Ford Five Hundred Years to Avoid — and the Years to Buy
Every Ford Five Hundred model year from 2004 to 2007, benchmarked against each other with 1,830 federal complaints, 4 recall campaigns, and the odometer readings owners put in their reports.
No standout lemon years. Complaint volume for the Five Hundred is fairly even across the range.
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 Five Hundred's own worst year — full methodology.
The trouble strip
One cell per model year. The whole answer in one glance — click any year for the full report.
The defining problem
Transmission & drivetrain tops the Ford Five Hundred file with 364 complaints, concentrated in the 2005–2006 model years, most often reported around 78,500 miles. The year pages break down what fails and when.
Every year, ranked
| Year | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | Top problem | Trouble index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Below average | 338 | 2 | Speed control | 43 |
| 2006 | Below average | 628 | 1 | Speed control | 76 |
| 2005 | Below average | 863 | 3 | Transmission & drivetrain | 100 |
| 2004 | Few reports | 1 | 0 | — | 0 |
Technical service bulletins
Beyond complaints and recalls, 87 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions — are on file for the Ford Five Hundred. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Browse the Ford Five Hundred TSB list by year →
Questions buyers ask
What Ford Five Hundred years should I avoid?
No Ford Five Hundred year stands out as a lemon in federal complaint records; complaint volume is fairly even across the range.
What is the most common Ford Five Hundred problem?
Transmission & drivetrain tops the Ford Five Hundred file with 364 complaints, concentrated in the 2005–2006 model years, most often reported around 78,500 miles.
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 Five Hundred 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.