Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2021 Ford F-150 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 123 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 123, in the owner's own words
The safety daytime running lights are failing prematurely. My car has 32,000 miles and my DRL is burnt out on the passenger side. Online forums confirm that this is happening to many, many people. It’s a safety hazard for other drivers because the cost to repair is substantial and people aren’t fixing them. Ford should fix this as a recall.
*Brake system failure, complete shut down of vehicle. *Vehicle unable to start. *Vehicle was taken directly to Peoria Ford ( 9130 W Bell Rd, Peoria, AZ 85382) via tow truck on XXX Confirmed when dropped off of brake system failure and vehicle not functioning. *Vehicle was inspected on XXX which we were originally told it was the battery. Although the vehicle was in for trailer software recall on XXX and during inspection at that time battery was in good health. *No warnings until attempting to use the vehicle on XXX and received the brake system failure alert. Vehicle would also not lock. *After battery was replaced by Peoria Ford I was then told the brake system would not release and would need Actuator misalignment reset/replaced.
Day Running Lights in headlights fail. The side LED fails completely requiring the entire headlight housing needing to be replaced. This is a common failure and Ford is not doing anything to help the thousands of customers this is affecting. This failure is widely reported online, in forums and chat rooms. Dealer acknowledges it is a part failure but Ford will not pay for replacement even though it is a design or manufacturing problem with this particular year and style of headlights.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V455000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) and 26V104000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
My 2021 Ford F-150 intermittently displays the warning message “Reverse Brake Assist Not Available – See Manual” when the vehicle is placed in reverse. When this message appears, the reverse brake assist / parking collision warning feature is not available, which may reduce safety while backing up. The vehicle was inspected by a Ford dealership. The dealership confirmed DTC U3000:49 in the IPMA module and identified Ford TSB 23-2040 as applicable to the concern. The dealer stated that the repair requires an IPMA software/module update and calibration. The quoted repair cost was approximately $1,100. This appears to be a software/programming-related condition affecting a driver assistance and brake-related safety feature, not normal wear and tear or a failed mechanical component. The warning is intermittent, but it has appeared multiple times. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. No crash, injury, or fire has occurred. Ford Customer Support was contacted and case number XXX was opened. Ford advised that no active warranty, recall, or customer satisfaction program currently provides repair cost coverage, and that because this involves Reverse Brake Assist, I may choose to file a safety concern report with NHTSA. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
After a day of heavy rain, the vehicle stalled at a stop light and would not restart. The steering wheel and transmission locked, preventing the vehicle from being placed in neutral, creating a safety hazard as the vehicle was immobile in traffic. No warning lamps appeared prior to the failure. The vehicle required a tow. The dealer confirmed water had intruded through the passenger side cowl/firewall seam due to inadequate factory sealing, tracking down and pooling directly onto the Body Control Module (BCM) mounted on the passenger side firewall. The BCM failed due to water damage, causing PATS desynchronization and the no-start condition. The BCM failure subsequently shorted out the starter motor. Dealer replaced the BCM, repaired the leak, and replaced the starter. Total repair cost approximately $3,200. Failed components are available for inspection at the dealership. This identical failure; passenger side cowl water intrusion leading directly to BCM damage — is documented across numerous 2021+ F-150 owner forums, indicating a widespread factory sealing defect at the cowl/firewall/inner fender seam junction.
My 2021 Ford F-150 has been having trouble with the transmission. Hard shifting, shifting to 10th gear at 40mph and unable to downshift after slowing down. I have also had issues with the daytime running lights not working since around 45k miles. My truck only has 59K miles at the time of me typing this.
Vehicle suddenly locked the steering wheel at approximatelyn20-25 MPH dash displayed a front camera failure and the motor stopped. I had to put the vehicle in park and restart. It happened again with in a minute. Then a third time after driving apron. 120 miles. As I slowed to a stop light the same thing happen a third time. This occurred at 20-25 MPH.
In the winter the two front doors freeze. I had my twelve year old daughter in the car and turned a corner and the door opened at 25 miles and hour and she had to hold on. We have bungy corded the doors shut during the winter. Ford does not have a safety recall and stated to let the car heat up for 30 mins before use. From online forums this is a common issue for 2021 F150's. Ford should be responsible for fixing the issues
The truck rapidly accelerated while I was slowly rolling into a parking spot with my foot on the brake. The harder I pushed the brake the more it seemed to accelerate. I luckily avoided hitting anything. I forced the gear shifter out of Drive into park. No warning lights or messages. I contacted 3 Ford dealerships and all said they haven’t heard of this nor do they think they could identify this problem if I brought it in.
