2025 Ford F-150 Problems

What owners report

Complaints on this model year cluster around two very different areas: driver-assistance and speed-control behavior (adaptive cruise, BlueCruise hands-free steering, speed-sign recognition and unintended braking or acceleration) and the brake system, where owners describe sudden loss or release of brake assist. A separate, largely low-mileage group concerns the electronic shifter and gear selection, including shifts into park that lock the truck, and instrument panel/electrical faults. Many reports come in under about 10,000 miles, and much of the sampled mileage is short of the odometer readings typically seen on older trucks.

1. 1
   Brakes

   Brake assist loss, ABS activation or auto-hold faults

   • 24 complaints (22%)
   • median 5,330 mi at 1.1 yrs old (5 state mileage, few)
   • 4 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2025–2026

   Complaints describe the brake pedal going to the floor with little or no response, ABS activating unexpectedly in slow traffic and the truck lurching forward instead of stopping, and fault messages for brake system or parking brake service appearing at random. Some owners report the electronic park brake or auto-hold engaging or releasing on its own. Dealers reportedly found module or software faults in some cases and could not reproduce the symptom in others. Reported at low miles, often under 10,000, in both low-speed traffic and highway driving.

   Recall 25V823000Recall 25V4880002 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask whether both electronic brake booster recalls were completed, check for stored brake and ABS codes, and test the auto-hold and electronic parking brake at a stop.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “issues with my 2025 f150 tremor when I applied my brakes firmly, really not that hard ( not hard enough to skid) my truck locked into park and I wasn’t even able to put it back into a gear with a flashing message! Couldn’t get it back into gear for about 30 sec to 60 sec until a message stopped flashing. Had this happened in traffic or on a freeway this could have been really bad especially in traffic. Very dangerous!”

   NHTSA complaint #11747019, filed 2026-06

   “I have repeatedly received an error on my vehicle dashboard stating 1 pedal drive fault: Press break pedal to reduce speed . I have taken my vehicle to the dealer twice for this and was told both times that it was not reproducible and therefore nothing that could be fixed. I was told there was an active recall and that it has been repaired. Today after coming to a complete stop I let go of the break and the vehicle suddenly forcefully lurched forward without me stepping on the accelerator almost resulting in an accident. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11729193, filed 2026-04
2. 2
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Shifter stuck or jumping into park; reverse gear concerns

   • 27 complaints (25%)
   • median 62,691 mi at 1.6 yrs old (2 state mileage, few)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2025–2026

   Owners describe the console shifter or gear selection locking in drive or reverse, the truck refusing to shift out of park, and the transmission shifting itself into park when a door is opened or shortly after stopping. Some were told the gear shift module needed replacement, with parts back-ordered. Others describe waiting on recall parts for a transmission valve body remedy. Appears at very low mileage, from a few hundred miles upward, and in a case past 100,000 miles.

   Recall 25V164000Recall 25V5120001 related service bulletin

   What to check: Ask whether the transmission valve body recall and any gear shift module bulletin were addressed, and cycle the shifter through all gears, including park and reverse, during the test drive.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “When I am parking the truck, I press and hold the brake pedal, While the truck shifter in in Drive , I press the start/stop button to shut truck down, the shifter gets stuck in drive and doesn't automatically shift in to park. The truck locks down and will NOT operate as the shifter locks in drive and won't shift. This happened to me while travelling and was stuck in middle of no where for hours. Here are some troubleshooting tips from various Reddit posts... …”

   NHTSA complaint #11723026, filed 2026-03

   “1st incident: shift lever on centre consul froze in recessed position and vehicle could not be shifted into gear. Mileage at 500. 2nd incident: Mileage at 1600. With engine running, shift lever froze in reverse gear and couldn't be moved. If this happen on a busy street or highway, something serious could occur, even life threatening.”

   NHTSA complaint #11651583, filed 2025-03
3. 3
   Forward collision avoidance

   Phantom braking or unintended acceleration with cruise /

   • 19 complaints (17%)
   • median 8,350 mi at 1.2 yrs old (4 state mileage, few)
   • 7 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2025–2026

   Owners describe the truck braking hard on its own, sometimes after the adaptive cruise or hands-free system misreads a speed-limit sign, and sometimes with the brakes locking momentarily while cruising a clear road. Others report the opposite: sudden acceleration without pressing the accelerator, including in parking lots with one-pedal drive engaged, at low speed or after leaving the accelerator. Several owners took the truck to a dealer and were told the behavior could not be duplicated or that no codes were stored. Mostly reported in the first several thousand miles, from parking-lot speeds up to highway speeds.

