2001 Ford F-150 Owner Complaints

The contact owned a 1996 N/A Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off, the firewall located on the driver's side had caught on fire. The fire was extinguished by the Fire Department. A fire report was filed, and a fire report number was not provided. The origin of the fire was not yet determined. A Police report was not filed. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 249,000.

NHTSA ID

11674308

Incident

Jul 17, 2025

Mileage

249,000 mi

The contact owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the rear doors failed to open due to a fractured cable. The contact added WD-40 to the doors. The contact stated that the battery was draining while the door was opened. The contact stated that the resonator connecting the engine and muffler was rusted. The contact added putty to the area. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.

NHTSA ID

11673610

Incident

Jul 10, 2025

Mileage

145,000 mi

The contact owned a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated that he parked the vehicle on the street in front of the residence, and ten minutes later, the contact heard the horn abruptly sounding. His son looked out the window and discovered the vehicle in flames. No warning light was illuminated. The contact called 911 about the failure. There were no injuries sustained. The police and fire departments arrived on the scene, and the firefighters extinguished the fire. The fire consumed and destroyed the entire vehicle. The origin of the fire was in the engine compartment of the driver's side. Police and fire department reports were filed. The vehicle was not towed and remained at the residence. The insurance company was notified of the failure; however, pending an inspection. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 05V017000 (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL), which was associated with the VIN, and upon research, believed that the recall consequence was related to the fire. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11670333

Incident

Jun 27, 2025

The contact owned a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and unoccupied, the vehicle caught on fire. The contact stated that a bystander driving by became aware of the fire underneath the hood of the vehicle and used a fire extinguisher to extinguish the fire. The contact stated that failure was caused by brake fluid leaking onto a faulty brake pressor sensor switch, also called a speed control deactivation switch under the hood, and caused the switch to corrode, causing the fire. No injuries were sustained. The contact stated that the Fire Department was not notified of the fire. The vehicle remand at the residence. The vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 05V388000 (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 283,000.

NHTSA ID

11669284

Incident

Jun 22, 2025

Mileage

283,000 mi

The contact owned a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 05V017000 (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL); The contact's husband had left the vehicle unoccupied and parked outside his workplace. The contact's husband was then contacted by his co-workers via walkie-talkie to inform him the vehicle was on fire. When the contact arrived at the scene of the fire, nine other co-workers and himself attempted to extinguish the fire with water and extinguishers however wires were burnt on the front part of the vehicle and they were unsuccessful. The Fire Department was on scene and extinguished the fire. The origin of the fire was unknown, but the fire department did state it had to do with something electric. The fire took place at [XXX] . The vehicle was consumed by the fire. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact believes the vehicle is a total loss. The vehicle was consumed by the fire. There were no injuries or property damage. A dealer was called and confirmed that there were 2 open recalls associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was unknown. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11645428

Incident

Feb 27, 2025

n/a

NHTSA ID

11644534

Incident

Feb 24, 2025

The contact owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 01V227001 (Seat Belts); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the front passenger’s seat belt loosened independently, and the front driver’s side seat belt occasionally loosened independently. The local dealer informed the contact that parts for recall repairs were not on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 242,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11640386

Incident

Nov 15, 2024

Mileage

242,000 mi

The contact owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle one day, there was an abnormal fuel odor outside the vehicle. The contact’s husband inspected underneath the vehicle and discovered that the fuel tank had detached from the subframe. The contact stated that prior to becoming aware of the failure, the low fuel warning light was occasionally illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer. The local dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that there were no open recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 93,000.

NHTSA ID

11624022

Incident

Aug 26, 2024

Mileage

93,000 mi

The contact owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and turned off, there was smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact stated the engine compartment had caught on fire. The fire was extinguished by the Fire Department. A fire report was filed, and a fire report number was provided; however, the cause for the failure was not yet determined. A police report was not filed. There were no injuries sustained. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 05V017000 (Vehicle Speed Control). The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 154,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11609471

Incident

Aug 19, 2024

Mileage

154,000 mi

The contact owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's side seat belt unbuckled independently. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related it to NHTSA Campaign Number: 00V348000 (Seat Belts) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 293,000.

NHTSA ID

11554003

Incident

May 15, 2023

Mileage

293,000 mi

The contact owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and shut off at the residence, the vehicle caught fire, with flames coming from underneath the hood. No injuries were sustained. The fire department arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. A fire department report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a body shop and was not yet deemed totaled by the insurance company. The insurance company was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 11V385000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) associated with the VIN. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 250,0000.

