2021 Ford F-150 Exterior lighting Problems

10r80 transmission failed at 80k miles. There were multiple occasions where leaving a stoplight it would move and then basically go into neutral while hunting for gears to start moving again. The drls on the headlights have both failed so now in between westher events and day/night events the vehicle no longer has a working drl. If it is cloudy and the headlight sensor doesn’t trigger the headlights to come on there will be no lighting from the front of the vehicle at all

NHTSA ID

11776235

Incident

Dec 31, 1969

10r80 transmission failed at 80k miles. There were multiple occasions where leaving a stoplight it would move and then basically go into neutral while hunting for gears to start moving again. The drls on the headlights have both failed so now in between westher events and day/night events the vehicle no longer has a working drl. If it is cloudy and the headlight sensor doesn’t trigger the headlights to come on there will be no lighting from the front of the vehicle at all

NHTSA ID

11776234

Incident

Dec 31, 1969

Component Affected: Exterior Lighting: Daytime Running Lights / Headlight Assembly Description of Defect and Safety Risk: The driver-side integrated LED Daytime Running Light (DRL) failed completely due to an internal component/diode malfunction within the factory-sealed headlight housing. This is a premature component failure at only 79,800 miles and is a widely documented systemic defect across this model year's F-Series production run. This issue constitutes a significant safety hazard rather than a standard wear-and-tear maintenance item. Because the LED system is an engineered, hermetically sealed assembly, it cannot be serviced by replacing a simple bulb. The failure permanently reduces the vehicle's forward visibility profile to oncoming traffic during daytime hours and compromises the driver's intent to signal presence. I request that NHTSA investigate this systemic component failure as a safety-related defect warranting a manufacturer recall, rather than classifying it as routine light bulb degradation.

NHTSA ID

11775850

Incident

Nov 4, 2026

Passenger side LED DRL outage on horizontal and vertical LED strip

NHTSA ID

11774117

Incident

Oct 23, 2026

Daytime running LED quad headlight system. the vertical led on the front passenger front headlights is out. Dealer said cost is $2000.00 to fix. have to replace whole assembly.

NHTSA ID

11773356

Incident

Oct 23, 2026

My daytime running light has burned out. I also see a lot of other f150 around town with the same exact problem. I also don’t want to get stopped from the police for having a bulb burned out. I have researched this problem and you can’t fix it unless you buy a whole brand new headlight assembly for $1500.

NHTSA ID

11770343

Incident

Sep 26, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the LED daytime running lights was flashing quickly before burning out. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH and then stopped at an intersection, another driver informed the contact that the passenger's side headlight was flashing quickly. The contact towed the vehicle to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the passenger's side headlight assembly was replaced under warranty. The dealer informed the contact that the driver's side headlight might fail as well. The contact stated that the failure also occurred on the driver's side. Upon inspection, the contact became aware of a burning plastic odor coming from the headlights. Upon researching the failure online, the contact learned that the failure resulted from the headlights overheating and melting. The manufacturer was notified of the recent failure but denied coverage because the vehicle had exceeded 100,000 miles. The dealer advised the contact to report the second failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 99,000.

NHTSA ID

11768973

Incident

Mar 8, 2026

Mileage

99,000 mi

Should be able to simply repair my daytime running lamps at a reasonable cost. One of them is now dim, causing lower visibility for other drivers. Ford's cost for me to repair was quoted today at over $2,100. Simply put, unreasonable! This is an issue that has effected several vehicles.

NHTSA ID

11767015

Incident

Sep 1, 2026

Daytime Running Lights stopped working. Unable to fix unless the whole light assembly is replaced.

NHTSA ID

11766824

Incident

May 1, 2026

Daytime Running Light in the headlight assembly overheated and stopped working. Thousands of 2021-2023 F150 owners have had the same issue. This is clearly a mass scale manufacturer known defect and Ford already tried sending an update to lower the LED brightness but the issue still happens.

NHTSA ID

11765572

Incident

Aug 25, 2026

Led headlight drl strip turned blue on one side. Have seen many with this issue in the led module ballast. Safety concern because its a common running light issue that hinders people from seeing the vehicle as easily.

NHTSA ID

11764019

Incident

Sep 12, 2026

Ford has a VERY well-documented flaw in their LED headlight assemblies on 14th generation F150s (2021 +). The daytime running lights regularly burn out within several years / 35,000 miles, and each headlight costs over $2000 per side to replace with OEM components! They cannot be repaired; they can only be replaced. Ford specifically excludes these headlight assemblies from their extended warranty as well. The problem is so common that, when you see a 14th generation F150 on the road that's a few years old, it likely has one of the LED DRL lights out. Ford dealers verbally acknowledge how common of an issue it is, but Ford Motor Company refuses to issue a TSB or recall. Customers are left with shockingly high bills for what really is safety equipment. As you know, DRLs are indeed considered safety equipment! Customer shouldn’t have to pay over $4000 to fix this clearly common OEM supplier flaw that Ford has yet to remedy. Of course, what many owners do is simply allow the DRLs to fail because of the prohibitively expensive repair costs. This is a safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11761602

Incident

Sep 1, 2026

Daytime Running Light failure in headlight assembly. Second time it occurred. Had the first headlight assembly replaced while under warranty. I am now outside of the warranty mileage and the other side's headlight DRL has failed.

NHTSA ID

11756461

Incident

Jun 4, 2026

Left side headlight went dark. Started dimming now is full out

NHTSA ID

11756213

Incident

Jul 16, 2026

Both factory LED headlamp assemblies are experiencing premature LED failures. The vertical LED/DRL section has failed on both headlights, and the horizontal LED section has failed on one and is beginning to fail on the other. These are factory-installed upgraded LED headlamps and the LED components are not individually replaceable, requiring replacement of the complete headlamp assembly. The failures occurred before the vehicle reached five years old. Ford was contacted regarding the issue and declined goodwill assistance. I am concerned about the premature failure of the factory exterior lighting and the potential safety implications if additional portions of the headlamp assemblies fail. It does affect viability for other vehicles and both went out within 3 months of each other. I have noticed several other vehicles on the road specifically with my headlights with the same issue.

NHTSA ID

11755692

Incident

Jul 25, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11755402

Incident

Jul 29, 2026

Outer LED light burned out. Makes for lights to seem dimmer at night while driving.

NHTSA ID

11754280

Incident

May 25, 2026

*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.

NHTSA ID

11753799

Incident

Jul 26, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11753682

Incident

Jul 11, 2026

Passenger side LED Headlight assembly daytime running LED's, the vertical led has gone out in my 2021 Ford f150, while not a major problem, LED daytime running lights increase visibility of other drivers to help in safety. From research, it seems that many of these headlights, the led daytime running lights in the 2021 year model are failing.

NHTSA ID

11753461

Incident

Jul 29, 2026

The verticals led daytime running light (DRL) on the passenger side has stopped working.

NHTSA ID

11751398

Incident

Jul 19, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11747373

Incident

Jun 30, 2026

The passenger side running light in the headlight has gone out. Not the entire part just the vertical section of the running light

NHTSA ID

11747322

Incident

Jun 30, 2026

The passenger side light has the outer-most vertical LED segment out (not lit up). This appears to be common on this model truck after researching.

NHTSA ID

11747090

Incident

Dec 1, 2025

The problem and or issue on my 2021 Ford F150 is the Day Running light on the Upper Passenger side went out and does not work anymore. I reported it to the Dealer. I believe it to be a safety issue if all Day Running lights are not fully operational. This happened with about 66,026 miles on my vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11745073

Incident

Apr 27, 2026