   Recall 25V488000Recall 25V8230002 related service bulletins

   What to check: Drive the truck with adaptive cruise and one-pedal drive engaged on varied roads and watch for uncommanded braking or surging; ask the dealer whether cruise-control and camera software updates were applied.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I'm not sure what failed but a Google search with symptoms tells me it's a throttle-by-wire malfunction. The F150 truck accelerates immediately and aggresively to full throttle when I floor the gas peddle to merge traffic on freeways. It continues at full throttle regardless what I do. Braking gives a pop up window on the dash that reads Brake Applied Power Reduced , and the brakes do slow the vehicle and even stop it but the engine revs at full throttle. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11749740, filed 2026-07

   “I was turning right, out of a store parking lot onto the street, at very low speed. Suddenly the truck accelerated on its own. I had to quickly hit the brake to prevent striking a vehicle in front of me that had stopped for a red traffic signal. I believe there is a possibility that Ford's new method of activating cruise control (which now only requires a single button press after which the truck will set current speed OR 15 MPH, whichever is greater) could be to blame. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11704439, filed 2025-12
4. 4
   Electrical system

   Blank or flickering instrument cluster and electrical faults

   • 18 complaints (17%)
   • median 6,500 mi at 1.3 yrs old (3 state mileage, few)
   • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2025–2026

   Complaints describe the instrument cluster going dark or flickering so that speed, gear and turn signals are unavailable, sometimes after a software update. Others report warning messages for trailer module, blind spot or brake faults, a center display that stays blank after startup, and in one report smoke from the instrument panel. Some owners were told the cluster was reset or that the fault could not be reproduced. Reported from the first months of ownership, typically under 25,000 miles, and sometimes following a recall software update.

   Recall 25V540000Recall 26V1040003 related service bulletins

   What to check: Start the truck and confirm the cluster and center display come up fully, and ask whether instrument panel and trailer module software updates or recalls were completed.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The electronic instrument cluster went completely dark and would not come on after turning off the vehicle and locking and unlocking the truck. The dealer reset the cluster, but claims it was simply overloaded. This is a major drivability issue as there is no speedometer, no indication of what gear one is in, and the turn signals are inoperable. This is a known problem with no solution.”

   NHTSA complaint #11675502, filed 2025-07

   “While traveling on vacation April 15, my 2025 F150 truck suffered a total loss of forward momentum on the highway and in city of Los Angeles —a severe safety failure. The repairing Ford dealership, diagnosed a factory-born OPEN in the main wiring harness (#14A005) behind the dash (DTCs P2128/P2138). To rectify this assembly-line defect, the dealership had to completely remove the dashboard (Instrument Panel). …”

   NHTSA complaint #11734085, filed 2026-04
5. 5
   Other or unknown

   Back or panoramic glass shattering

   • 6 complaints (6%)
   • typically at 1.7 yrs old
   • filed 2025–2026

   Owners report the rear window or panoramic sunroof glass breaking on its own, sometimes described as a loud pop with fragments pushed outward and glass landing in the bed. Most say there was no impact or sign of vandalism, and some mention hot weather or highway travel beforehand. A dealer inspection reportedly confirmed no impact in one case. Described on trucks at low mileage, often within the first year, sometimes after the truck sat in high heat.

   What to check: Inspect the rear glass and sunroof edges for chips, stress marks or prior replacement, and ask whether either panel has been replaced.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Got into the Truck on Thursday 7/2/26. When I shut my door I heard what sounded like something falling out of the bed of the truck. When I got out to investigate I realized the back glass of the truck had shattered and was laying in the bed of the truck. There was no indication of vandalism, the glass had pushed out from the inside, apparently related to the recent high heat in my area. i parked the truck on 6/30 and the morning of 7/2 was when i found the shattered rear glass.”

   NHTSA complaint #11748436, filed 2026-07

   “Traveling on 2 lane road with no vehicles ahead or behind—full roof sun roof glass exploded, loud gunshot sound and broken glass. Remaining glass bowed up and a lot of glass blow back on to bed cover. I walked several hundred feet on both sides of road and no cause apparent—no lawn or weed trimming happening. Clearly this exploded inside out.”

   NHTSA complaint #11738640, filed 2026-05

Buying note. Ask for the recall and service history, particularly the electronic brake booster, transmission valve body and instrument cluster campaigns, and confirm the parts were actually installed. A thorough test drive covering adaptive cruise, one-pedal drive, auto-hold and the shifter through all gears is worth the time before committing.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.