2017 Ford F-150 Problems, Recalls & Reliability
1,775 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2017 Ford F-150, alongside 18 recall campaigns and 3 defect investigations. It scores 41/100 on the trouble index — a below-average year for this model. Transmission & drivetrain leads the reports, typically around 82,700 miles.
Below average
Where 2017 sits among all F-150 years
What owners report
“My 2017 F150 5.0. The transmission shift sensor is intermittent. Changing gears while driving at low speeds. The indication panel flashes like a Christmas tree.It locked up the brakes twice. Why isn't there a recall for it. The truck only has 73000. Miles.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2017 F-150
“The cam phasers wear prematurely causing possible issues with engine timing and engine failure”— owner report to NHTSA, 2017 F-150
“Driving down road in new truck. Turned on rear defrost and 4-5 minutes later, the back windows explode and a burning smell came up.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2017 F-150
“Transmission suddenly downshifting. Slamming into gear. Not catching. Due to electrical problem.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2017 F-150
“I was coming up to a stop light and applied the brakes. The pedal went to the floor and the vehicle was not stoping. I released the brake pedal and pushed it again. This time the vehicle stopped. I immediately pulled over and checked the brake fluid and it was full.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2017 F-150
“Door latches freezing and doors will not remained closed posing a safety risk. Tailgate also opens on it's own.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2017 F-150
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 763 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 50,000 miles. Half of those reports fall between 24,000 and 89,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (18)
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 F-150 vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 17V053. The instrument cluster may lose power after initial vehicle start-up in cold ambient temperatures. Several gauges, including the…
Fix: Dealers will update the Instrument Panel Cluster Assembly (IPC) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 17, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2017 F-150 vehicles. A loss of signal between the transmission range sensor and the powertrain control module can cause the transmission to unexpectedly downshift into second gear.
Fix: Dealers will update the powertrain control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 24, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2018 F-150, Expedition, and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The brake master cylinder may allow brake fluid to leak from the front wheel circuit into the brake booster.
Fix: Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder. If the master cylinder is leaking, the brake booster will also be replaced. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, and 2016-2018 F-150 vehicles equipped with 3.5L Ecoboost engines. The brake master cylinder may allow brake fluid to leak from the front wheel circuit into the brake…
Fix: Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder. If the master cylinder is leaking, the brake booster will also be replaced. Repairs will be performed free of charge. An interim owner notification…
Tenneco Automotive (DRiV) is recalling certain MOOG K500359 ball joints, for aftermarket installation on 2015-2018 Ford F-150 trucks. The ball joint may have a misaligned dust boot and may be missing alignment hole and installation warning tag, which may…
Fix: DRiV will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and if necessary replace the ball joint, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 5, 2021. Owners may contact Tenneco Automotive customer…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2017 F-150 pickup trucks equipped with 3.5L Ecoboost engines. The brake master cylinder may leak brake fluid into the brake booster.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake master cylinder and inspect the brake booster, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. Ford issued owners an interim notification on…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Ford F-150 and 2017-2019 Ford F-250 Super Duty, F-350 Super Duty, F-450 Super Duty, and F-550 Super Duty pick-up trucks equipped with an engine block heater and previously remedied under recall 18V894.…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will disable the engine block heater from being used. When replacement cables become available, a second notice will be mailed and dealers will replace the…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Ford F-150 and 2017-2019 Ford F-250 Super Duty, F-350 Super Duty, F-450 Super Duty, and F-550 Super Duty pick-up trucks equipped with an engine block heater. Water and contaminants may get into the…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will disable the block heater cable, free of charge. Once parts are available, Dealers will replace the engine block heater cable, free of charge. The recall…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Ford F-150 Regular Cab and SuperCrew Cab vehicles. If a front seat belt pretensioner deploys as the result of a crash, the sparks may ignite materials such as carpeting or insulation within the…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will remove the B-pillar insulation material and wiring harness tape, and install heat resistant tape, free of charge. The recall began September 28, 2018.…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Ford F-150 and 2018 Ford Expedition and Mustang and Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with 10-speed automatic transmissions. A roll pin may not have been installed in the transmission, potentially…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the transmission to make sure it has the roll pin, installing one if it is missing, free of charge. The recall began on April 13, 2018. Owners may…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 F-150 vehicles equipped with ten-speed transmissions. The pin that attaches the transmission shift linkage to the transmission may come out, preventing the transmission from responding to movement of the…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the roll pin with an updated part, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin December 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Ford F-150, and 2017 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty trucks. The doors on these vehicles may have a bent or kinked actuation cable or the door latches may freeze after water gets into the…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the door latch actuation cables and repair if necessary, and install water shields over the door latches, free of charge. The recall began October…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 trucks with manually-adjusted front passenger seats. The seat belt anchor may not be adequately welded to the seat cushion frame. As such, these vehicles fail to…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger manual seat track, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin November 6, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 F-150 and Mustang vehicles. The air bag inflator within the passenger frontal air bag module may rupture in the event of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began October 11, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2017 F-150, and 2017 F-250 and F-350 trucks equipped with a crew cab. The left rear inflatable seat belt buckle assembly may be inadequately attached to its mounting bracket. As such, these vehicles fail…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat belt assembly, replacing the attaching rivet as necessary, free of charge. Interim notices informing owners of the safety risk were mailed…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2017 F-150, and 2017 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 vehicles originally produced with black or body colored exterior door handles that may have been subsequently equipped with a chrome exterior door handle…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will remove the accessory covers and refund the purchase price. The recall began July 13, 2017. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Ford Explorer, F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 vehicles equipped with a manual driver's seat back recliner mechanism. In the event of a crash, the seat back frame may not restrain the occupant due to…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the seat back frame, free of charge. The recall began on June 7, 2017. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 F-150 trucks equipped with an eight-inch productivity screen. In these vehicles, the instrument cluster may lose power after the initial vehicle start-up in cold ambient temperatures. Several gauges,…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the instrument cluster, free of charge. The recall began February 20, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's…
Federal defect investigations
Led to recall campaign 18V568000.
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2017 Ford F-150 reliable?
The 2017 Ford F-150 drew 1,775 complaints in federal safety records — a below-average year for this model. Its trouble index is 41/100, scored against the model's worst year (1997).
What are the most common 2017 Ford F-150 problems?
The top reported problems for the 2017 Ford F-150 are transmission & drivetrain (515 complaints), engine (376), and other (168).
At what mileage do 2017 Ford F-150 problems show up?
Owners most often report 2017 Ford F-150 problems around 50,000 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 24,000 and 89,000 miles.
Does the 2017 Ford F-150 have recalls?
18 recall campaigns apply to the 2017 Ford F-150. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
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. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.