The rear window basically has 3 parts. Driver side, center sliding section, and passenger side. Only the driver side section defrost. According to online forums specifically for Ford trucks, this is a common issue. Ford’s Special Service Message (SSM) 48490 does reference this as a known issue.
Brought F150 in for scheduled service - oil change. Also asked for inspection of a problem with the fuel door hatch that was causing "Refuel Error" messages on the instrument panel and several grinding noises every time the fuel release button was pressed. Note that I have an active extended Ford Premiumcare warranty. Dealership diagnosis was that the fuel door solenoid was bad, verified that the gears could be heard grinding with this part. However, there is no separate motor part, therefore the entire fuel door assembly must be replaced. Ford warranty system does not cover this part because it is considered "Body and Structural". I called Ford Protect to discuss this, and explained the motor defect and problem, that this has nothing at all to do with wear & tear or body damage. They explained that in this case, the dealership should call and get the part pre-authorized with the justification. Seelye Ford called and tried to do this on 28 April 2026, but ultimately was still denied by Ford. The attached service report from Seelye describes the technician findings and confirms the bad solenoid and audible gear grinding sound coming from the fuel door assembly - and that the entire assembly must be replaced. As this is related to the fuel system and has a defective motor, this is an example a safety defect that should not only be repaired on this vehicle, but for other vehicles with similar problems. Note that the dealership also pointed out that Ford appears to have created this part layout with the intent of having the motor be a separate part, but ultimately did not offer that option, only a full housing replacement, which is excluded because it is mostly made of plastic and metal, which is considered to be structural in nature, despite being a part of the fuel system that has active motor buttons and instrumentation sensors for driver interaction.
While driving my 2021 Ford F-150 PowerBoost, the vehicle issued a pre-collision warning followed immediately by a restraint system warning. The airbag then deployed without any collision or impact. There was no crash, obstacle, or reason for deployment. The airbag deployment shattered the windshield and caused interior damage. This appears to be a false activation of the pre-collision system and unintended airbag deployment, creating a serious safety hazard. This could easily result in injury or loss of vehicle control. The vehicle needs to be investigated for a potential defect in the airbag system, sensors, or pre-collision assist system.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V104000 (Electrical System, Exterior Lighting); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted but the vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
I am reporting a serious safety issue with my 2021 Ford F-150. This truck has already been subject to multiple recalls, yet the problems have continued. On several occasions while driving, the truck has suddenly shut off without warning, causing a complete loss of power while the vehicle is in motion. This has happened while my family and I were in the vehicle and has nearly resulted in a serious crash. Losing power in traffic without warning creates an extremely dangerous situation and has put my family’s lives at risk. A vehicle shutting off while being driven is a major safety hazard. Despite multiple visits for service and ongoing recall issues, the problem has not been resolved, and the truck continues to fail in a way that could easily lead to a catastrophic accident.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V455000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). Upon starting the vehicle, it started and stopped. After waiting for approximately 20 minutes, the vehicle worked as designed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the battery needed to be replaced. The battery was replaced, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with a faulty fuel pump control module, fuel pump assembly, and Auto START/STOP eliminator module that needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was contacted; however, no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.
1. Electrical System Failure: While traveling on highway, alternator failed suddenly within 2 minutes of “service soon” and “check electrical system” warnings. Caused complete loss of motive power, electronic parking brake locked up while driving, loss of power steering, all gauges failed, transmission shifted into park while in motion. Battery was damaged (“fried”). Engine continued running for several minutes after stop without ability to shut off ignition. Incident documented by Ohio State Highway Patrol. 2. Seat Belt Issue: Driver-side seat belt interlock sticks in unlocked position, creating risk of failure to lock during a crash. 3. Electronic Parking Brake: Intermittently engages while vehicle is moving downhill to a stop (mostly at or below 5 mph). Parking brake light flashes three times then turns solid while in motion. Ford TSB indicates vehicle not eligible for related recall. 4. Infotainment System: Intermittently freezes, requiring forced reboot. Preceded by audio glitches, laggy dash computerized systems. 5. Transmission: Severe clunk and physical jolt when decelerating from ~30 mph to 8 mph. Also occurs during acceleration, particularly upshifts from 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th gears, more pronounced when turning. 6. 4WD System: Intermittently fails to disengage from 4WD HI to 2WD HI. “Failure to shift” message appears several minutes after command to return to 2WD HI. 7. Front Differential/Axle: Previously, faulty front differential housing fractured due to system malfunction, causing intermittent loss of front driveline engagement in 4WD LO (250-500ms delay then re-engagement under throttle). Ford replaced front differential and axle under warranty after vehicle out of service for 2.5 months. Abbreviations: 4WD HI = 4-Wheel Drive High Range; 2WD HI = 2-Wheel Drive High Range; TSB = Technical Service Bulletin.
