Ford Flex Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 1,941 consumer complaints across the 11 model years of the Ford Flex (2009–2019) that have at least 5 complaints. 2013 has the most, with 580. Across all years, the part named most often is electrical system (396 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All Flex 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 257 | 50,000 | 4 | 50 | 50 · Typical | Rising |
| 2018 | 69 | 60,000 | 3 | 64 | 31 · Fewer | Rising |
| 2017 | 42 | 78,500 | 4 | 82 | 0 · Fewer | Rising |
| 2016 | 101 | 62,155 | 3 | 87 | 29 · Fewer | Rising |
| 2015 | 115 | 56,800 | 4 | 54 | 53 · Typical | Stable |
| 2014 | 249 | 65,000 | 4 | 54 | 78 · More | Falling |
| 2013 | 580 | 65,000 | 6 | 70 | 100 · More | Falling |
| 2012 | 64 | 65,006 | 2 | 47 | 25 · Fewer | Stable |
| 2011 | 144 | 73,500 | 2 | 44 | 51 · Typical | Stable |
| 2010 | 139 | 72,000 | 1 | 37 | 47 · Typical | Stable |
| 2009 | 181 | 60,000 | 1 | 23 | 73 · More | Falling |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Electrical system396 20%
- Steering381 19%
- Other or unknown262 13%
- Back-over prevention (rear camera)240 12%
- Body and structure194 9.9%
- Fuel system193 9.9%
- Engine183 9.4%
- Suspension107 5.5%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2009: “I was driving about 45 mile per hr. Then my Ford FLEX started to stall so I had it towed to a near by repair shop , they looked over my vehicle and they came to the conclusion, that the water pimp had failed and coolant entered the block, so there for the engine needed to be replace. We are now in the process of the repair invoice 369486 02/28/2020”
NHTSA complaint #11317747, filed 2020-03, 133,615 miles2012: “Wife returned to her car after a day of driving to find the power steering had suddenly stopped working. She decided to drive it home and it had moments where the power steering functioned and luckily she got it home. I contacted Ford but they advised me that there is no active bulletin for this particular model so we would just need to fix it.”
NHTSA complaint #11360858, filed 2020-09, 84,500 miles2014: “I was driving and the car stopped all of a sudden in the middle of residential street at 6 am and when I tried to re-start it, it would crank but would not turn over and start back up so I could move it. I had to push it out of the middle of the street. I had to have it towed to the shop and they said it was the fuel pump control module.”
NHTSA complaint #11315874, filed 2020-03, 56,450 milesOther Ford models
38,897 complaintsFord Explorer
34,624 complaintsFord Escape
27,530 complaintsFord Fusion
22,441 complaintsFord Focus
22,107 complaintsFord Taurus
18,162 complaintsFord Windstar
14,152 complaintsFord Edge
14,106 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology