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.
My radio/stereo/speakers introduced an extremely loud "pop" noise, or "banging" noise. It was reminiscent to my time overseas in the military and gunfire. It was extremely startling and hurtful to all three passengers in my vehicle, including myself, my spouse, and my 2-year-old child. This is a recurring issue as of now, and many others are complaining about the same issue happening to them.
I went to start my F150 Lightning this morning and got two messages on the dash. The first message was "service vehicle soon" and the second message was "stop safely now". This is the second time I have gotten these messages and my truck was taken to the local dealership after the first incidence. The dealer had it for a week and said they replaced a battery module. My truck drove fine for a week after the dealer service and now has the same issue again. When these messages appear, the truck can operate but only at a significantly limited speed.
while driving, with the audio system off, suddenly I heard a loud explosion. next I heard what sounded like class breaking. I thought i was involved in an accident and slammed on my brakes. Realizing I was ok, the next thought that came to mind was that someone shot at me. The crackling sounds ( like glass breaking did not stop). i drive directly to a ford dealership. they heard and acknowledged the cracking sound. i turned off the truck and the sound CONTINUED.
Deafening sound, speaker pop and random static/buzz sound coming through speakers at random times to include forward /reverse driving, changing gears etc.
I was driving down the highway and a loud pop followed by a very high pitched static noise came out of my speakers. I had to unhook a battery terminal to get it to stop. This is the 3rd time this has happened and the dealership won-??t do anything as it-??s extremely difficult to replicate.
- Savage, MN, USA
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Started vehicle and plugged phone im to play music/charge. Immediately, there was an incredible loud sound: it sounded almost like a gun shot. There was then a loud crackling sound which sounded like glass shattering. It scared me considerably. Thankfully I was parked. I shut the vehicle off and restarted. There was no more noise, but all audio ceased to work. Approximately 3 hours later, the problem went away when I went back put to start the vehicle. If this were to happen while traveling, especially in traffic, it could case a dangerous situation.
Following automatic install of Ford Power-Up 4.2.4 on 6/9/23 center 12-?? infotainment display has been experiencing freeze ups, audio glitches, and video delays. This occurs most often when the rear back up camera is active. At times the rear backup camera video freezes or blanks out entirely. I have not yet contacted the automaker because they-??ve not released any sort of update or comments dealing with the issue. The malfunction could pose a risk of collision as the rear camera becomes briefly unusable even while in motion.
The contact owned a 2022 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 3-4 MPH going up a sandy rocky hill while towing a trailer, he noticed smoke and flames coming from the driver's and passenger's side engine compartments. The contact was able to stop and exit the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated before the fire. The vehicle was burned to the ground when the fire department arrived on the scene. There were no reported injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The insurance company deemed the vehicle a total loss. The Insurance provider had the vehicle inspected by a Fire Origin Specialist however, the contact was not provided a report of any findings. The contact called the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000.
on 4 occasions, my lightening simply died and tow vehicles had to be dispatched. each time it happened, the vehicle was parked and turned off. and would not start. it has been in 3 different ford shops for a total of about 30 days. i took delivery of the vehicle in oct 2022.
The SYNC4 system has been glitching lately everytime I engage reverse or click the button to display the cameras. Typically the glitch is minimal and nothing to be concerned about as the system resumes operation after 2 - 3 seconds. However the other day my family and I were traveling home towing our travel trailer and the SYNC4 system decided to reboot itself mid-drive at highway speeds (No buttons were pressed at this time). Upon resuming normal operation the truck felt as if it was working harder to stop us and the trailer. This is when I noticed that the SYNC4 reboot had caused the trailer brake controller to forget my camper profile and revert to default. This left the trailer applying less braking power than if my camper profile were properly engaged. I was able to recall the camper profile and complete the trip so no injuries to report but this could leave drivers unaware of the change. The truck stayed in its tow/haul mode but there were not visual indicators to alert the driver the trailer brake settings had reverted back to default. I reached out to Ford customer service and they have stated they have not heard this issue to date. I have not taken the truck to the dealer yet but I plan on having them inspect the system. I still face the glitching when pressing the camera button but have not re-produced the trailer brake reset as of now. I am also unsure if the two behaviors are related but they are both controlled by the SYNC system.
