that the recall is on and they want me to pay for it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | POWER TRAIN | Vehicle: 2021 Ford F-150 (VIN: [XXX] ). The vehicle has been undrivable due to since Aug 4, 2025 and is currently at a Ford dealer in Amarillo, TX. Ford/dealer state it is undrivable due to a recall condition and that parts are not available / no ETA for remedy. Component: rear axle nuts and axle shafts, axle shafts are stripped, may cause rollaway or power loss while driving ,according to Ford. The vehicle has been inspected by Ford at Tri-State Ford in Amarillo, TX where the vehicle has been held since August 4th, 2025. Ford says the axles are under the recall, the recall claims parts are available, but the Amarillo Ford (Tri-State Ford) has NOT fixed the vehicle and states they have no idea when they will get the parts. Ford also sent a message several months ago saying they have no ideal when the parts will be available. Request: NHTSA review the recall remedy delay leaving vehicles undriveable for extended periods. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2026 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while stopped, the vehicle hesitated and shuddered while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle stopped in the middle of the road and failed to move even while in neutral(N). Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a defective fuel pump. The contact was informed that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V455000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The contact was provided with an estimate for the repair, which the contact approved. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 60,000 |