2018 Ford F-150 Problems, Recalls & Reliability
2,816 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2018 Ford F-150, alongside 19 recall campaigns and 2 defect investigations. It scores 67/100 on the trouble index — one of the years to avoid for this model. Transmission & drivetrain leads the reports, typically around 60,000 miles.
Avoid this year if you can. The 2018 Ford F-150 sits at the top of this model's complaint rankings. Quieter picks in the same family: 1991–1993, 1996, 2003, 2007–2009, 2020, 2022.
Avoid
Where 2018 sits among all F-150 years
What owners report
“While driving approximately 40- 50mph the transmission randomly downshifts from 8th gear to 1st gear.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 F-150
“Cam phaser rattle, imminent engine failure as I understand it, all 2G engines have this problem.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 F-150
“When it gets close to negative temps the door locks won’t work to close the door and the door won’t actually close. I can’t drive with me door open. I have had the recall and door were fixed 2021 and it is a occurred event”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 F-150
“Was slowing down to turn, engine cut out and received an “auto start/stop, shift to P and then restart engine” error on dash. Almost got in an accident because of it.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 F-150
“Frozen door latches. When its cold and you open the door, then close the door it does not latch.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 F-150
“Rear Window/Glass spontaneously shattered. Loud Noise as it shattered entirely. No apparent cause while driving in parking lot with no bystanders.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2018 F-150
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 1,214 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 39,950 miles. Half of those reports fall between 12,000 and 80,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (19)
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 F-150 vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 20V097. When the headlight switch is turned from "Autolamps" to "Headlamps On," the Daytime Running Lamps (DRLs) may remain fully…
Fix: ,Dealers will reprogram the body control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 17, 2026. Owners may contact customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-150 vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 17V669. Quickly moving the shift lever from Park to Drive may cause a loss of gear indication on the instrument cluster display and a…
Fix: Dealers will update the powertrain control module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 9, 2026. Owners may contact customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number…
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 2020-2025 Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, 2020-2024 Escape, Lincoln Corsair, 2018-2024 F-150, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles. The air bag warning label may be missing from the dashboard. As such, these…
Fix: Ford will mail owners the warning labels, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 19, 2024. Owners may call Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this…
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…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-150 vehicles with manual and power release tailgates. The tailgate latches may unlatch unexpectedly while driving.
Fix: Dealers will replace the left-hand and right-hand tailgate latches, free of charge. An interim notification letter was mailed January 31, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 31,…
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 2018 F-150, 2018-2020 F-250, F-350, and 2019 Escape vehicles equipped with Continental tires. On the affected vehicles, it is possible that one or more tires were cured for too long during tire production.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tires, and replace them as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on March 27, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 F-150 trucks equipped with high series LED headlamps with Autolamp (On/Off) functionality. The Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) may remain activated instead of dimming to parking lamps when the Master…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the body control module, free of charge. The recall began March 10, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 F-150 and 2019-2020 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty pickup trucks, and 2018-2019 Ford Explorer, 2019-2020 Expedition, and 2020 Escape vehicles equipped with driver and/or passenger's manual…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and Ford and Lincoln dealers will inspect the seat structure and replace them, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 21, 2019. Owners may contact Ford…
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 2018 Ford Expedition, F-150, and Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI V6 engines. These vehicles have high pressure fuel pump assemblies with welds that can fracture, which may cause an oil or fuel…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the high pressure fuel pump and associated components, free of charge. The recall began July 17, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at…
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 2018 F-650 and F-750 vehicles equipped with 6-speed automatic transmissions and 2018 Ford F-150 and Expedition vehicles equipped with 10-speed automatic transmissions (excluding Expedition vehicles with a Rotary…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the shift cable locking clip and properly seat it, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began on April 13, 2018. Owners may contact Ford…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-150 vehicles equipped with 3.5L engines. The cylinder heads may have been machined without lubrication supply holes for the camshaft bearing journals.
Fix: Ford is not aware of any affected vehicles outside of dealer control. Should owner contact subsequently be required, arrangements will be made to transport their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer…
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-150 vehicles equipped with a 3.3L engine, a 6-speed transmission and a column mounted shift lever. Quickly moving the shift lever from Park to Drive may cause a loss of gear indication on the instrument…
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the powertrain control module, free of charge. Owners may contact Ford Customer Service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S35.
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor Super Cab pick-up trucks not equipped with a moonroof. The structural roof braces may be missing rivets at the attachment of the roof rail, thereby reducing the structural integrity.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install the rivets for the roof brace attachments, free of charge. The recall began October 17, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at…
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 2018 Ford F-150 reliable?
The 2018 Ford F-150 drew 2,816 complaints in federal safety records — one of the years to avoid for this model. Its trouble index is 67/100, scored against the model's worst year (1997).
What are the most common 2018 Ford F-150 problems?
The top reported problems for the 2018 Ford F-150 are transmission & drivetrain (976 complaints), engine (583), and other (242).
At what mileage do 2018 Ford F-150 problems show up?
Owners most often report 2018 Ford F-150 problems around 39,950 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 12,000 and 80,000 miles.
Does the 2018 Ford F-150 have recalls?
19 recall campaigns apply to the 2018 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.