702 of the
47,801 complaints filed about the Ford F-150
are about the lighting —
1% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2021.
This vehicle 2016 ford F150 is known to have shorting issues. From literally all wiring harnesses. I had a small fire in my truck due to this issue, caused melting of the ribbon cable in my seat heater control module, which is a known issue from Ford. I have shorting in my turn signal switch (no wipers). Is that safe? I am a research scientist and engineer, I can tell you now it is not safe. If i need to prove it, I can do so with ease and write the necessary literature. If I cant use my AC sometimes, the windows fog, then i cant use the wipers to unfog them, how is this not a visibility issue? Not to mention all the shorts. I have a 40 gallon fuel tank, if any shorts get near it, is that going to be a fun experience for me? Please give Ford a penalty, the average owner of this truck pays thousands a year in repairs. I paid $17,800.00 in 2025 to repair this piece of shit. And it still has major issues. This is something ford needs to address, i want my wiring to be replaced, i bought a new engine, what if i cant use it especailly with the 3 year warranty bc the wiring consistently shorts and fails. unacceptable for a truck that's sticker price is $80k. This is a major problem, I will file claims until im afforded a response
NHTSA complaint #11757955 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Passenger side vertical LED drivers running light bar is out on 2023 Ford F-150 XLT Supercrew. Have heard and seen many Ford F150 trucks that have had this issue. Faulty LED diod heats and burns the light tube from which the light is generated. THIS IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE, IS A MANUFACTURERS DEFECTIVE PART THAT MUST BE RECALLED AND REPLACED.
NHTSA complaint #11757488 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Daytime Running Light failure in headlight assembly. Second time it occurred. Had the first headlight assembly replaced while under warranty. I am now outside of the warranty mileage and the other side's headlight DRL has failed.
NHTSA complaint #11756461 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Both factory LED headlamp assemblies are experiencing premature LED failures. The vertical LED/DRL section has failed on both headlights, and the horizontal LED section has failed on one and is beginning to fail on the other. These are factory-installed upgraded LED headlamps and the LED components are not individually replaceable, requiring replacement of the complete headlamp assembly. The failures occurred before the vehicle reached five years old. Ford was contacted regarding the issue and declined goodwill assistance. I am concerned about the premature failure of the factory exterior lighting and the potential safety implications if additional portions of the headlamp assemblies fail. It does affect viability for other vehicles and both went out within 3 months of each other. I have noticed several other vehicles on the road specifically with my headlights with the same issue.
NHTSA complaint #11755692 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The safety daytime running lights are failing prematurely. My car has 32,000 miles and my DRL is burnt out on the passenger side. Online forums confirm that this is happening to many, many people. It’s a safety hazard for other drivers because the cost to repair is substantial and people aren’t fixing them. Ford should fix this as a recall.
NHTSA complaint #11755402 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
LED strip for the headlight assembly burned out. No known repair other than to replace the whole headlight assembly for $2500. This is a common issue with a poor design from ford and can cause visibility and safety issues with the vehicle. The dealership at beach ford in myrtle beach, sc swapped LED modules to make sure it wasn’t a programming or module issue, the symptom did not change headlights.
NHTSA complaint #11755524 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Purchased new vehicle May 2024 primarily for towing my recreational vehicle (2024 Ford F150 Pickup). June 2024 took vehicle to dealership indicating that I was intermittently getting a "Trailer Disconnect" warning while driving (loss of trailer brakes, lights etc.). Dealer indicated no issue found. Subsequently returned to dealership on 6 other occasions over 2 years after continuing to experience the failure. Replaced 7 pin connector on trailer and dealer has replaced the 7 pin on vehicle and Trailer Control Module (TCM) but problem persists. Early 2026 dealership performed a recall on TCM software - did not resolve the issue (vehicle intermittently indicates the trailer is disconnected while driving or manually activating the trailer brakes). Issue seems to occur typical on startup after several hours of driving with a trailer (heat related), and every time activate the trailer brakes manually. I get a "Trailer Disconnect" warning by activating the manual trailer brake even without a trailer attached. Working with Ford Customer Service Team and the dealership for 7 days, no solution was discovered. The dealership indicated (in writing) that it is normal operation to disconnect the trailer when the TCM is activated manually (while driving or stopped).
NHTSA complaint #11754300 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Day Running Lights in headlights fail. The side LED fails completely requiring the entire headlight housing needing to be replaced. This is a common failure and Ford is not doing anything to help the thousands of customers this is affecting. This failure is widely reported online, in forums and chat rooms. Dealer acknowledges it is a part failure but Ford will not pay for replacement even though it is a design or manufacturing problem with this particular year and style of headlights.
NHTSA complaint #11753682 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
*Brake system failure, complete shut down of vehicle. *Vehicle unable to start. *Vehicle was taken directly to Peoria Ford ( 9130 W Bell Rd, Peoria, AZ 85382) via tow truck on XXX Confirmed when dropped off of brake system failure and vehicle not functioning. *Vehicle was inspected on XXX which we were originally told it was the battery. Although the vehicle was in for trailer software recall on XXX and during inspection at that time battery was in good health. *No warnings until attempting to use the vehicle on XXX and received the brake system failure alert. Vehicle would also not lock. *After battery was replaced by Peoria Ford I was then told the brake system would not release and would need Actuator misalignment reset/replaced.
NHTSA complaint #11753799 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The OEM LED headlights will not adjust, causing excessive glare to on coming drivers. This issue is 300 times worse than the miniscule amount of light that the daytime running lights emit, but somehow the running lights get a recall, but the headlight adjusters do not! I'm completely flabbergasted at such an absurd and unjust oversite to such and important issue, please record this protest in the appropriate file, thanks. I constantly get offended drivers flashing their lights at me.
NHTSA complaint #11753459 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Passenger side LED Headlight assembly daytime running LED's, the vertical led has gone out in my 2021 Ford f150, while not a major problem, LED daytime running lights increase visibility of other drivers to help in safety. From research, it seems that many of these headlights, the led daytime running lights in the 2021 year model are failing.
NHTSA complaint #11753461 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The driver's side headlamp has a significant amount of shadows within the beam. This is in both the low beam and high beam modes. The shadows are highly visible on the road, and create a significant distraction while driving. This distraction is made significantly worse by the vehicles adaptive headlight system, as the shadows move on the road then you turn the steering wheel. The causes the driver's eyes to focus on the moving shadows, rather than on the road ahead. Additionally, the shadows in the headlamp significantly reduce visibility on the driver's side of the car, making it far more difficult to see animals or debris in the road. The vehicle was purchased new and the issue has been prevalent since the very beginning. Ford customer service will not help. Ford dealers tell me that the see the issues, and it should be that way, but are unwilling to replace the headlamp assembly because the cannot determine the root case (code), and are fearful that Ford will just charge them back for the warrant repair.
NHTSA complaint #11752362 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
All lights in the rear of the truck failed working at once, turn ,brake and back up lights, bulbs are good, fuses are all good, checked all the connects and they are also good, this is the second time this has happened,. The first time it happened after going through the fuses and bulbs and finding nothing they started working again, that was in the beginning of June and now again in July.
NHTSA complaint #11751395 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Almost all functions connected to the steering column quit working. I do not have working turn signals, high beams or wipers, unless the wipers are on high. None of the functions on the steering wheel work. It seems like a safety issue to not have functioning turn signals or properly finctioning wipers and high beams. No lamps or warnings.
NHTSA complaint #11747895 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V455000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 26V104000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
NHTSA complaint #11747373 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.