2026 Ford F-150: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2026 Ford F-150
On the 2026 Ford F-150, the failure owners report most often is ABS module or sensor failure, with 3 reports on file.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 6 named failure modes on the 2026 Ford F-150, and the three most-reported carry 63% of everything filed, so the trouble here is concentrated rather than scattered.
ABS module or sensor failure leads with 3 reports and about 0.0 per 1,000 vehicles.
Piston, ring or cylinder wall damage follows with 1 report.
Seat belt or retractor failure follows with 1 report.
By system, the reports fall mostly into brakes (3), engine (1) and airbag (1).
When these failures get reported
Too few of the reports on this year carry an odometer reading to describe the timing: 0 of them do. The mileages quoted elsewhere on this page come from the modes that have enough of them.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What happens when these parts fail
Nothing in the reports on the 2026 Ford F-150 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 4.13, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. 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: ABS module or sensor failure at $500–$2,400, piston, ring or cylinder wall damage at $3,000–$9,500, seat belt or retractor failure at $200–$900 and other steering problem at $350–$2,400. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
13% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABS module or sensor failure | brakes | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $500–$2,400 | High |
| Piston, ring or cylinder wall damage | engine | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $3,000–$9,500 | Critical |
| Seat belt or retractor failure | airbag | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $200–$900 | High |
| Other steering problem | steering | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $200–$2,000 | 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 2026 Ford F-150 draws about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 72nd percentile of complaint rates among 2026 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 85,919 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2026 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
Recalls on the 2026 model year
NHTSA has issued 5 recall campaigns covering the 2026 Ford F-150, affecting an estimated 130,674 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 suspension:rear, power train:driveline:differential unit, fuel system, gasoline:storage:tank assembly:mounting and structure:body. 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.
SUSPENSION:REAR
17 vehicles 2026-09-09- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026 F-150 vehicles.The stabilizer rod fasteners may not have been tightened properly during manufacturing, which can allow the rod to shift out of position.
- Consequence
- A misaligned stabilizer rod can cause a loss of vehicle handling and control, which can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the stabilizer rod fasteners, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 15, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S66. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on September 10, 2026.
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DIFFERENTIAL UNIT
37 vehicles 2026-09-09- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026 F-150 vehicles. Incorrect rear axle tail bearings may have been installed, which can result in rear wheel lock-up or driveshaft separation.
- Consequence
- Rear wheel lock-up can result in a loss of vehicle control. Driveshaft separation can result in a loss of drive power, or a vehicle rollaway if the vehicle is parked without the parking brake applied. Either of these situations can increase the risk of a crash or injury.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the rear axle tail bearing, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 21, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S63. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning September 14, 2026.
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY:MOUNTING
223,472 vehicles 2026-09-09- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2023-2027 F-150 vehicles. The fuel tank may be improperly secured and leak fuel, or detach from the vehicle while driving.
- Consequence
- A detached tank can create a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, a fuel leak can cause an engine stall or increase the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the fuel tank straps, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed September 21, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S69. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning September 14, 2026.
STRUCTURE:BODY
23 vehicles 2026-08-25- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026 Maverick, F-150, and Bronco Sport vehicles. Certain vehicle joints may be improperly tightened. This can lead to detached parts, unsecured cargo, degraded crash protection, electrical system failure, or a loss of vehicle stability.
- Consequence
- Improperly tightened vehicle joints may lead to a loss of vehicle control, electrical failure, or detached parts, increasing the risk of a crash or fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and tighten the vehicle joints or repair and replace the joint retention mechanisms as necessary, free of charge. Owner notifications letters are expected to be mailed September 21, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S60. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on August 26, 2026.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INTEGRATED TRAILER BRAKE CONTROL
4,381,878 vehicles 2026-02-20- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2021-2026 F-150, 2022-2026 F-250 SD, F-350 SD, F-450 SD, F-550 SD, Maverick, 2024-2026 Ranger, 2023-2026 F-600 SD, 2022-2027 Lincoln Navigator, Expedition, and 2026 E-Transit vehicles. When towing a trailer, the integrated trailer module (ITRM) may lose communication with the vehicle, possibly causing a loss of brake and turn signal lights, or a loss of brake function. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, " Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated…
- Consequence
- Trailer lights or brakes that do not function can reduce the driver’s ability to control the trailer and decrease the trailers visibility to other road users, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- The integrated trailer module software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 25, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C10. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning March 17, 2026.
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.
Where 2026 sits in the model line
Across the 30 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 1996 comes out best at 63 and 2007 worst at 80.
Within the 2019–2027 generation specifically, 2025 is the strongest year at 69 and 2019 the weakest at 79.
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 2019-2027 generation, 2025 Ford F-150 scores best at 69 and 2019 Ford F-150 worst at 79.
What this page cannot tell you
8 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 8 reports, 0 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 0% 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 2026 Ford F-150?
The most-reported failures are abs module or sensor failure (3 reports), piston, ring or cylinder wall damage (1 report) and seat belt or retractor failure (1 report). 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.
Which year of the Ford F-150 is best?
Within the 2019–2027 generation, 2025 scores best at 69 out of 100 and 2019 worst at 79. 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