Ford Ford Truck Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 287 consumer complaints across the 16 model years of the Ford Ford Truck (1988–2003) that have at least 5 complaints. 2002 has the most, with 37. Across all years, the part named most often is tires (55 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
Best and worst Ford Truck years →
All Ford Truck 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 12 | 50,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 2002 | 37 | 56,645 | 0 | 0 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2001 | 20 | 50,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 2000 | 25 | 64,000 | 0 | 0 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1999 | 33 | 69,200 | 0 | 0 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1998 | 25 | 109,436 | 0 | 0 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1997 | 34 | 90,000 | 0 | 0 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1996 | 18 | 65,950 | 0 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 1995 | 21 | 130,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 1994 | 15 | 52,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 1993 | 7 | 162,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1992 | 10 | — | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1991 | 9 | — | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1990 | 8 | 178,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1989 | 6 | 3,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1988 | 7 | — | 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.
- Tires55 24%
- Engine cooling45 20%
- Transmission and drivetrain41 18%
- Electrical system22 9.6%
- Brakes18 7.8%
- Fuel system17 7.4%
- Vehicle speed control16 7.0%
- Body and structure16 7.0%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2002: “Driving my vehicle with my 2 children 2 and 10 year. Dropping the 2 year old off to school. Stop the vehicle go to put the shift gear into park, breaks right off in hand, if the rubber wasn't around it, I could have walked out of the car with it. I was stuck there keeping my foot on the brakes because the gear was also stuck between reverse and park.”
NHTSA complaint #10212470, filed 2007-12, 27,600 miles2001: “On november 7th I was inspecting my brakes and found that all the rubber seals in the front end were worn out or better still the rubber was crumbley and no grease remained. I have 63,000 miles on the 2001 Ford xlt ranger. It seems that this would be a factory inferior product installation at the factory. What recourse do I have.”
NHTSA complaint #10208402, filed 2007-11, 50,000 miles2000: “I own a 2000 Ford excursion (4 wheel drive). On three occasions the cruise control has gone on automatically causing the vehicle to accelerate. During the most recent event my wife almost hit another vehicle. I will contact the dealership first thing monday morning, but thought you should have this info on the vehicle.”
NHTSA complaint #10132757, filed 2005-08, 73,500 milesOther Ford models
38,931 complaintsFord Explorer
34,642 complaintsFord Escape
27,557 complaintsFord Fusion
22,451 complaintsFord Focus
22,108 complaintsFord Taurus
18,165 complaintsFord Windstar
14,152 complaintsFord Edge
14,112 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology