FaultScore

Worst years for a Ford F-250

Owners have filed 5,731 complaints about the Ford F-250 with NHTSA across model years 1979 to 2014. More of them are about the steering than anything else.

Avoid

1999 Ford F-250

702 complaints — the highest FaultScore of any year, mostly brakes.

Cleanest on record

1998 Ford F-250

76 complaints — the lowest FaultScore of the graded years.

Every Ford F-250 year, graded

The grade compares each year against the rest of this model's own run — never against another car. Click any bar or row to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded
Year Grade Complaints Crashes Fires Median miles Most reported
2014 B 236 3 3 83,154 Suspension
2013 B 153 2 2 78,000 Suspension
2012 C 423 5 8 78,000 Suspension
2011 C 384 8 6 70,000 Suspension
2010 B 109 2 3 80,400 Steering
2009 A 92 0 1 69,000 Steering
2008 C 255 12 6 75,000 Steering
2007 B 84 3 0 42,000 Steering
2006 C 332 14 8 61,200 Suspension
2005 B 207 4 4 65,000 Engine & Cooling
2004 C 201 12 4 55,079 Engine & Cooling
2003 C 151 7 10 90,000 Engine & Cooling
2002 C 189 15 13 89,000 Engine & Cooling
2001 D 269 20 32 67,000 Tires
2000 D 417 39 15 75,768 Tires
1999 D 702 61 17 94,000 Brakes
1998 A 76 2 1 114,500 Brakes
1997 C 348 21 20 114,000 Tires
1996 C 212 11 25 125,000 Tires
1995 C 238 12 20 115,000 Brakes
1994 C 156 7 28 114,581 Brakes
1993 B 183 6 4 152,500 Fuel & Propulsion
1992 149 6 7 91,000 Fuel & Propulsion
1991 145 5 9 94,177 Brakes
1990 5 0 0 143,000 Fuel & Propulsion
1989 14 0 0 89,403 Fuel & Propulsion
1979 1 0 0 Tires

What breaks on a Ford F-250

Across every model year on file. Follow a row for that part's complaints and the year it was worst.

Steering 846 14.8%

Worst in 2012

Suspension 808 14.1%

Worst in 2012

Engine & Cooling 741 12.9%

Worst in 1999

Brakes 549 9.6%

Worst in 1999

Tires 516 9.0%

Worst in 2000

Worst in 1999

Worst in 1993

Worst in 2004

Worst in 1999

Worst in 2012

Body & Structure 145 2.5%

Worst in 1997

Wheels 129 2.3%

Worst in 2011

Airbags 117 2.0%

Worst in 1999

Worst in 1999

Exactly what failed on a Ford F-250

The named sub-assemblies behind those complaints, across every model year.

Tread/Belt 156 15.7%
Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip 152 15.3%
Front 132 13.3%
Automatic Transmission 128 12.9%
Engine 93 9.4%
Gasoline 78 7.9%
Frontal 67 6.8%
Tank Assembly 63 6.4%
Body 62 6.3%
Sidewall 60 6.1%

Complaints filed over time

Every complaint about every Ford F-250, by the month it reached NHTSA.

Jan 1995 peak 148 Jun 2026

Ford F-250 problems by state

Where owners filed from. Heavier states are usually just bigger markets, but a part that fails in heat or salt shows up here first.

Compare the Ford F-250

Side by side on complaint history. Remember that raw totals track how many were sold as much as how good they were.