Two things, the dash stopped displaying speed. As I was driving the dash glitched out and the digital speed would not display. It started only showing the top half of how fast I was going. Then it completely went out. Second, the radio also glitches. Won't let me change station or sources. I usually have to turn the truck off for 10 to 15 minutes, then it starts fixing the issues. This has been an ongoing problem. And no recalls for this issue have been placed
The vehicle reported a charging system failure alert and came to a jerking stop. The battery was completely drained and the alternator had failed at 71,000 miles. The vehicle stopped in the drive lane on a heavily trafficked road. The emergency release lever was found and pulled to allow the truck to pull over.
I was in the parking lot of my local grocery store, and the truck all of a sudden gave me an indicator that there is a "park brake fault-service now." I was stranded and had to have someone pick me up for this, This is after hours so I cannot call the Ford dealership until the following day. I now see Ford issued a recall for this under 23S35. However, when I look up my VIN under Ford, that did not show, and thus, we did not address this earlier when that should have happened. That is a problem and needs to be addressed with Ford ASAP. What if I was driving and this happened??!!
Started after McGee ford did a service on my truck Apparently they told ford they repaired electrical recalls which I wasn’t having issues with nor did I know They did anything! They did however erase the recalls so that was 8-2024 shortly after my truck experienced major electrical issues, another dealership told me it was gonna be 6k and 4 weeks to fix I was in awe I left with my truck that had no blinkers no air bags and so on 15 safety codes! I battled this for a year and then my parking break locked up while driving 70 on the highway! That’s the recall megee claimed they fixed I’m not rich single dad 100% of rhe time and I sure my kids everywhere daily, I do research call ford find intact i had a recalll so im thinking it will get fixed! 6 weeks later they not fixed i was told 2 days Now heritage and ford won’t fix it they want megee ford the certified service and dealer to pay for it. It’s winter im a contractor in Vermont they let me borrow a Sentra with summer tires on it. Couldn’t make it off my road. I’m still driving my kids around! I almost reck once a day as the whole system is messed up now! I feel like I’m being bullied and picked on because of my nationality
When temperatures are below freezing, the passenger side door remains locked, and cannot be unlocked with the key fob or the unlock buttons on either the driver side or passenger side door. The manual door lock cannot be pulled out, as it sinks down inside the door, and there is no external locking/unlocking mechanism to use the key to manually unlock the passenger side door. Dealer said there was nothing wrong with it, but brought it into the shop to look at it, where the temperature is higher than freezing.
Daytime Driving Lights Are disabled due to an electrical defect.
The hybrid battery in a 2021 Ford F-150 Powerboost failed due to apparent shorting. (P/N ML3Z-10B690-D) Pictures were taken by service department at the Ford dealership, and can be provided upon request. There is concern that the system could catch fire and spread under the vehicle. There have been other similarly identified failures reported in online communities, but cannot verify the information. Failed component is currently with dealership service department, therefore, cannot verify if there has been further inspection of part. Prior to failure, there were no indicators of problems or faults. As the failed part is not easily accessible and there is no routine maintenance, there is no way to validate when the part failed.
My truck thinks my parking brake is engaged so it constantly flashes the “brake” light, constantly chimes while driving and says parking break malfunction, talk to dealer. I brought it to Webber family Ford in Detroit lakes MN 56501 and they checked it over including the safety recall location for recall 23S35. They said it was not the recall location and I would have to bring it in Monday for another appointment. When I got it home that day I crawled under to check that location. I see visible green which usually means corrosion and the protection around the harness seems warm. I also noticed the "recall" was not completed how it is shown on fords recall paperwork using the zip tie as a wear location so it isn't the harness itself. That is not how mine is. I have photos to prove that. I spoke with corporate ford today and they said they can't re open the recall because it has been closed and it is past its 12 month warranty being it was done in October of 2023 before my ownership and at a different dealer. I don't believe it is fair to me the current owner to pay for the cost of a rerepair of a recall that was done incorrectly.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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