Print this page

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
18,937 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2020 Ford F-150 engine problems

engine problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2020 Ford F-150:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2020 Ford F-150 Owner Comments (Page 3 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #26

Apr 282022

F-150

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving and I came to a stop sign when I tried to accelerate the engine turned off and I was turning into traffic thankfully I was able to pull into the middle lane. The screen showed the auto stop start symbol and to put the truck in park and turn the key. When I restarted the truck it was driving fine. I took the truck in to dealer and they found nothing wrong with it very scary.

- Ellenwood, GA, USA

problem #25

May 042022

F-150

  • miles
This safety problem has happened twice in the last 3 months without warning. There are no check engine or service lights on of any kind. I was operating my vehicle on paved city roads driving at normal pace for the conditions. First time this incident happened I was driving approximately 25 mph beginning to scrub speed for a stoplight. Without warning the vehicle shutoff and had no power to anything. The warning on the dash said put vehicle in park to restart. I had to park on a 45mph road with traffic and no shoulder to restart my vehicle. After this first incident I took my vehicle to the dealership and they were unable to find anything wrong. The second time this same incident happened was yesterday 5/4/22. I was turning right at approximately 10-12mph and vehicle shutoff without warning. Lost power to all systems. I had to again park the vehicle on a busy road abruptly to restart, only after having to place vehicle in park. Pending visit to dealership on Monday 5/9/22. Ford has also been contacted and incidents documented.

- Overland Park, KS, USA

problem #24

Apr 262022

F-150

  • miles
When at a stop sign, with the auto start stop engaged, I went to accelerate and the engine stalled with the following message of "auto start stop shift to P, then restart engine". This was extremely dangerous and a safety issue that Ford needs to fix. I was in the middle of an intersection and thankful no other vehicles approaching. I had to shift to Park, turn ignition switch off and restart engine. Vary concerning in driving this vehicle anymore!

- Waunakee, WI, USA

problem #23

Feb 262022

F-150

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Ii stopped at a stop sign and the auto stop feature engaged. As I began to pull out the engines started and then stalled. I received an error message in the message center above the steering wheel, it said -??AUTO STOP START SHIFT TO P THE RESTART THE ENGINE-??. Fortunately it was a secondary road. There was a car coming but I was able to coast to the side of the road, activate my flashers before he arrived. I put the vehicle in park and was able to restart the engine without a problem. It did not happen again.

- Nazareth, PA, USA

problem #22

Dec 162021

F-150

  • miles
Transmission shifts hard and searches for a gear. Loud noises from power train when stopping

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #21

Sep 012021

F-150

  • miles
engine makes a metallic noise, spark knock sound at lower speeds 10- 40 mph. Talk to ford dealer and was told to drive it till it codes. There was nothing they could check otherwise. There is 39,000 miles on it.

- Fairgrove, MI, USA

problem #20

Sep 032021

F-150

  • 23,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive and electronic power. The vehicle rolled to a complete stop. After approximately five minutes a message on the center display stated, -??Shift vehicle to Park and restart-??. The vehicle was restarted and driven to the residence. The next day the contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.

- Gore, VA, USA

problem #19

Jul 222021

F-150

  • miles
2020 F-150 with the 5.0 engine uses over 2 quarts of oil in 2000 miles. Had the oil changed in April with the odometer reading 6300 miles, checked the oil at 8366 miles and it was barley on the dipstick. Went to the local Ford dealer and Service Manager said that 1 quart in 1500 miles is normal. This is over 2 quarts in 2000 miles so they are going to do an Oil Consumption test on the engine. I am unaware if TSB 19-2365 was done on the vehicle prior to buying it in April 2020. I have also reported the issue to Ford HQ and have a case number with them.