While turning on my car, there was an extremely loud pop and deafening noise "exploding" in the truck cabin. If I had been driving at the time, the sudden and extreme noise would have caused me to react in a way to lose control of the vehicle. The noise was easy over 120db. It is been two hours since it happened and my ears are still hurting. I had to remove the radio fuse for this to stop. The issue has been reported to Ford by many users multiple times and no actions have been taken by Ford (see multiple cases here: https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/extremely-loud-electrical-pop-followed-by-loud-static.9591/). There were not warning lamps or messages when this happened.
On 05-07-2023. I started my vehicle and suddenly through the radio speakers there was an extremely loud and painful Pop and static noise through my radio speakers at full volume. I was not able to turn it down or off by turning the radio controls, It was so loud it scared me and my family. Forced us to get off the highway and I turned the truck on and off several times which did nothing, the unbearable noise continued with the vehicle off. I rolled down all the windows and drove 5 miles home whete it continued to make the noisefor about a half hour before finally shutting off. After a while i restarted the truck and the noise has not come back. This is the second time this has happened, but this was the most sever. My pregnant daughter was 2 weeks from delivery and if a newborn would have been in the car it could have easily permantely damanged an infants hearing. My family's ears rang for a day with headaches. My truck has the B & O unleashed sound system. I have read where others have experienced this same issue and Ford has not acknowledged a problem. I called my local Ford dealer and they were not aware of the issue and gave me no guidance. I do not know if this a radio or electrical issue - but something was very very wrong. I believe that my safety and the safety of any children especially young children would be at sever risk. Very paintful experience.
Vehicle B&O Unleashed sound system makes seemingly random BOOMs at full volume (>1000watt system) then a crackling and static sound as well. This is a health risk as my ears hurt 2 days afterward and were ringing no less than 2 hours. This is a safety risk as it seems like gunshots and I was panicked and almost wrecked. Others on forums have wrecked. Here is a description of the -??event-?? this Saturday 5/6/23 Start truck, tiny popping sound, think little of it. Drive about 2 minutes then BOOM BOOM BOOM three speaker max volume blasts, then tweeters start to crackle and give that constant -??static-?? sound. All tweeters continued for minutes. (video in middle of this) I stopped at a light, turned truck off and turned back on-?? no change sounds continue. Stopped at another light, turned truck off, opened door, then turned back on. The static stopped but crackles continued, upon restart static and crackles both continue. What was curious is that as I sped up the volume increased and decreased slightly when I slowed down, which is in line with the variable speed settings. I thought that was peculiar as it indicates some of the settings are still sending normal signals. Stopped, turned off truck, got out and closed door, and fifteen seconds later all sounds finally stopped (have video of this but too much data for NHTSA online portal system).
I remote started the vehicle, when inside the vehicle I pressed the start button. Directly after pressing the start button, a very loud pop followed by static played through the speakers. I was not able to turn the audio volume down or off. I was forced to drive home while the loud static noise continued to play through the speakers. When I arrived home about 25 minutes later, I was able to disconnect the vehicles battery to stop the static playing. I also noticed a burnt electrical smell inside the vehicle but could not identify where specifically the smell was coming from. The following day, the issue seamed to be resolved but the audio quality appeared to be diminished. The subwoofer is no longer working as a result of this audio issue. This would have been very dangerous had I been driving when the problem started and if I had my young child in the vehicle.
Started the truck and there was a loud pop followed by every speaker in the truck blasting an ear-splitting machine-gun like sound. The volume and audio power controls had no effect. Shutting down the truck and opening the door stopped it, but it immediately start again when the truck was started. After several restarts, I hit the F-150 forums and found that pulling fuse 28 from the passenger footwell would stop it so I could drive the truck home. The next day I put the fuse back in and the issue has not reoccurred. I took the truck into the dealer at the next appointment and they were not able to reproduce the issue or find any codes (they listened to music at various volumes and channels for 20 minutes trying to reproduce it, even though I told them I had driven 25 hours since then without it happening). This issue is well known on the Ford F-150 forums with reports of some dealers trying reprogramming or replacing modules, but no conclusive fix that I've heard of. I have a video of it occurring, but the upload won't take video.
I went out to my vehicle in the morning and when opening the door a loud pop came from the speakers and then static there after. The pop was so loud my ears rang for quite awhile. The problem some how was gone 15 minutes later. I have young children and my worry is this happens when they are in the vehicle.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Kingsport, TN, USA