2018 Ford E-450: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2018 Ford E-450
Only 5 defect reports have been filed with NHTSA about the 2018 Ford E-450, which is too few to compute mileage percentiles or a risk score. The reports reported wheel bearing or hub failure.
When each failure gets reported
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
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheel bearing or hub failure | drivetrain | 1 | 1 | — | 5k | — | 1.1 | $350–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure | suspension | 1 | 1 | — | 4k | — | 1.1 | $400–$2,200 | High |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.1 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 2 | 1 | — | 800 | — | 2.2 | — | 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.
Recalls on the 2018 model year
NHTSA has issued 4 recall campaigns covering the 2018 Ford E-450, affecting an estimated 921 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, exterior lighting:brake lights and suspension:front:springs:leaf spring assembly:u-bolt, leaf s. 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.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS
36 vehicles 2019-03-26- Defect
- Excellance, Inc. (Excellance) is recalling certain 2018 Ambulances and Emergency Vehicles built on Ford E-350, E-450, F-650, F-550 4x4, Chevrolet G4500, G4500 Diesel, C3500, G3500, Freightliner M2, International 4300, and Dodge 4500 chassis and 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. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated…
- Consequence
- If the brake lights incorrectly illuminate, it can confuse other drivers, possibly increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Excellance has notified owners, instructing them to contact Whelen to have the brake lights replaced, free of charge. The recall began on March 21, 2019. Owners may contact Whelen customer service at 1-860-718-2331 or Execellance at 1-256-772-9321.
SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:LEAF SPRING ASSEMBLY:U-BOLT, LEAF SPRING TO AXLE
904 vehicles 2018-06-01- Defect
- MORryde International, Inc. (MORryde) is recalling certain 2018 Ford E-450 chassis modified for transit bus use. The U-bolts on the rear axle that hold the leaf spring and rear axle together may have been insufficiently tightened.
- Consequence
- The loose U-bolts may further loosen or break allowing the axle to separate and cause a loss of control, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- MORryde will notify the chassis purchasers, and dealers for those companies will inspect the tightness of the U-bolts, replacing or tightening the U-bolts as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on June 28, 2018. Owners may contact MORryde customer service at 1-574-293-1581.
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.
Every year of the Ford E-450
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 the reports on file say
The complaints recorded against the 2018 Ford E-450 are wheel bearing or hub failure (1 report, around 5k miles), control arm, ball joint or bushing failure (1 report, around 4k miles) and other body or interior problem (1 report). With a sample this size these are anecdotes rather than a pattern, and they are shown because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see them than nothing.
Why this page is short
A model year needs about 8 reports before percentiles mean anything, and this one does not have them. Complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road, so a thin page usually means a rare car, a new car, or a car whose owners do not file.
Other years of the same model do have enough: 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. The mechanical parts are often shared across those years, so their pages are the better guide to what this one is likely to do, with the caveat that a shared part is not a shared production line.
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