Due to a dangerous design flaw in the 2021 Ford F150, I was put in a potentially dangerous situation by completely losing all power in the vehicle on a backroad. Design flaw is the DCN module, which floods into the vehicles electrical system/body of vehicle through the cowel drain that can supposedly be blocked by a singular piece of pine straw. Due to the design flaw, the vehicle completely lost all power and all electronics failed while driving down the road at 45 mph, putting both me and my father (riding passenger seat) in immediate danger. Ford knows and is aware of the design flaw and has refused to issue a recall, not only affecting my safety, but now I am going back and forth with ford over the fix to the tune of $2800 that they refuse to fix (vehicle is a gold certified cpo, has extended warranty). When asked how to prevent in the future, ford was and is not aware of how to prevent in the future, and I can not get to the cowel drain clog without professional equipment and ford performing. There is no way to tell the cowel drain is clogged or not, and there is not anything in the ford owners manual related to maintenance of the cowel drain. Again, due to the inappropriately designed drain, this caused water leakage into my truck, posing an immediate threat to my life and others around me. I have all of the videos and pictures needed to show the failure of the system to provide to move this forward to get resolved. I had complete loss of power and electronics on the road. I tried to attach video but it would not let me. I can attach via email when requested.
NHTSA complaint #11758129 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
George West, TX
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
This report is being made within 1 1/2 hours after the incident. It has not been inspected by a dealer, service center, nor any other agency. I was stopped at a local fast food restaurant waiting to pay for my purchase. The 2021 Ford F-150 was in drive with my foot on the brake. No warning lights or other indication were present. Without warning, the engine revved to a high rpm and the truck shot forward about 15-20 feet before I could react by putting my full weight on the brake pedal. The engine quickly slowed. I then put the vehicle in reverse and backed up to the window and placed the transmission in park. The truck is equipped with adaptive cruise control but it was not active at the time of the incident. Had there been another vehicle in front of me, I would have rear-ended them. I work from home and use the truck a couple of times per week and it is available for inspection most days.
NHTSA complaint #11708240 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Dardenne Prairie, MO
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Loss of engine power when transmission shifts from 3rd gear to 2nd gear. Truck will unexpectedly loose ability to accelerate, typically until shift to 1st or 3rd gear occurs. Return of power can cause vehicle to accelerate rapidly and unexpectedly. Malfunctions typically happens in parking lots and while yielding to make a turn, but also happens in stop and go traffic. Concerned of loss of acceleration while pulling out in traffic. No warning lamps or error codes when failure occurs. I've been working with the dealer to resolve for 1 year with nothing done. After 11 months the dealer acknowledged there is an issue, but is unsure of cause or how to repair. Now recommending an entire transmission replacement and not sure if that will resolve.
NHTSA complaint #11708107 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fort Collins, CO
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Description of Incident: The vehicle exhibits a severe and unpredictable transmission "shudder," "stutter," and hesitation during gear synchronization, specifically during 1st–3rd and 8th–10th gear transitions. This manifest as a violent "shaking" sensation and a loss of momentary acceleration while merging into high-speed traffic. This issue was first reported to an authorized Ford dealership on December 17, 2024. At that time, the vehicle exhibited harsh shifting and "shuddering" consistent with Ford Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 22-2428. Despite being under a 150,000-mile service contract, the dealer misdiagnosed the mechanical transmission defect as an engine misfire, resulting in ineffective repairs. The defect has persisted and worsened. The internal failure has been identified as a defective CDF Clutch Drum (Cylinder) where an internal bushing moves out of place, obstructing fluid flow and causing mechanical "slip." This is a known manufacturing defect documented in multiple Ford TSBs (22-2428, 23-2250, and 24-2101). Safety Risk: The failure causes unpredictable power delivery. On multiple occasions, the vehicle has hesitated or "stuttered" while attempting to merge onto highways or cross intersections, leaving the vehicle vulnerable to side-impact or rear-end collisions. The lack of consistent throttle response and the violent nature of the shifting creates a significant safety hazard for the driver and surrounding motorists. Verification/Inspection: The symptoms were reported to a Ford dealership multiple times. As of December 2025, the dealership has opened a formal case with the manufacturer to verify the internal "cause of failure" by the Shop Foreman. No warning lamps or Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) appeared on the dashboard, as the failure is a mechanical internal bushing slip that does not always trigger a software sensor until total failure occurs. The vehicle is available for inspection.
NHTSA complaint #11706853 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Wasilla, AK
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Ford has refused, on multiple occasions and at multiple dealerships, to address the NHTSA Recall Number 23V896 (MFG. Recall Number 23S65) issue with the Wheel End Hub Bolt in the rear axle. Well, this weekend, the bolt on the passenger side rear axle broke off, rendering the vehicle undriveable. I brought it in to the Lithia Ford Dealership (who's online information said they were open) to get it addressed. They were closed, no one was there, and they won't even give me a loaner vehicle while the F-150 is inoperable. This recall has been out for two years now and they still won't deal with it. Absolute neglect of their obligations and an unsafe practice!
NHTSA complaint #11703551 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Seven Hills, OH
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Transmission downshift to first gear on the highway
NHTSA complaint #11699703 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
San Clemente, CA
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Drove it out to CA from Texas. Purchased for Planet Ford who told me the truck was k to drive and no axel problem. Drove it out to CA from Texas when we moved in late April - after that went to Santa Barbara and dashboard controls went dead. Speedometer and may other controls stopped working. Truck felt sluggish. Took it into Tuttle Click Ford Lincoln in Irvine and they said they real axel was about to fall off and took the truck away. They've had it for a month and said they may have it for another 2-4 week or longer.