- Fredericksburg, VA, USA

problem #18

Jul 182021

F-150

  • miles
1) Truck's EcoBoost motor suddenly shut-down without any clear warning....Vehicle Is available to inspect. 2) Turning into a busy road, from a stop at a traffic light, had no power to exit road with traffic in front of and behind my truck. I had enough rolling inertia to glide into the nearest open parking lot. When this sudden motor shut-down occurred, my left turning blinker began to blink rapidly, a buzzing was heard coming from under the dash board near glove box, a red battery warning light was seen on instrument panel indicating no power. I stopped my truck, put it into park and tried several times to re-start my motor. That failed to start several times. Finally, I was able to start the motor and with great caution was able to drive to my home. 3) Problem confirmed by a Ford Service Dealer 4) Vehicle has been inspected by the Ford Service where I purchased the vehicle about a year ago...9546 miles on the vehicle, now. Service technician connected a diagnostic computer to my vehicle and found..."A Communication Error Fault with a code." No code number was on the tech's report, however. Date of this Incident was: July 18, 2021, Sunday

- Aiken, SC, USA

problem #17

Jul 062021

F-150

  • miles
While driving on a city street, the engine suddenly stopped. A message on the instrument cluster display said something to the effect of "Auto StartStop. Put vehicle in 'P' and start the engine". Vehicle has less that 4000 miles on it. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS EVENT, and if it should occur in heavy traffic, could result in serious injury or death. Have not yet been to the dealer. Making this complaint immediately since a quick check shows other owners reporting this event with their vehicles on this official site as well as on many unofficial forums, indicating that this is a common occurrence with the product and not this specific vehicle.

- Titusville, FL, USA

problem #16

May 032021

F-150

  • 12,073 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was turned up a driveway and the truck stalled the warning light said auto start stop put in P and start engine. I turned off auto start stop and put in P and it started

- Trenton, MI, USA

problem #15

Apr 222021

F-150

  • 4,218 miles
For the 3rd time while I was driving my 2020 F150 stx with only 4,218 miles the engine shut off completely and displayed 'auto startstop shift to P, then restart engine' on the dash display. The last time this happened was on 4/22/21 I was driving through a street going about 20 mph. Fortunately, there were no vehicle in front of me or behind me and I was not trying to turn at an intersection which could have resulted in a collision. The same thing had happened on 3/18/21 while driving on a street going about 15 mph. And the first time this happened was on 2/20/21 I was pulling in to my driveway so stopping and doing so was not a safety problem. I am really concerned about this problem I felt very unsafe in my truck if this problem doesn't get resolved people can get in to an accident and get seriously injured or killed. I did some research online and also checked my VIN for any recalls and I was surprised to not find any. From researching online forums the auto start/stop function appears to be faulty and needs to be fixed/recalled before someone is seriously injured or killed. This issue appears to be widespread and across multiple model years. On 4/24/21 I took my truck to the dealership where I purchased it the tech called me and told me that they ran several tests and the truck did not give any problem codes. For safety dealership said they did not want me to drive truck so they would keep it and would contact Ford to report issue and wait for their recommendation. I'm still waiting for update. I hope Ford takes this issue seriously and does a recall.

- Montclair, CA, USA

problem #14

Mar 242021

F-150

  • 800 miles
While I was driving through a parking lot, and turning slightly left, the engine shut off completely and displayed "auto startstop shift to P, then restart engine" on the dash display. Fortunately, I was not trying to turn and cross traffic on a highway which could have resulted in a catastrophic T-bone collision. The auto start/stop function appears to be faulty and needs to be fixed/recalled before someone is seriously injured or killed. From researching online forums, the issue appears to be widespread and across multiple model years.

- Gainesville, FL, USA

problem #13

Mar 232021

F-150

  • 7,200 miles
Vehicle was slowing at an intersection with foot on brake. Lifted foot off and moved to accelerator to turn right onto the main road. Engine shut off and there was no response on acceleration. Dashboard chimed and gave the warning "auto startstop shift to P, then restart engine." Managed to pull the vehicle off to the side of the road. Shifted to park, restarted engine.