NHTSA ID

11543361

Incident

Sep 5, 2023

Mileage

250,000 mi

The contact owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he heard an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. After visual inspection, the contact was able to conclude that the sound originated from the passenger’s side exhaust manifold. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that there was a failure with the bolts securing the exhaust manifold. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred three times. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 85,000.

NHTSA ID

11531582

Incident

Jun 15, 2023

Mileage

85,000 mi

2001 Ford F-150 Consumer writing to inform of a the fire that occurred while stopped in traffic. Description of incident and pictures attached.

NHTSA ID

11522210

Incident

Mar 30, 2023

The contact owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off the vehicle suddenly caught on fire and was destroyed. The fire department was called to the impoundment lot and extinguished the flames which came from the engine compartment. A fire report was taken at the scene. The cause of the fire was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 190,000.

NHTSA ID

11517817

Incident

Apr 1, 2023

Mileage

190,000 mi

The car will randomly go forward while shifted in reverse I smashed into my boat trying to back up and when foward

NHTSA ID

11509127

Incident

Feb 22, 2023

The seat belt quit locking in place shortly after I purchased the truck

NHTSA ID

11472837

Incident

Feb 2, 2022

The contact owned a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated that he had noticed that the cruise control had stopped functioning. The contact stated that the vehicle had been parked for three hours at his residence driveway with no keys in the ignition and had caught on fire. The contact stated that he had no warning. The vehicle had been engulfed in flames and the fire department had been called and extinguished the fire using water. The contact stated that a fire report was issued. The contact's insurance company declared the vehicle a complete loss. The contact related the failure to an open recall on his vehicle NHTSA Campaign Number: 05V017000 (Vehicle Speed Control). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 230,000.

NHTSA ID

11469008

Incident

Jun 5, 2022

Mileage

230,000 mi

The contact's associate owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated while his associate was driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle experienced a braking failure. The ABS warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the braking system had failed and the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 05V017000 (Vehicle Speed Control). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 190,000.

NHTSA ID

11460761

Incident

Mar 6, 2022

Mileage

190,000 mi

Whoever tested our seatbelts on this vehicle years ago at the Ford dealership in Florence, Alabama did not do a good test. When me or my husband are driving the driver side seatbelt will release and we have to pull over to fasten it back again. It will do this several times while driving, which is a safety hazard. It has to be a defect in the connection of the seatbelt. The one on the passenger side works and have not had any problems with it coming undone. It is only the one on the driver's side that wants to come undone while driving. We will put it on and tug on it and it stays but when driving it will not stay fastened long. When they did the test at the Ford dealer in Florence, Alabama many years ago, all they did was fasten it without sitting in the seat and tug on it a few times and said it passed. We then moved to Texas in November of 2001 and on the way there it started releasing going down the road. Since the seatbelt was tested back then we were not sure if we could get it tested again for that purpose. Is there anything we can do to get this fixed even though we had it tested already once before?

NHTSA ID

11453674

Incident

Nov 30, 2001

The contact owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the passenger’s and driver’s side seat belts would unbuckle without warning. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 01V227001 (Seat Belts) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

NHTSA ID

11443792

Incident

Aug 2, 2017

Mileage

170,000 mi

The frame is rusting apart.

NHTSA ID

11435645

Incident

Oct 5, 2021

The contact owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked unattended, he heard an abnormal popping noise and noticed the vehicle was engulfed in fire. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no reported injuries or police reports. The contact was able to move the other vehicles away from the fire. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000. The contact mentioned she never received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 05V017000 (Vehicle speed control). Consumer stated manufacture was contacted multiple times and was told to file insurance claim. Insurance was for collision and liability only.

NHTSA ID

11432720

Incident

Sep 12, 2021

Mileage

150,000 mi

The contact owns a 2001 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in the driveway flames were suddenly present coming from the engine compartment. The fire department was called to the scene and extinguished the flames. During the incident, the vehicle was destroyed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified. The contact indicated that prior to the fire the vehicle had not been driven or turned on for two days. The failure mileage was 89,000.

NHTSA ID

11429763

Incident

Aug 17, 2021

Mileage

89,000 mi

While we were driving the truck started shaking bad and smoke comes out of the tire

NHTSA ID

11418869

Incident

May 28, 2021

CLUTCH FAN BELT

NHTSA ID

11412821

Incident

Feb 1, 2021