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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
1,515 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.

2021 Ford F-150 brakes problems

brakes problem

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2021 Ford F-150 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #45

Aug 162024

F-150

  • miles

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

Purchased vehicle w/ roughly 5000miles in 2021 from Ford Dealer. All stock items and factory tires. At roughly 50,000 during state inspection, it was found that the front passenger brake line was chafing on tire and was deemed unsafe by the Ford dealership. No prior work or modifications was done in this area. Research indicates that this is happening to other Ford F150s

- Lancaster, PA, USA

problem #44

Jul 312024

F-150

  • miles
On Wednesday [XXX]. The front brake hose rubbed against the right front tire, causing it to bust and me to lose brakes very dangerous, difficult to stop my vehicle. This needs to be addressed. All the brake safety features failed and all the brake related dash lights came on. The truck is at Bob Bell Ford in Maryland. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Pikesville, MD, USA

problem #43

Jun 192024

F-150

  • miles
While driving the parking break activated. I was in the middle of the road with my newborn. I believe my truck should have been recalled since this is something that other F150 had. I took it to the Ford dealership and they said there was no active recall on this vehicle. So I had them check it since it-??s such a high safety concern. And yes there was a default with the parking break system.

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

problem #42

Jun 262024

F-150

  • miles

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

I contacted a local Ford dealership: Hempstead Ford, 301 N Franklin St, Hempstead, NY 11550, (516) 363-1579 to perform multiple safety recalls issued by NHTSA. The service department refused to schedule me for service because I did not buy the vehicle from their dealership. I reported this to Ford Customer Relations and was told that they cannot force the dealership to service my vehicle. I believe this is illegal.

- Oceanside, NY, USA

problem #41

Apr 152024

F-150

  • miles
Truck was repair as per the recall of the emergency brake however is still applying the parking brake again and took it to have it scan but ford dealer ship says they don't find no codes or anything saying it does and I'm just scared of continuing to put myself and my family at risk when is still applying the emergency brake whenever it wants. So far has done it over 3 times in a period of a few moths after the recall was supposedly been done for that same reason. On the picture I'm posting here is the invoice of the repair of the recall. Is in Spanish part of it but all the numbers of the recall are there

- Carolina, PR, USA

problem #40

Jun 072024

F-150

  • miles
While approaching a red traffic signal at speed, I went to apply brakes and the brake pedal had no resistance and failed to slow the vehicle. Immediately several alarms sounded and lights illuminated on the dash board. I was able to slow the vehicle with repeated brake attempts and swiftly moving to the right turn lane where I could navigate a turn and come to a complete stop after coasting. Dashboard indicated: Pre-collision assist not available, antilock brake fault, service AdvanceTrac, and check brake system.

- Huntingtown, MD, USA

problem #39

May 242024

F-150

  • miles

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

Unknown which component is failing. It started with a rumble while accelerating or coasting but goes away when I shift into neutral so I believe that is the transmission. Other issues that are occurring randomly, speedometer will change indication to slower speed than I am actually going or it will drop to 0 while I am driving. Alerts and faults that have shown at the same time the speedometer goes out are: Powertrain fault, ABS, Forward Collision Warning, Parking Collision Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Warning, Lane Keeping Assistance, Cross Traffic Warning. Also a random metallic spinning noise coming from under the truck. It has been in the dealer garage 5 times now.

- Lexington Park, MD, USA

problem #38

Apr 252024

F-150

  • miles
If you pull onto a road and try to accelerate, the vehicle is unresponsive. The RPMs will increase, yet the vehicle drive train (10 Speed Transmission) is unresponsive for several seconds. This has been an ongoing issue with the vehicle since new and was first reported to Ford Customer service on Jan 2022. Ford has made several attempts to fix this issue, yet the transmission continues to fail with the same issue. This is a critical safety issue that jeopardizes the passengers in the vehicle. Vehicle parking brake engages without notice. At any given time, the electronic parking brake engages without warning and you have to manually release. While sitting at a controlled intersection, on an inclined street, waiting for traffic light to change, with vehicle in Drive, foot on the brake, the electric parking brake engaged. Vehicle shift lever moved to the park position on its own. Vehicle engages it's parking brake and moves shift lever into Park while sitting in traffic is very dangerous. Vehicle shift column failed in drive and vehicle would not move or run. This caused drive train to lock in place, freezing all four tires. Ford had to drag truck onto flat bed with tires locked. It had to be dragged off flatbed when delivered to Ford dealer for repair. They had to put grease down on the flatbed so truck would slide off without tires rolling. While at the dealership, the mechanic had to manually disconnect the calipers in order to move vehicle. The safety backup features failed and would not release wheels (lever under steering column).

