RoadVitals

2020 Ford F-450 Problems

Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints 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.
24
Latest Mar 6, 2026
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
12
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
4

What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2020 Ford F-450, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Reports by component

Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category

  • Powertrain (other)414.3%
  • Driver assistance310.7%
  • Electrical310.7%
  • Engine27.1%
  • Tires & wheels13.6%
  • Body & structure13.6%
  • Transmission13.6%
  • Interior & seats13.6%
  • Other / unspecified13.6%
  • Steering13.6%
  • Suspension13.6%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Each component in detail

What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words

Fuel system

Reports naming fuel storage or delivery — tanks, pumps, lines, injectors and fuel leaks.

9
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V957000 (FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. 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.

NHTSA ID 11722455 · filed Mar 6, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450 The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V957000 (Fuel System, Diesel); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. 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 11682394 · filed Aug 22, 2025
All 9 reports naming fuel system

Powertrain (other)

Powertrain reports that are not specifically the engine or transmission — driveshafts, axles, transfer cases and differentials.

4
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

The vehicle is experiencing very erratic shifts between gears. The transmission is slingshot shifting in all gears between 3rd through 6th. If this continues it will undoubtedly blow the transmission out. I work with this truck every day and if it blows it will very likely cause a very big safety hazard as I would very possibly have a load on my trailer and this could force me out of my lane. There is a ford customer satisfaction program number of 21B03 that directly applies to this issue but as of yet they are not approving the fix for it. There is also another safety recall on this truck number 22S22. That also covers this issue we are experiencing.

NHTSA ID 11609517 · filed Aug 19, 2024

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the transmission experienced rough shifting. The vehicle then inadvertently decelerated and failed to exceed 50 MPH. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle. The contact then drove to the residence. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there were metal shavings in the transmission and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the VIN was not included in Customer Satisfaction Program: 21B03 (Number One Planetary and Ring Gear Assembly). The failure mileage was approximately 97,000. The VIN was unavailable.

NHTSA ID 11550475 · filed Oct 17, 2023

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Driver assistance

Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems.

3
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

My horn started going off continuously, I got messages on my digital dash system, saying that my lane assist had a fault, my adaptive speed control was faulty, and other system. Safety features were inactive. Ford has an issue, and they acknowledge the issue of the fuse box under the hood randomly coming off, which allows water to get into the fuse system, and start corroding wires which start sending mixed signals and failures to the system.

NHTSA ID 11562735 · filed Dec 30, 2023

RECALL ON MY F450 with no remedy, Ford will not give me an equivalent replacement - this is putting lives in danger. All of the dash engine lights will come on, no ABS, no traction control, no brakes whatsoever, power loss, will not go over 2k RPM. Then truck will not go into park when it does stop. It is an extreme danger to myself and others to not be able to drive or brake my truck. Ford is “too busy” to even diagnose the problem even though it is clearly because of the recall. This needs to be remedied before someone gets hurt.

NHTSA ID 11473337 · filed Jul 11, 2022

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Electrical

Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories.

3
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

My tailgate came open randomly while pulling a trailer. Ford knows about this issue, but is yet to make a recall and not sure they’re going to cover the damage done to my tailgate. The tailgate randomly came open when I had turned a corner, and when I straightened back out made my truck and trailer jumped all over the road because the tailgate contacted the trailer.

NHTSA ID 11562737 · filed Dec 30, 2023

My horn started going off continuously, I got messages on my digital dash system, saying that my lane assist had a fault, my adaptive speed control was faulty, and other system. Safety features were inactive. Ford has an issue, and they acknowledge the issue of the fuse box under the hood randomly coming off, which allows water to get into the fuse system, and start corroding wires which start sending mixed signals and failures to the system.

NHTSA ID 11562735 · filed Dec 30, 2023

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Engine

Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.

2
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle vibrated and the vehicle briefly lost motive power. The vehicle returned to normal functionality once the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the power train control module (PCM). The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to another dealer, who diagnosed that cylinder #4 had failed, and there was a misfire in cylinders #3 and #5. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall for the failure. A case was opened with the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

NHTSA ID 11638026 · filed Jan 23, 2025

Sudden acceleration while braking. While towing a gooseneck trailer aprox. 25,000 lbs, with the truck in tow/haul mode and the exhaust/engine brake turned on, started down a long winding 8% grade, could feel the engine brake working as normal, holding the truck from gaining speed, as the truck entered the second turn, the truck lunged forward gaining a lot of speed causing me to quickly stab the brakes, the truck continued this type of on/off cycle with quickly acclerating while standing on the brakes to try and control it until I leaned over and swithched the engine brake off, making it necassary to ride the brakes down the grade to maintain a safe speed and not lose control. By the time we reached the bottom, smoke was coming from both the truck and trailer brakes and the stopping power was nearly gone. The truck has done this intermittently without warning and is a major concern for safety. A search on truck forums show a number of people with the same concern. Dealer has been able to reproduce the problem, but does not have a solution. I beleive its a defect in the new 10 speed transmission and tied to the ongoing vibration / shake / hop / bounce we are experiancing.

NHTSA ID 11471521 · filed Jun 29, 2022

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Tires & wheels

Reports naming tires, wheels, hubs, or the tire-pressure monitoring system.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

225/70R 19.5 Cont Hybrid HD3. Truck is a 2021 F450 dually pickup. Mileage on the OEM tires is about 20,000 miles. The tire "blew out" while pulling a horse trailer with 7 horses on board. I personally checked tire pressure before departure. Our driver was able to get to safety without harm. Had the blow out occurred on a front tire, the results could have been catastrophic. Road side assistance told us he has had 3 other tires, same truck, same tire, same age, blow out in the last 7 days. I know from your site and consumer reports, Continental has a huge recall campaign for blow outs. ALSO there is "0" inventory of this tire for us to replace our bad tire, due to high failure rates. I have called Continental about this. They deny any problem nor responsibility. 0 contrition Contact there is manager "Rod" at 618-242-7398.

NHTSA ID 11433785 · filed Sep 21, 2021

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Body & structure

Reports naming the vehicle structure, frame, body panels, doors, hood and trim.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

On two separate occasions, while towing a 5th wheel trailer, the tailgate opened by itself, coming in contact with the 5th wheel while turning. There was no warning or indication that the tailgate had opened. The tailgate was not opened by a person or by a bumping the keyfob -- it opened completely on its own.

NHTSA ID 11429194 · filed Aug 16, 2021

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Transmission

Reports naming the automatic or manual transmission, including shifting behaviour, shudder, slipping and transmission control modules.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

See attached document for complaint

NHTSA ID 11576238 · filed Mar 8, 2024

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Interior & seats

Reports naming seats, latches, locks, linkages and interior fittings.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

My tailgate came open randomly while pulling a trailer. Ford knows about this issue, but is yet to make a recall and not sure they’re going to cover the damage done to my tailgate. The tailgate randomly came open when I had turned a corner, and when I straightened back out made my truck and trailer jumped all over the road because the tailgate contacted the trailer.

NHTSA ID 11562737 · filed Dec 30, 2023

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Other / unspecified

Reports whose component NHTSA recorded as unknown, or that do not map to one of the categories above.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

Front tires on F450 Super Duty are all chopped up, and needing replacement after only 20,000 miles.

NHTSA ID 11461644 · filed Apr 21, 2022

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Steering

Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

The contact owned a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the steering wheel failed to steer in the intended direction. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle had driven independently sideways and then into a deep ditch before coming to a stop. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was uncontrollable. The vehicle was towed to a local tow yard. The vehicle was condemned as a total loss by the insurance company. The contact was unconscious and transferred to the local hospital. The contact sustained six broken ribs, a punctured left lung and a hematoma in the left leg. In addition, the contact had to have emergency surgery to remove the hematoma. The contact was receiving continued medical treatment due to the injuries. The contact stated a Police report was filed. The contact later received a recall notification: NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V626000 (Steering) however the parts were not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

NHTSA ID 11693264 · filed Oct 14, 2025

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Suspension

Reports naming suspension components — springs, struts, shocks, control arms and related hardware.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

Vibration at highway speeds aprox. 15,000 miles that continues to worsen to a slight vibration at idle and vibration/bounce/hop at aprox. 30,000 miles, to a violent shake at aprox. 45,000 miles, making it very hard to maintain the control needed to stay in your lane and extremely hard to come to a stop in an emergency braking sitiation. When towing or hauling the defect seems to worsen. The vehicle has been to two dealerships that has kept the vehicle over 90 days, replacing or repairing a large list of components, they are always able to reproduce and confirm the defect, but have not been able to repair it.

NHTSA ID 11471498 · filed Jun 29, 2022

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

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.

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .