Ford Expedition Years to Avoid — and the Years to Buy
Every Ford Expedition model year from 1991 to 2026, benchmarked against each other with 11,926 federal complaints, 86 recall campaigns, and the odometer readings owners put in their reports.
Avoid: 1997–2001, 2003. These years top the Expedition's complaint rankings by volume and severity.
Safer bets: 2007–2016, 2021–2022 — the quietest years with at least four years on the road.
The method in one line: every NHTSA complaint for this model is counted, weighted for crashes, fires, injuries, and deaths, and each year is measured against the Expedition's own worst year — full methodology.
Under investigation. Federal regulators currently have 2 open defect investigations on the Ford Expedition.
Component: NONE
NHTSA is opening this Audit Query (AQ) to investigate NU Car Rentals (NU Car) for compliance with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.The Safety Act requires that a rental company shall not rent a vehicle subject to a safety recall unless the recall remedy has been…
Model years named: 2021
Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
On September 23, 2020, Ford Motor Company (Ford) filed a noncompliance recall report under 49 CFR Part 573 (NHTSA Recall No. 20V-575), recalling 620,246 Model Year (MY) 2020 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Explorer, Mustang, Transit, Expedition, Escape, Ranger and Edge, and Lincoln Nautilus…
Model years named: 2020
An investigation is not a recall; it may close with no action. All open investigations →
The trouble strip
One cell per model year. The whole answer in one glance — click any year for the full report.
The defining problem
Engine tops the Ford Expedition file with 2,024 complaints, concentrated in the 1998–2001, 2003, 2006 model years, most often reported around 94,017 miles. The year pages break down what fails and when.
Every year, ranked
| Year | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | Top problem | Trouble index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Few reports | 17 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 2025 | Too early to call | 56 | 5 | Driver assistance | 4 |
| 2024 | Too early to call | 112 | 7 | Driver assistance | 8 |
| 2023 | Typical | 93 | 8 | Electrical | 7 |
| 2022 | Better year | 169 | 12 | Driver assistance | 9 |
| 2021 | Better year | 296 | 12 | Transmission & drivetrain | 16 |
| 2020 | Typical | 519 | 18 | Transmission & drivetrain | 31 |
| 2019 | Below average | 615 | 11 | Transmission & drivetrain | 36 |
| 2018 | Typical | 477 | 14 | Transmission & drivetrain | 27 |
| 2017 | Typical | 480 | 4 | Electrical | 31 |
| 2016 | Better year | 278 | 3 | Brakes & stability | 17 |
| 2015 | Better year | 229 | 3 | Electrical | 14 |
| 2014 | Better year | 96 | 0 | Transmission & drivetrain | 7 |
| 2013 | Better year | 116 | 0 | Transmission & drivetrain | 7 |
| 2012 | Better year | 167 | 3 | Transmission & drivetrain | 11 |
| 2011 | Better year | 92 | 0 | Transmission & drivetrain | 5 |
| 2010 | Better year | 74 | 0 | Electrical | 6 |
| 2009 | Better year | 42 | 1 | — | 4 |
| 2008 | Better year | 179 | 4 | Brakes & stability | 15 |
| 2007 | Better year | 267 | 2 | Fuel system | 15 |
| 2006 | Typical | 395 | 6 | Engine | 27 |
| 2005 | Typical | 452 | 5 | Engine | 26 |
| 2004 | Typical | 381 | 4 | Engine | 33 |
| 2003 | Avoid | 800 | 6 | Engine | 61 |
| 2002 | Below average | 415 | 4 | Engine | 39 |
| 2001 | Avoid | 739 | 10 | Engine | 63 |
| 2000 | Avoid | 1,136 | 11 | Electrical | 100 |
| 1999 | Avoid | 1,137 | 9 | Engine | 84 |
| 1998 | Avoid | 1,022 | 7 | Electrical | 70 |
| 1997 | Avoid | 1,065 | 9 | Suspension | 80 |
| 1996 | Few reports | 3 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1995 | Few reports | 1 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1994 | Few reports | 4 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1993 | Few reports | 1 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1991 | Few reports | 1 | 0 | — | 0 |
Technical service bulletins
Beyond complaints and recalls, 3,723 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions — are on file for the Ford Expedition. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Browse the Ford Expedition TSB list by year →
Questions buyers ask
What Ford Expedition years should I avoid?
Federal complaint records point to 1997–2001, 2003 as the Ford Expedition years to avoid — they drew the highest volume of serious complaints relative to the model's other years.
What is the most common Ford Expedition problem?
Engine tops the Ford Expedition file with 2,024 complaints, concentrated in the 1998–2001, 2003, 2006 model years, most often reported around 94,017 miles.
What are the best Ford Expedition years to buy used?
The quietest Ford Expedition years in federal records are 2007–2016, 2021–2022 — each with at least four years on the road and well-below-average complaint volume for this model.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Counts cover the Ford Expedition only, scored against this model's own worst year — not against other models. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.