- Elkton, MD, USA

problem #12

Mar 192021

F-150

  • 365 miles
Just bought the truck. I took it to the store, then around town. While making a left turn down a side street, I pushed the button for the heat, to turn it off. I heard a weird buzzing noise. My breaks stopped working fully. No breaks at all. No power break, since it's electrical or something. No way to stop the truck. When I tried to push the gas to move. There was no power to the transmission at all. When I finally stopped. I tried to figure out the issues. Switching several options and modes to try to find the solution. Called a mechanic. No codes were given on the system. Had to wait 2 hours for a tow truck. I'm a disabled vet, had to walk back to my house to grab my other car, since I didn't know if this truck was just going to decide to take off with me in it. The whole system is electrical and buggy. Sure enough. Before the tow truck got there, I was with another person who had a similar Ford F150. He went through some options. Without touching the accelerator, the truck started to rev up. We quickly went to the engine to disconnect the battery. If that transmission would have activated it would have smashed into several people, cars and houses. Then that's when I looked up the recall for the 2020 F150 and found all the information I wish I would have seen before the purchase. 365 miles on the truck. Had it less than 14 hours. Drove it for about 20 mins. Noticed premature rust underneath, but didn't think too much of it. A lot of parts were rusting and had no protection.

- Bushnell, IL, USA

problem #11

Mar 162021

F-150

  • 4,900 miles
For the second time today, my 2020 F150 has turned itself off, while I was driving, with a message to "shift to park and restart engine". I happened to be pulling into my driveway, so stopping and doing so was not a safety problem. The first time, I was in a parking lot and was able to coast to a stop and do this, but if this happens on a road, or worse, when entering an intersection when crossing without stopping is necessary, someone is going to get killed.. I have not bothered to report this to Ford, because I am active on an F150 forum and have found that this same thing has happened to many other people, and Ford has no idea how to fix it. I noticed several people said it happened when the weather was chilly - one person said it was 42 degrees. In my case, the weather today is 40, and it was similar weather last time it happened. I have no idea if this is related, but it's an interesting coincidence otherwise. My car was moderately warmed up, I had only driven about 8 miles. Picture of the dash from today's incident attached. In both cases, the truck was otherwise driving fine, giving no indication of problems, and also started right back up and showed no other problem. It has probably been about 3 months since the first time. The second time was today - 3.16.2021

- Mount Airy, MD, USA

problem #10

Feb 192021

F-150

  • miles
My 2020 Ford F-150 5.0L V8 has an excessive oil consumption problem. The day I took it to get it's very first oil change (January 2021), before I drove it to the dealership to get changed, I checked the oil level and it was low. It only had 5K miles on it. They changed the oil and topped it off. When I checked it yesterday (February 19th, 2021), it was reading half full on the dipstick, with 6,600 miles on the vehicle.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

problem #9

Jan 102021

F-150

  • 416 miles
Eight days after new purchase, with 416 miles on the odometer the engine failed from a currently undiagnosed defect. Large amounts of white smoke from the exhaust covered the highway, potentially affecting visibility of other drivers. The vehicle lost all power, after pulling off from highway the engine would not start. Ford dealership service department verified the engine locked up after the failure.

- Pittsburg, KS, USA

problem #8

Jan 092021

F-150

  • 495 miles
Vehicle in motion pulled up to a stop light (with start/stop disabled via the button) the light turned green before coming to a complete stop but the truck shut off. Then I was greeted with a window that displayed "auto start unavailable shift to P to restart". I put the truck in park, restarted it, and it drove fine after that.

- Stallings, NC, USA

problem #7

Dec 142020

F-150

  • 3,000 miles
My new 2020 F150 with 5.0 V8 truck over consumes oil, adding a quart of oil every 1000 miles. Brought to dealer every week after about 500 miles and they add at least a half query or more every time. I bought in October 2020 and in the first month I went through 4 qts of oil.

- Anoka, MN, USA

Read the next 6 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?