- Dunedin, FL, USA

problem #37

Apr 172024

F-150

  • miles
Normal brakes fail. Only the emergency brake functions and locks up one of the rear tires.

- Deland, FL, USA

problem #36

Apr 102024

F-150

  • miles
My family and I were driving to a local coffee shop when my dash went off with a low brake fluid warning, I pull over to check and it was bone dry. That pretty odd so I immediately start looking for leaks and discovered the passenger side rear brake line where it connects to the rubber hose and goes to the caliper has a MAJOR leak. I videoed the leak so show how bad it was and where it was leaking from. The rubber hose itself if fine the leak is coming from the metal part of the hose but unfortunately the way to fix the issue is by replacing the hose assembly and according to ford that part is a wearable item, so my extended warranty I paid for it does not cover it. I find it absurd and extremely dangerous that a three-year-old truck has a major brake fluid leak like that and Ford has been no help at all. I-??ve spent all day on the phone with them arguing and they don-??t seem to care. This is a major safety issue from a clearly faulty part from the manufacturer, and I don-??t feel as though I should be responsible with the bill.

- Whiteman Afb, MO, USA

problem #35

Feb 032024

F-150

  • miles

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

While driving forward the parking brake system automatically applied itself. Because of this I was nearly involved in a rear end collision. This was completely unexpected and without warning. The vehicle was in for service last week. It is now back in service and they are having trouble diagnosing the parking brake system. My vehicle is currently at the dealer and the dealer is in contact with Ford because the dealer is having trouble diagnosing the parking brake system.

- Dousman, WI, USA

problem #34

Nov 292023

F-150

  • miles
On November 29, 2023 I took my 2021 F150 to Larry Miller Ford for servicing and repairs related to Recalls 22S71 and 23S35. When the tech was rotating the wheels he discovered that the axle shaft bolts were sheered off on both the left and right rear wheels. The service manager called to tell me that this was a serious safety issue and that only the brake rotors were preventing the wheels from falling off the truck. The service manager told me there was a "Customer Satisfaction Program 22B34" issued by Ford, but no Ford Recall relating to the problem. Larry Miller Ford has replaced both axles and axle bolts. I am waiting to find out if there is damage to the rotors, calipers or brake pads, a concern since the sheered off bolts were rattling around within that area since breaking off apparently between service visits. I strongly believe Ford should be required to issue a recall on this problem. I never received a notification on CSP 22B34. Had it not been for my tire rotation, the wheels could have fallen off at highway speed.

- Sandy, UT, USA

problem #33

Oct 042023

F-150

  • miles
On 3 occasions the emergency break applied itself while vehicle still moving and all of them was parking the vehicle but not got to fully stop when e brake applied itself. Also took it to the dealer nut they didn't find anything wrong with the vehicle

- Carolina, PR, USA

problem #32

Aug 072023

F-150

  • miles
The electric trailer brakes only work intermittently. This results in dangerous situations where they fail without warning. An update was made in 2022 but failed to fix the issue. I have been on forums where many others are still having issues just like mine. It's very dangerous and needs to be addressed.

- Wayland, MI, USA

problem #31

Aug 162023

F-150

  • miles
The Brake Pedal must be pressed very hard and the Pedal travels further than normal compared to my 2020 F150. The dealer told me the Brakes are OK but I can-??t believe that Power Disk brakes don-??t stop the vehicle easily. There-??s is also extra brake necessary to come to a complete stop !

