2024 FORD F-150 Complaints

I own a 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum built in August 2024. The vehicle has been at the dealership for over 45 days for severe, unresolved electrical safety defects. I have attached photographic proof of the main defects. The first three photos show the driver's instrument display screen behind the steering wheel completely blacking out on startup, blinding critical safety gauges like the speedometer. The center screen stays on, but the main cluster is totally dead. Fourth and fifth photos show the driver's seat memory failure. I manually set my lumbar support to a comfortable 3-4-3 setting and save it, but every time the truck sits, the seat completely deflates to a flat zero default on startup. This causes an immediate driving distraction and ergonomic hazard. The factory navigation also randomly shouts driving directions out of nowhere without any driver input. The dealership is currently trying to install a temporary "bypass wire" hack on my factory harness just to see if it fixes the seat memory. However, Ford's internal hotline (SSSC) refuses to authorize repairs for the black screen or phantom navigation until a tech physically catches it glitching on command. Ford’s policy is to return the vehicle unrepaired if it does not fail during active observation. I am requesting NHTSA to investigate Ford's active evasion of safety recall 25V540 (Ford 25S88). The official recall paperwork states the defective supplier software entered production on May 14, 2024. My truck was manufactured in August 2024—squarely within the defective window—yet Ford is using a model-year loophole to exclude 2024 vehicles from the recall population. They are denying owners a permanent factory software remedy and forcing dealers to use unapproved, temporary physical workarounds. The vehicle is at the dealership and available for federal inspection if need be.

The contact owns a 2024 Ford F-150. The contact stated he received the notification letter for NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V512000 (Power Train). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was inspected and informed the parts were backordered. The manufacturer was contacted who confirmed the part status and referred the contact to the local dealer. The contact had not experienced a failure.

The contact owns a Ford F-150. The contact stated that during cold start up, there is a delay when reversing and resistance in backward movement. The vehicle moves slowly despite full throttle. The vehicle also intermittently experienced harsh shifting. The vehicle was taken to th The approximate failure mileage was 10,000.

On 4/22/2026 while flat towing this vehicle behind my motorhome, it burst into flames. The trip began in [XXX] . Driving south on XXX, I stopped about 120 miles later at a rest stop near XXX. I did a complete walk around inspection. There were no issues, everything looked fine. We continued on and about 20 miles later another vehicle driver was telling me frantically to pull over. I looked at my rear camera and saw the Ford was smoking. This was not due to an improper neutral tow setting. The truck would have burned in the first 20 miles. I have towed this vehicle many times. I know the importance of doing it properly., Thankfully there was a good place to pull over. I tried to extinguish the fire with my extinguisher but it was too hot. I was unable to disconnect from the motorhome. Both are a total loss. I think of all the places this could have happened and how trapped we could have been. By the grace of God, nobody was injured. Yes there is a police report and an insurance claim. There were no warning signs. My braking system runs on its own battery so there was no draw on the Ford battery. Ford did an update on the computer the night prior. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Dash said look for safe place to pull over. When turned engine off, it would not start again. Had to wait hours to get it towed to dealership. Been there over 5 weeks and they still don't know what's wrong but suspect hybrid battery problem. Only about 21k miles and 18 mo old. No loaner provided.

Seat belt sensors do not work correctly for back seat passenger. Seat doesn’t register people sitting in it or when seat belt is buckled sometimes. Issue was reported to dealer and taken for repairs u see warranty, but never completed. Causes issues when carrying passengers because i can’t tell if people are buckled. Sometimes driving down road it alerts randomly that seat belt was unbuckled and causes risk that could lead to an accident when I have to adjust it for a child while driving down the road. This is a wide spread reported issue for these trucks and should be recalled.

Very hard down shifting at low speeds and it feels like the drive line is coming out of it!! Has been happening since brand new! I have reported it to the dealership and the said it was a quart low on fluid and they added a quart but the vehicle continues to do the same thing???

Crashed truck and all airbags deployed besides passenger (I was only person in the car). The drivers airbag partially deployed and I smashed my face on steering wheel. It was defective or malfunctioned.

2024 Ford F-150 Platinum PowerBoost Hybrid. Diagnostic codes for power steering loss and CAN bus communication faults documented at 337 miles, well within the 3-year/36,000-mile new vehicle warranty. The vehicle has been at a Ford dealer since March 10, 2026 for symptoms including the truck randomly turning off while driving and loss of power steering communication. As of this report, the truck has been at the dealer 58 days without resolution. Documented diagnostic findings include: Lost Communication with PSCM (U0131), SCP/J1850 Communications Bus Fault (U1028), permanent code P1A42 Propulsion System Status Signal Performance, hybrid-specific High Voltage System Interlock U3523-00, Steering Position Sensor P060A, no communication with Power Steering Control Module, intermittent PCM communication during self-tests, BCMC fuse 69 with no power, and circuit CBB69 with no voltage. A Ford Field Service Engineer was dispatched April 23, 2026. On April 24, 2026 the dealer located damaged wiring inside a harness behind the BCMC bracket. Prior to that, the dealer escalated through R&I of multiple modules (PSCM, PCM, BCMC, Gateway Module access) over 45 days without locating the actual cause. The vehicle is currently subject to NHTSA recall 26V104 / Ford 26C10 (Trailer Module loss of communication at startup) issued 3/18/2026, status Recall Incomplete. The recall describes the same general failure mode (module communication loss at startup) the customer has been experiencing. Power steering loss while driving is a serious safety concern, particularly given the vehicle's hybrid drivetrain and CAN-bus-dependent safety systems.

While driving on a surface road in Columbia, MD at approximately 40 mph, the dash display of the 2024 Ford Lightning Flash went completely blank, leaving no indication of vehicle speed, battery percentage, battery temp, motor temp, cruise control status etc. Zero information was displayed, and the dash was completely cold and dark. This failure, while traveling at speed, represents a gross safety hazard, especially because the same LCD displays automatic emergency braking informaion etc. Immediately, I was able to pull over, and establish an OBD-2 connection to the ECM, and pull error logs. I also took screenshots of critical components and voltages. I cleared the codes, re-checked for codes and saved another error log showing a couple of codes. I then cycled power to the truck several times, hoping for a reboot to clear the error. I also performed a manual reset of the Ford SYNC system. Using the OBD-2 virtual dash on my reader, I was able to safely display speed and battery data, and drive immediately to the nearest Ford Dealer (Koons Ford). On the way, I phoned Crossroads Ford (Apex, NC) who did a remote error check using the vehicle's modem. The dealer may have saved this data. Upon arrival to Koons, service writers and technicians were able to witness and verify inoperability of the dash unit, and cycle the vehicle power, whereafter the problem persisted. They then took it back for service and evaluation. After approximately 4 hours, I was told that the "dash reset itself after a couple hours" and they could not get it to repeat the error after it came back. Before this, there were no warning signs of dash failure, nor since.