NHTSA complaint #11674327 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Independence, KY
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I was turning left from a side street onto a divided highway and stopped in the middle to wait for an opening in traffic. When one came I hit the gas and nothing happened. Pressed it again, to the floor and nothing happened. I then put the truck into reverse to back out of the way of traffic because the truck rolled forward a bit when I attempted to accelerate. I then waited for a very large opening and attempted to accelerate again. Pushed the pedal and again nothing. I then pressed it to the floor and held it there. The truck very slowly began to accelerate and then after about 20 seconds accelerated like normal. The truck seemed normal the rest of the way home.
NHTSA complaint #11672568 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Crockett, TX
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Numerous times my vehicle has suddenly came to a stop pit itself in park and turned off the engine while I was driving at a speed of 25 mph. Several times while cruise control was active my vehicle increased in speed and pressing the break didn't deactivate my cruise control I had to manually turn it off. My crash detection has gone off several times when there was nothing around my vehicle.
NHTSA complaint #11671610 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Oceanside, CA
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
My gear shifter was sticking, making hard to shift gears. I had to pay $1100. 00 dollars to get it fixed. The truck has only 37,000 miles. This seems like a defect not a random component gone bad.
NHTSA complaint #11667723 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Claremore, OK
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Multiple times now while driving at low speed and usually making a right hand turn, the throttle becomes totally unresponsible to driver input. Pressing the throttle does not increase ICE rpm and does not accelerate the vehicle. This has occured while entering active roadways and has created a dangerous situation multiple times. Someone will be injured with these vehicles, it is only a matter of time if this failure to accelerate issue is not recalled and fixed. The date below is only the last incident. I now have over 120K miles and it has done this well over 50 times.
NHTSA complaint #11654325 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Interlachen, FL
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
I was stopped at red light intersection my truck went into idle mode (start/stop) when light changed I tried to proceed through the truck engine/electrical transmission locked up. I had to turn the truck completely off and open one of the doors to be able to restart the truck and move through the intersection. it has done this repeatedly I have taken it to Ford they have tried to charge me an astronomical amount to diagnose it.. with no guarantee of it being fixed. I have almost been rear ended 3 times!
NHTSA complaint #11629600 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Palm City, FL
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Front Camera Fault causing Adaptive Cruise Control not to work therefore forfeiting any added measure of safety at highway speeds. The issue was investigated and was fixed at the local Ford dealer by installing a new camera, camera control module, and wiring. Warning message came on every time the truck was started and warning light came on saying that adaptive cruise control could. not be engaged
NHTSA complaint #11617979 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Grand Junction, CO
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
After starting the vehicle at a motel in the morning, and backing out of the parking spot, I put the vehicle in drive and gave it a little bit of gas (wheel cranked to the left to finish turning out of the spot), and the vehicle rapidly accelerated across the parking lot. I hit the brakes and the vehicle stopped accelerating. I looked down to see the cruise control set to 15 Mph and crossed out (disengaged due to brake engagement). I never set the cruise control at that speed. To the best of my knowledge I never bumped any cruise control buttons that morning. To the best of my knowledge a software glitch caused cruise control to set and engage, from a stop, to an unsafe speed considering the circumstances.
NHTSA complaint #11597789 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Austin, TX
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
With cruise control engaged, the set speed would randomly change up or down changing vehicle speed rapidly. Most dangerous part was some times the speed would set itself from around the speed limit where I set to as much as 20-30 mph above the posted speed limit up to 90 mph. The speed would instantly increase by 5,10,15,20 mph all of a sudden which is not possible to set with the cruise control buttons as they only increase or decrease in one mph increment. If it is some sort of speed limit sign reading system it failed and caused a dangerous situation for me and my family. I have video of multiple instances. This is dangerous and life threatening for the occupants of my vehicle and others on or near the road and could easily lead to loss of control, injury or death.
NHTSA complaint #11569536 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Lacombe, LACrash
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
After braking to enter drive way. The truck accelerated spontaneously causing vehicle to hit a wall. Similarly on previous occasions the truck has lurched forward when releasing the brake after coming to a complete stop at red lights or stop signs.
NHTSA complaint #11551289 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Green Cove Springs, FL
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
With the cruise control set to a speed of around 60mph and with no other vehicles around, the truck accelerates (uncommanded) to some value over 71mph. This occurs randomly but is repeatable and has only started occurring within the past week. A definite safety concern.
NHTSA complaint #11530398 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Bozeman, MT
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
My brand new F150 2021 had a powertrain malfunction with power totally reduced. I had no ability to accelerate. I had to glide over to the side of the road. I restarted the car. It reset, i went to accelerate and again i had an error code and my car froze. I was able to restart again and drive over to my Ford dealership i purchased it from at 15 miles per hour. The problem was reproduced once and confirmed by the dealer. The dealer has contacted Ford and was told they have never seen that error code for a F150. The GM of Ford here in Montana told me if they cant reproduce the problem again, i can have the truck back. This truck is 3 weeks old. I am terrified.
NHTSA complaint #11447417 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Killeen, TX
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Cluster will randomly shut off causing all gauges to act like the vehicle isn't on. Then it will turn back on. I notice that transmission temp gauge will be the only gauge that wouldn't go back to normal. It will take several minutes for gauge to reset. The risk is not knowing your speed and causing a distraction to what is happening while driving. No dealer could redo the problem.
NHTSA complaint #11444864 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.