Ford F Series (heavy) Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 20 consumer complaints across the 3 model years of the Ford F Series (heavy) (1999–2002) that have at least 5 complaints. 2000 has the most, with 8. Across all years, the part named most often is transmission and drivetrain (4 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All F Series (heavy) model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 7 | 70,500 | 0 | 1 | — | Not enough data |
| 2000 | 8 | 91,930 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1999 | 5 | 109,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Transmission and drivetrain4 20%
- Tires3 15%
- Steering3 15%
- Engine cooling3 15%
- Body and structure2 10%
- Fuel system2 10%
- Engine2 10%
- Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)1 5.0%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2002: “Spark plug blow out. # 2 plug passenger side.this happened yesterday march 11,2011. My truck has 37,000 miles on it. This is a Ford f-150, 7700 series with a 5.4 engine.where is the recall on this truck.after reading all the problems,with the same thing. What a slap in the face by Ford. And yet no recall mandated by the feds. What a country we live in?”
NHTSA complaint #10389910, filed 2011-03, 37,400 miles2000: “2000 f250 sd 7.3 diesel incident date 2/15/2010 2/12/2010 I took my truck into the dealer to get a oil change and a recall fixed on the cruise control. That morning when I started it up, it had a noise when I turned the wheel, when I brought it in, they said the gasket on my power steering had gone bad, and I needed a complete replacement of my power steering pump. Now is when the real problem starts... I had not experienced this problem prior to the dealer visit. …”
NHTSA complaint #10311006, filed 2010-02, 103,710 miles1999: “My truck started making a noise and slowly got worse over about 6000 miles. I brought it into Ford and the said it was pistion slap or a bad bearing. They tolsd me it wouldnt affect the performance or the truck and it is a fairly common problem. So I told them I wanted to trade it in and they said they didnt want it because it was making noise. Help!!!”
NHTSA complaint #10039617, filed 2003-09, 68,000 milesOther Ford models
38,924 complaintsFord Explorer
34,638 complaintsFord Escape
27,553 complaintsFord Fusion
22,450 complaintsFord Focus
22,108 complaintsFord Taurus
18,165 complaintsFord Windstar
14,152 complaintsFord Edge
14,109 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology