2017 Ford E-450: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2017 Ford E-450
On the 2017 Ford E-450, the failure owners report most often is other body or interior problem, with 4 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 5,000 miles. Overall it scores 81 out of 100, severe risk for a 2017.
Severe risk for a 2017 — 30th riskiest of the 263 2017 vehicles we can rate. 16 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
What owners report breaking
Owners have reported 10 named failure modes on the 2017 Ford E-450, and the three most-reported carry 50% of everything filed.
Other body or interior problem leads with 4 reports and about 308 per 1,000 vehicles.
Wiper or washer failure follows with 2 reports, median 10,000 miles.
Other steering problem follows with 2 reports, median 10,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into body (4), glass (3) and steering (2).
At what mileage it happens
11 of the reports on the 2017 Ford E-450 came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 5,000 miles.
The busiest stretch is between 0 and 10,000 miles, which alone holds 55% of the dated reports.
100% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, which is early enough that a fair number of these cars were still under a factory warranty when the owner complained.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
What happens when these parts fail
Nothing in the reports on the 2017 Ford E-450 mentions a crash, a fire or an injury. That is the ordinary case and it is worth stating: most defect complaints are about a car that stopped working, not one that hurt somebody.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 2.81, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: other body or interior problem at $200–$2,000, wiper or washer failure at $120–$800, other steering problem at $350–$2,400 and misfire or rough idle at $250–$1,600. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
19% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other body or interior problem | body | 4 | 2 | — | 17k | — | 307.7 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Wiper or washer failure | glass | 2 | 2 | — | 8k | — | 153.8 | $120–$800 | Moderate |
| Other steering problem | steering | 2 | 2 | — | 11k | — | 153.8 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Misfire or rough idle | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 3k | — | 76.9 | $250–$1,600 | Moderate |
| Complete transmission failure | transmission | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 76.9 | $2,800–$8,000 | Critical |
| Tail light, brake light or signal failure | lighting | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 76.9 | $100–$900 | Moderate |
| Other engine problem | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 1k | — | 76.9 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 20k | — | 76.9 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Other suspension problem | suspension | 1 | 1 | — | 1k | — | 76.9 | $350–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other visibility problem | glass | 1 | 1 | — | 2k | — | 76.9 | $150–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 76.9 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2017 Ford E-450 draws about 1,231 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 99th percentile of complaint rates among 2017 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 13 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2017 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Other steering problem
This is a 24' motorhome. 2017 ford e-450/ while driving in regular traffic, if vehicle is traveling 50 MPH or more, the steering feels loose and the wheels have a delayed reaction to the steering. The vehicle drifts very strongly to the right or left when another vehicle is passing at a greater speed than I am traveling. Sometimes, throwing my vehicle almost off the road, because when the vehicle I am in drifted to the right, the counter steering doesn't respond immediately, hence it is very delayed. Sometimes it feels like the wheels are off the ground, floating on air or not grabbing the road. This happens mostly on highways, but also on city streets. I brought this problem to the attention of the motorhome dealer, they claim this is normal??? Vehicle only had 1094 miles on it when I took possession and problem occurred immediately when I traveled over 50mph. I requested a refund after the 4th day of ownership but the dealer refused my request. What are my options. Got a recall a couple of days ago, about the crankshaft pulley bolt needing tightening. Please advise when the dealer would have been notified about this problem. Was…
Recalls on the 2017 model year
NHTSA has issued 2 recall campaigns covering the 2017 Ford E-450, affecting an estimated 14 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover equipment and exterior lighting:brake lights. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
EQUIPMENT
52 vehicles 2019-06-18- Defect
- SVO Group Inc. (SVO Group) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Ford E-350 and E-450-based shuttle buses equipped with ASA Electronics Voyager monitors used to display the back-up camera image. The affected monitors may revert back to the factory default settings which may cause the camera image to be reversed.
- Consequence
- The driver may inadvertently turn the wrong direction to avoid an object behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- SVO Group will work with ASA to notify owners, and ASA will provide a harness relay capacitor module to eliminate the image reversal, free of charge. The recall began May 9, 2019. Owners may contact ASA Electronics customer service at 1-800-384-4400.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS
17 vehicles 2019-05-03- Defect
- Taylor Made Ambulances is recalling certain 2017-2018 Ford E-350, F-450, E-450, F-550, and GMC G3500-based ambulances equipped with Whelen brake lights. Depending on the specific wiring of the vehicle, these brake lights may illuminate when the brake pedal has not been pressed.
- Consequence
- If the brake lights incorrectly illuminate, it can confuse other drivers, possibly increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Taylor Made will notify owners and Whelen will replace the brake lights, free of charge. The recall began June 5, 2019. Owners may contact Taylor Made Ambulances customer service at 1-800-468-1310.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 2017 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
How 2017 compares with the other years
Severe risk for a 2017 — 30th riskiest of the 263 2017 vehicles we can rate. Every score on this site is a rank inside its own model year, which is what makes a 2004 and a 2019 comparable at all.
Across the 15 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 1997 comes out best at 48 and 2007 worst at 84, with 2017 itself at 81.
If the model year is negotiable, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2005, 2022 and 2013 score lower than 2017 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 2014–2019 generation specifically, 2017 is the strongest year at 81 and 2016 the weakest at 83.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2014-2019 generation, 2017 Ford E-450 scores best at 81 and 2016 Ford E-450 worst at 83.
What this page cannot tell you
16 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 16 reports, 11 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 69% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2017 Ford E-450?
The most-reported failures are other body or interior problem (4 reports, median 15,000 miles), wiper or washer failure (2 reports, median 10,000 miles) and other steering problem (2 reports, median 10,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 2017 Ford E-450 reliable?
It scores 81 out of 100 on our risk index, which is severe — 30th riskiest of the 263 2017 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2017 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Ford E-450 is best?
Within the 2014–2019 generation, 2017 scores best at 81 out of 100 and 2016 worst at 83. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed