RoadVitals

2021 Ford F-250 Sd Driver assistance Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the driver-assistance system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Driver assistance reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
18
Latest Apr 8, 2026
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
11%
of 162 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
1
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2021 Ford F-250 Sd submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 18 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.

Owner reports naming driver-assistance

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Driver assistance
Filed Apr 8, 2026

Back up camera will show a black screen about 1-2 times a month. Have to turn the truck off and restart to get the camera to work again

NHTSA ID
11730004
Incident
Oct 1, 2025
Driver assistanceElectrical
Filed Feb 16, 2026

Front camera malfunctions and goes black and stops working. Ford refuses to acknowledge this issues and prevents forward collision alert system from working. The refuse to fix the issue or look into a recall.

NHTSA ID
11718198
Incident
Aug 12, 2025
Driver assistance
Filed Jan 9, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V686000 (Back Over Prevention). The contact stated that while in reverse(R), the rear-view camera went black and failed to operate. Additionally, the Blind Spot Monitoring indicators on both the driver’s and passenger’s side exterior mirrors were inoperable. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 48,000.

NHTSA ID
11709898
Incident
Dec 25, 2025
Mileage
48,000 mi
BrakesDriver assistanceEngine
Filed Jan 2, 2026

driving on two lane road with low visibility - car lost power and stopped in road- ford refused to cover repairs /tow for over one year vehicle sat - they compromised with us paying half for new engine -

NHTSA ID
11708366
Incident
Apr 29, 2024
Driver assistanceElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Dec 23, 2025

All of my rear lights stopped working with no warning. My blind spot monitoring and cross traffic detection also stopped working. This is a serious issue as the light go out intermittenly without warning. Especially dangerous at night. Dealership thinks it might be a faulty harness. Dealership thought they fixed it by cleaning contacts but the very next day they went out again while driving in a snow storm. Luckily no one was behind me because they would not have been able to see me.

NHTSA ID
11706808
Incident
Dec 11, 2025
Driver assistanceElectrical
Filed Dec 17, 2025

Both the driver and passenger mirrors will not fully adjust. The mirrors need a different adjustment for standard driving and when towing a travel trailer. Neither mirror will properly adjust for towing and non towing applications. The lack of proper mirror adjustment causes a safety issue as the driver cannot see things in their full scope due to the mirror misalignment. I have almost had two accidents due to the mirrors not being able to be properly adjusted. Ford is aware of this issue on 2017 to 2023 F150, F250 and F350 trucks with the tow mirrors. Ford has issued a Special Service Message#51829. Ford has a cleaning procedure they wish to be done as part of the diagnostics but Ford and the Ford Dealer will not release this information. Ford is attempting to block warranty claims related to this issue. I believe they are doing this so they will not have to issue yet another recall! I spoke with a Ford Dealer this morning and they stated that they had no knowledge of the SSM51829 or the mirror cleaning procedure. Even though the truck is under the Ford warranty, they would require a $250.00 dollar fee just to inspect the problem.

NHTSA ID
11705660
Incident
Dec 17, 2025
Driver assistanceElectricalPowertrain (other)
Filed Aug 24, 2025

This car has had a recall for almost year. I’m am terrified to drive my truck especially with my kids in it. Sometimes if I press the gas trying to cross traffic, it takes a while to go. Also sometimes it won’t crank up and start. It takes awhile few tried. My back up camera doesn’t work the way it should

NHTSA ID
11682653
Incident
Dec 1, 2024
AirbagsDriver assistanceElectrical
Filed Jul 8, 2025
Crash reported

I hit an elk at 65 mph while pulling a flatbed trailer loaded with 4000 lbs of hay. The crash warning light did not come on nor did the air bags deploy. The whole front end of the truck is badly damaged. I contacted my local Ford dealer with this information and was told by the service agent that the body shop will handle this. As my concern is how hard do you have to hit something to get the airbags to deploy. I’m concerned for my safety while driving this truck again if it can be repaired. I’m taking it to the repair shop today. I wanted to report this as Ford will be ZERO help moving forward.

