2017 Ford F-450: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2017 Ford F-450
On the 2017 Ford F-450, the failure owners report most often is liftgate, tailgate or trunk failure, with 10 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 25,000 miles. Overall it scores 68 out of 100, high risk for a 2017.
High risk for a 2017 — 218th riskiest of the 263 2017 vehicles we can rate. 26 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 8 named failure modes on the 2017 Ford F-450, and the three most-reported carry 65% of everything filed, so the trouble here is concentrated rather than scattered.
Liftgate, tailgate or trunk failure leads with 10 reports and about 0.4 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other body or interior problem follows with 4 reports, median 5,000 miles.
CV axle or driveshaft failure follows with 3 reports, median 150,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into body (17), drivetrain (3) and transmission (3).
The mileage the reports cluster at
16 of the reports on the 2017 Ford F-450 came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 25,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 63% by 50,000 miles, 81% by 100,000 miles and 94% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed, with 1 filed above the top of the chart.
The busiest stretch is between 0 and 10,000 miles, which alone holds 25% of the dated reports.
63% 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 further 1 report came in above that, which is why the line stops short of the top. 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
Across the named modes, 2 mention a crash, 1 a fire and 1 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 3.85, 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: liftgate, tailgate or trunk failure at $250–$1,500, other body or interior problem at $200–$2,000, CV axle or driveshaft failure at $450–$2,200 and sunroof failure or glass breakage at $700–$4,500. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
31% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liftgate, tailgate or trunk failure | body | 10 | 6 | — | 43k | — | 0.4 | $250–$1,500 | Moderate |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 4 | 3 | — | 7k | — | 0.2 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| CV axle or driveshaft failure | drivetrain | 3 | 2 | — | 151k | — | 0.1 | $450–$2,200 | High |
| Sunroof failure or glass breakage | body | 3 | 3 | — | 23k | — | 0.1 | $700–$4,500 | High |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 3 | 1 | — | 6k | — | 0.1 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Oil leak | engine | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $250–$2,200 | Moderate |
| Radiator or coolant leak | cooling | 1 | 1 | — | 90k | — | 0.0 | $350–$1,900 | High |
| Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault | airbag | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $300–$1,600 | High |
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 F-450 draws about 1.1 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 73rd 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 24,134 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 body or interior problem
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 ford f-450. While attempting to drive the vehicle, the front and rear driver's side and the rear passenger door failed to lock when the temperature got cold. The contact called siemans ford at (269) 465-5344 (located at 8961 red arrow hwy, bridgman, mi 49106) and was informed that there was no remedy for the vehicle doors. The manufacturer stated that they knew about the failure and there was no remedy to keep the moisture out. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 ford f-450. While attempting to drive the vehicle, the front and rear driver's side and the rear passenger door failed to lock when the temperature got cold. The contact called siemans ford at (269) 465-5344 (located at 8961 red arrow hwy, bridgman, mi 49106) and was informed that there was no remedy for the vehicle doors. The manufacturer stated that they knew about the failure and there was no remedy to keep the moisture out. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.
Recalls on the 2017 model year
NHTSA has issued 4 recall campaigns covering the 2017 Ford F-450, affecting an estimated 26,194 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, engine and structure:body:door. 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
22 vehicles 2019-05-29- Defect
- VCI Emergency Vehicle Specialists (VCI) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Ford F-550, 2014 E-350 and E-450, 2015 F-250 and F-450, 2016 E-450, 2017 E-350, F-450 and E-450, 2018 F-350, 2010 E-450, 2005-2006 E-450, 2009 E-450 and Chevrolet C4500-based Type I and Type III ambulances equipped with ASA Electronics Voyager monitors used to display the back-up camera image. The monitors may unexpectedly 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
- VCI Emergency Vehicle Specialists will work with ASA to notify the owners, and remedy the displays, free of charge. The recall began May 9, 2019. Owners may contact ASA Electronics 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.
ENGINE
410,289 vehicles 2018-12-18- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Ford F-150 and 2017-2019 Ford F-250 Super Duty, F-350 Super Duty, F-450 Super Duty, and F-550 Super Duty pick-up trucks equipped with an engine block heater. Water and contaminants may get into the block heater cable's splice connector causing corrosion and damage.
- Consequence
- When the heater is plugged in, prolonged corrosion could cause a resistive short, increasing the risk of overheated or melted wiring which can increase the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will disable the block heater cable, free of charge. Once parts are available, Dealers will replace the engine block heater cable, free of charge. The recall began June 3, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S45.
STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR
14,410 vehicles 2017-05-22- Defect
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2017 F-150, and 2017 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 vehicles originally produced with black or body colored exterior door handles that may have been subsequently equipped with a chrome exterior door handle cover accessory kit purchased from a Ford dealer. These accessory door handle covers may cause the doors to unlatch in a side impact collision. As such, these vehicles may fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 206, "Door Locks and Door Retention Components."
- Consequence
- If the doors unlatch and open in a side impact collision, the occupants have an increased risk of injury.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will remove the accessory covers and refund the purchase price. The recall began July 13, 2017. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for the recall is 17C09.
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
Where 2017 sits in the model line
High risk for a 2017 — 218th riskiest of the 263 2017 vehicles we can rate. The comparison is always within the same model year, so an older car is never penalised for having had longer to break.
Across the 5 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2020 comes out best at 62 and 2018 worst at 73, with 2017 itself at 68.
If the model year is negotiable, 2020 scores 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.
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.
The limits of complaint data
26 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 26 reports, 16 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 62% 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 F-450?
The most-reported failures are liftgate, tailgate or trunk failure (10 reports, median 45,000 miles), other body or interior problem (4 reports, median 5,000 miles) and cv axle or driveshaft failure (3 reports, median 150,000 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 F-450 reliable?
It scores 68 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 218th 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.
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