- Dingmans Ferry , PA, USA

problem #30

Aug 122023

F-150

  • miles
Electronic parking brake activated unexpectedly at low speed after taking off from a stop. From a stop traveling downhill at a low rate of speed, the parking break activated and caused the truck to skid to a halt three times causing a safety issue for drivers around the vehicle. Manually deactivated the electronic parking brake each time and after forward movement at about 5 mph, it activated again. After the fourth attempt to start forward movement, the electronic parking brake stayed off. After doing research, recall 23V-509 came up but this specific VIN does not appear to be tagged under that recall.

- Santa Clara, CA, USA

problem #29

Jul 122023

F-150

  • miles
This is the 4th time since purchasing the truck that this event has happened with time having the most severe results. When shifting from reverse to park the shifter goes into park and jumps back into reverse. First event (after exiting the truck) the truck rolled into a shipping dock breaking a taillight and buckling the rear bumper. Next two I had one foot on running board and one foot in the truck ant was able to hit the brake stopping the truck. This fourth event one foot was on the running board and one on the ground. As truck went back the door flattened me to the ground and the front tires rolled over both of my legs. The truck rolled up an inclined parking lot, across a busy road and down a bank. I was driven by ambulance to the hospital and then transferred and airlifted to trauma center at Ruby Memorial Hospital. After the second event the local Ford dealer said they could not duplicate the event. The brakes do not hold even though they are depressed and set when the shifter is shifted.

- Reedsville, WV, USA

problem #28

Jan 092023

F-150

  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle lurched and jerked. There was no further information provided. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

- Monroe, LA, USA

problem #27

Feb 042023

F-150

  • miles
My 2021 F150 XLT with 19,000 miles has never had functioning trailer brakes. Initially I was plagued with constant trailer wiring fault / trailer disconnected issues, and zero slide or pedal brakes, when trying to tow a travel trailer. Two separate dealerships initially dismissed my concerns because it passed their trailer simulator test. Eventually, Ford replaced the trailer wiring harness under warranty. After that, I had intermittent slide brakes that would work, but I never saw any brake output when using the pedal brakes, regardless of gain setting. Ford then replaced the trailer brake controller, which worsened the issue: once again I am getting trailer wiring faults. My slide brakes are extremely hit or miss, and when they do engage they catch and release several times. I still have zero brake output when using the pedal brakes regardless of gain. The dealership consulted a Ford engineer and assured me that my truck is perfect, I should not expect to see brake output for pedal brakes, and all is working as designed. They blamed my trailer. I demanded to test my trailer with a different F150 from the dealership and it works flawlessly - brake output on both slide and pedal brakes, no error codes. It is horrifyingly obvious that I have never had ANY trailer braking functioning with my pedal brakes now that I have compared the braking distance in the loaner truck to my truck. If I had believed Ford, I would be towing a 7,500lb trailer with zero idea that I did not have any trailer brakes. Dealership and corporate are both kicking their feet on a potential fix to this horrifyingly dangerous trailer brake problem.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

problem #26

Apr 072023

F-150

  • miles
Park/Emergency Brake system light illuminates and system engages when vehicle is placed from drive to park, and when system is shut down the light illuminates and engages. Also, when vehicle is started the park brake light shows to be engaged. When the vehicle is put in reverse the light is still illuminated while the vehicle is backing up. The light stays on while the vehicle is in backward motion. Safety concerns for me and my family are: 1. What if the Park Brake engaged while driving at normal speed - what could happen? 2. With vehicle parked and brake system engaged driver should not be able to put vehicle in reverse and back up without disengaging brake lever. The vehicle was taken to the local dealership service center twice to try to get resolution of the park brake light issue. They were unable to duplicate the issue and stated that according to Ford's maintenance policy there was nothing more that could be done. We have tried to contact Ford through their main customer service phone number. We literally spent hours on the phone trying to reach someone who could help us with the issue, but no one had an answer for us. A case file was made by Ford Customer Service and marked "RESOLVED". It has not been resolved. As stated, the park brake light started showing up in February 2022. As of this time there has not been an incident, but I can't rule out that something might happen. I think it should be addressed by the dealership and/or Ford engineer with more interest than just a dismissal attitude.

- Tomball, TX, USA

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