NHTSA ID
11671870
Incident
Jul 2, 2025
Driver assistanceFuel system
Filed Jun 24, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V957000 (FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL) and 25V048000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID
11669006
Incident
Jun 1, 2025
Driver assistance
Filed Jun 2, 2025

The back up camera and detection system glitches out when the weather is hot outside. When the cameras goes from working to not working or giving glitching screen effects it really affects the safety of being able to see what’s behind you while backing up. I’ve had no system alerts on this issue it just has a mind of its own. There is a recall out for this issue but I was told it was a vin specific issue and that’s not the case. There is a clearly a problem with the software that’s affecting my same year model.

NHTSA ID
11664443
Incident
Jun 1, 2025
Driver assistance
Filed May 28, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse out of a parking spot, the rearview camera displayed on the center console failed and the screen was blue with the message "Camera not Available" displayed. The contact stated that the screen was fuzzy, and the image was jump around on the screen. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed because the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.

NHTSA ID
11663541
Incident
Dec 20, 2023
Mileage
40,000 mi
Driver assistanceFuel system
Filed Apr 30, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V957000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and 25V048000 (Back Over, Prevention); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issues. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ID
11657705
Incident
Dec 20, 2024
Driver assistance
Filed Aug 16, 2024

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact stated that the back-up camera was not functioning, and the screen was blue, before going blank. While using the camera in the evening, there was a red-orange halo around the camera while reversing. The image was distorted. The message that the camera was not available was displayed. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V644000 (Back Over Prevention). The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000.

NHTSA ID
11608892
Incident
Jan 1, 2023
Mileage
8,000 mi
Driver assistanceExterior lighting
Filed May 6, 2024

My F250 was in service for fuel system replacement and to fix both side mirrors which wouldn’t go down after going up. Shortly afterwards I noticed the rapid turn signal you get when tail lights are out. This happened while using a trailer. The trucks rear lights weren’t working at all but trailer lights were. Also was getting the blinds spot and cross traffic alert faults on instrument panel. Dropped off for service. They found a loose trailer plug and reset some things and got it all working again. Soon after the blinkers would flash fast again meaning lights were out, but would quickly stop and back to normal. Later they stayed blinking fast and tail lights out again after stopping starting several times. I tried plugging in my trailer wire harness and it tail lights started working again on truck?? 2 days later Im using trailer again, truck tail lights quit working and getting blind spot and cross traffic fault alerts again!! Still not working after 3 days. had my trailer lights tested where i bought it, they used a battery powered tester found no fault and trailer lights all worked correctly no shorts in system. During times when faults occurred both my enclosed trailer and my rv back up lights would stay on constantly even when not in reverse! Trailers turn signal, brake and tail lights worked but not truck tail lights. No back up no brakes or signal. Just the license plate lights. WHY IS IT EVEN LEGAL TO BUILD A VEHICLE WHERE YOU LOSE USE OF TAIL LIGHTS IF YOUR OPTIONAL FEATURES LIKE BLIND SPOT AND CROSS TRAFFIC MALFUNCTION and CAN RENDER SAFETY LIGHTS USELESS??!! Dropping off at Ford dealer asap to hopefully fix problem. I’ve heard of other trucks having similar problems

NHTSA ID
11587342
Incident
May 6, 2024
Driver assistance
Filed Sep 8, 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera was very foggy. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V644000 (Back Over Prevention) because the VIN was not included. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

NHTSA ID
11543388
Incident
Aug 8, 2023
Mileage
35,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Aug 9, 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact stated that the back-over prevention camera displayed a blue image on the home screen with the message "Rear View Camera Unavailable - Please Contact Dealer" message displayed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was acknowledged. The contact was informed that the failure was a known issue with the model vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle remained in the dealer's possession unrepaired. The failure mileage was approximately 39,000.

NHTSA ID
11537390
Incident
Aug 2, 2023
Mileage
39,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Jul 17, 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle accelerated independently. Additionally, the contact stated that her husband had to keep his foot on the brake to keep the vehicle from independently accelerating. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was unknown. The contact stated the vehicle was fine and to delete the complaint. The contact stated that the vehicle is fine, and this complaint is no longer needed.

NHTSA ID
11532817
Incident
Jul 15, 2023
Driver assistance
Filed Feb 27, 2023

The front camera has a foggy spot that triggers the front pre-collision assist and related safety devices to not function properly. It is available for inspection. t has not yet been inspected by dealer. The warning lamps and related messages do warn of problem. Fords has recalled rear cameras for fogginess, but obviously the front camera preventing collisions is a much greater safety issue.

NHTSA ID
11509321
Incident
Feb 16, 2023

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.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .