ABS module or sensor failure on the 2004 Ford F-150
2 crashes 3 injuries 5 of the 15 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When abs module or sensor failure gets reported
Owners of the 2004 Ford F-150 report ABS module or sensor failure at a median of 5,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 5,000 miles and a quarter after 30,000 miles, from 13 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 26th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 2,100 miles at the tenth percentile to 35,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 35,100 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
85% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,100 miles | 3,400 miles | 5,000 miles | 28,548 miles | 37,200 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 2 a crash and 3 an injury are mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $500–$2,400 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 24 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2006, at a median of 1,800 miles, and latest on the 2012 at 145,000 miles.
By volume the 1997 carries the most reports, with 113; the 2004 has 15. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
First applaction of brakes after backing out of drive way that is stopping at the red light at (rt)#30-& main rd,brake lines at ABS control manfold,are vibrating so bad it sounds like the fan is rubbing somthing my experance with hydraulic. Tells me that the brake line fittings at there seat in the manafold will fali.#2 this truck has delux mirrors,signal mirrors,LED mounted in the bottom,r/s LED outer three cant be seen from the driver's seat. *ak
While consumer was driving 30-35 MPH, another vehicle cut in front of consumer vehicle, consumer slammed on brakes and vehicle continued on , hitting the other vehicle on driver's front side. Upon impact, neither frontal air bag deployed, and the ABS failed to stop the vehicle. Dealer and the manufacturer were not notified.*ak
While applying the brake pedal vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. Consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection. However, mechanic could not duplicate the problem. *ak
Also reported on the 2004 Ford F-150
Other visibility problem
Window regulator or power window failure
Other engine problem
Other powertrain problem
Other body or interior problem
Other suspension problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 15 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does abs module or sensor failure happen on the 2004 Ford F-150?
Across 13 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 5,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 5,000 miles and a quarter after 30,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is abs module or sensor failure on the 2004 Ford F-150?
15 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.0 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
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