2023 Ford F-150 Reliability Report

The electronic parking brake applying itself while the truck is moving is the clearest pattern. It usually happens at low speed, often in trucks with under 1,500 miles. Several owners say recall 23S35 does not cover later builds. Brake fault warnings also appear, along with an electronic brake booster failure that keeps the truck stuck in Park and a booster that clicks and pops. The 3 crash reports describe a pedal that goes to the floor without stopping the truck, sudden surges while braking, and automatic emergency braking that failed to engage.

Many entries here describe the same cold-weather front hub noise filed under power train: a rumble-strip vibration or grinding below freezing that stops when 4H is engaged. True steering faults include a wheel that seized on a highway and led to a crash, a rack that stuttered and locked at speed near 6,000 miles, and a wheel locked at startup. Several owners report heated steering wheels left out by a chip shortage and never restored under program 22G06. Dash blackouts in towing mode, followed by power steering warnings, also appear.

Water leaks are the main pattern. Water gets in around the passenger-side windshield cowl, the roof, or the floor near the brake pedal, soaking footwells and wiring and leaving a mold smell. Some owners say repairs were refused just outside warranty, or the leak came back after a dealer fix. Panoramic sunroofs shatter at highway speed with nothing striking them, and a rear window blew out when a door was closed. Rear doors that fly open, rear windows stuck down, and repeat Active Air Dam actuator faults also appear.

Moisture inside the tailgate light bar is the leading issue, tied to recall 23S30. Owners report condensation coming back after the recall repair and reverse lights that flicker. Cracked headlamps and taillights fill with water and burn out, and Ford has denied warranty claims by blaming outside damage. Other reports describe trailer lights and turn signals failing while towing, a melted third brake light, flickering fog lights from a failed LED driver module quoted at $700, and dim daytime running lights.

Sudden acceleration at parking-lot speeds is the most serious pattern. Several reports describe the truck surging after a shift from reverse to drive, sometimes while braking, and 3 complaints involve crashes. Some describe cruise control engaging at 15 mph by itself right after reversing. On the highway, set speeds jump 10 to 20 mph higher, adaptive cruise brakes hard for speed limit changes that aren't there, and cruise fails to hold speed downhill. A one-touch cruise button that is easy to bump also draws complaints.

Loss of airflow from the vents, including the defroster, is the dominant complaint. After about an hour of driving with the A/C on, the blower keeps running but little or no air comes out, and the windshield fogs. For some owners, a software fix or module replacement did not cure it, and the problem fades after the truck sits, which makes it hard for dealers to reproduce. Other reports cover sunroofs shattering at highway speed, wipers pausing mid-sweep on high, wiper drive keys falling out, loose sun visors, and a distorted windshield.

With only 7 complaints, no single failure dominates. Reports describe brief power loss or stalling while driving, a shutdown at 45 mph with the wheels locking, and the truck continuing to accelerate for 1-2 seconds after the driver lifts off the pedal. Others note idle shudder at about 2,000 miles, lurching forward a few seconds after a full stop, and a cam phaser failure on the 2.7 liter EcoBoost. One fire started from a front differential oil leak after a burning smell had been dismissed at service.