Radiator or coolant leak on the 2008 Ford F-250
When radiator or coolant leak gets reported
Owners of the 2008 Ford F-250 report radiator or coolant leak at a median of 70,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 125,000 miles, from 11 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 6th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 40,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 135,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 95,000 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
9% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40,000 miles | 46,659 miles | 67,730 miles | 123,000 miles | 135,000 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
Putting it right typically runs $350–$1,900 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 4 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2001, at a median of 25,000 miles, and latest on the 1997 at 105,000 miles.
By volume the 2008 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
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.
On march 13, 2012, I filed a complaint with ford motor company customer service regarding a repair they made to my truck. The case number is [xxx]. I had to replace two radiator hoses costing me $500. They were not defective due to abuse or maint. They had a design flaw per the service tech. I brought the truck in for one of them was leaking. They replaced both for they said that the other one was going to leak eventually. They were replaced with a newly designed hose to prevent the leaking. The tech stated that they have had to replace many on this model and year truck. I realize the truck was past the 3 year/36000 mile warranty; however it should have been covered under the power train warranty or ford should have covered the cost. It was a manufacture design flaw and could have blown out on the road causing a break down and highway safety hazard. All I'm asking for is that ford acknowledge the problem and a recall be mandated for the vehicle. The dealership said that was the only way I could be reimbursed. Should you require any additional information please let me know. I'm sure other owners have had this same issue. Also, I…
I am filing a complaint here as ford customer care referenced you in one of their responses to me. My pickup with 24,000 miles on it blew out the tank on the radiator. This could reflect as a safety issue from being stranded. From talking to the service people at lewis and clark ford in yankton sd where I had to be towed to it sounds like this is a common occurrence. I also have done a little research on line and in a short time found approximately 40 case so I am sure there are many more. Any help you could give me with this issue would be appreciated. *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford f250. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle began making noises and stalled periodically. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed there was a cooling system leak and the radiator and hoses would need to be replaced with higher grade hoses and tanks. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 67,730 and the current mileage was 68,000.
Also reported on the 2008 Ford F-250
Other steering problem
Other suspension problem
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure
Other wheel or tire problem
Other engine problem
Other brake problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 11 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 radiator or coolant leak happen on the 2008 Ford F-250?
Across 11 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 70,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 125,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is radiator or coolant leak on the 2008 Ford F-250?
11 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 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