2017 Ford F-150 Problems & Owner Complaints
Age-normalised, this year draws ~0.8 complaints per year on the road — ranking 5 of 5 Ford F-150 years we track (1 = most complaints per year).
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What owners report
Power Train is the most-reported problem area on the 2017 Ford F-150, cited in 6 of 8 filed complaints (75%).
Vehicle Speed Control is next (4 complaints, 50%), followed by Electrical System (1), Engine (1), Wheels (1).
Across all complaints, 1 report a crash, 1 report injuries.
The most safety-critical cluster is Vehicle Speed Control: 1 crash, 1 injury report(s).
Complaints by vehicle system
Owner complaints filed with the U.S. NHTSA for the 2017 Ford F-150, grouped by the vehicle system each cites. A single complaint can name more than one system, so the group totals can add up to more than 8.
Power Train 6
“While driving at highway speeds, with my family in the truck, the 10-speed automatic transmission suddenly and violently executed an uncommanded, unrequested downshift from 9th gear down to 2nd gear. This caused severe, abrupt vehicle deceleration and immediate safety hazard on a public roadway. I was fortunate that no other cars were near me and I was not turning at the time, otherwise it could have been catastrophic. No warning lights or fault codes appeared on the dashboard prior to or during the event. I immediately brought it to a reputable transmission shop which test drove it and state…”
NHTSA complaint #11754671, 2026
“My truck has shown wrench on dash multiple times, dropped gear several times suddenly. Less than 10 years old but over 150,000 miles so Ford has agreed to a fix under extended warranty program 26N04. Unfortunately they were allowed to add the phrase whichever comes first. This eliminates me from getting them to fix the cause which is the lead frame module. A PCM will not fix a bad part. This is a dangerous safety issue that should be fixed by Ford. Please save lives and get them to replace all lead frame modules if code finds it bad. It could affect anyone’s family member if an accident r…”
NHTSA complaint #11754626, 2026
“Vehicle Safety Hazard & Recall Remedy Denial Recall: 26S28 / NHTSA Campaign 26V237 Summary of Issue: I am experiencing active, unsafe vehicle symptoms directly tied to Recall 26S28, including intermittent transmission signal loss, warning lights, and abrupt downshifts while driving. I initially contacted Ford in April/May 2026 immediately following the recall notice, but was informed no remedy or repair parts were available at that time, forcing me to operate a vehicle with a known driveability and safety hazard for three months. Now that the vehicle is at the dealership, Ford is refusing…”
NHTSA complaint #11753033, 2026
Vehicle Speed Control 4 1 crash 1 injury
“To the Office of Defects Investigation:I am writing to formally report a critical data reporting error on NHTSA.gov involving a 2017 Ford F-150 (VIN: [XXX]).This vehicle is covered under NHTSA Campaign 26V370000 (Ford Recall 26S28) for the transmission downshift defect. I hold the physical manufacturer recall notification letter sent by Ford Motor Company confirming my truck's inclusion.The vehicle experienced the exact unexpected downshifting failure described in the campaign, resulting in a collision in [XXX]. However, when searching my VIN on both the Ford portal and the official NHTSA.gov…”
NHTSA complaint #11753381, 2025 · crash · 1 injury(ies)
“My truck has shown wrench on dash multiple times, dropped gear several times suddenly. Less than 10 years old but over 150,000 miles so Ford has agreed to a fix under extended warranty program 26N04. Unfortunately they were allowed to add the phrase whichever comes first. This eliminates me from getting them to fix the cause which is the lead frame module. A PCM will not fix a bad part. This is a dangerous safety issue that should be fixed by Ford. Please save lives and get them to replace all lead frame modules if code finds it bad. It could affect anyone’s family member if an accident r…”
NHTSA complaint #11754626, 2026
“Vehicle Safety Hazard & Recall Remedy Denial Recall: 26S28 / NHTSA Campaign 26V237 Summary of Issue: I am experiencing active, unsafe vehicle symptoms directly tied to Recall 26S28, including intermittent transmission signal loss, warning lights, and abrupt downshifts while driving. I initially contacted Ford in April/May 2026 immediately following the recall notice, but was informed no remedy or repair parts were available at that time, forcing me to operate a vehicle with a known driveability and safety hazard for three months. Now that the vehicle is at the dealership, Ford is refusing…”
NHTSA complaint #11753033, 2026
Unknown Or Other 3
“While driving on the highway on several occasions, the transmission drops from 6th gear to a lower gear, either seeming to slip, or locking the wheels causing a bad jerk. i have an appointment in two days , but am concerned that there may be more damage to my vehicle that will show up later due to this issue. I had another dealership try to charge to to repair my truck. i am hopefull that the new dealership will do right by me.”
NHTSA complaint #11754354, 2026
“Vehicle Safety Hazard & Recall Remedy Denial Recall: 26S28 / NHTSA Campaign 26V237 Summary of Issue: I am experiencing active, unsafe vehicle symptoms directly tied to Recall 26S28, including intermittent transmission signal loss, warning lights, and abrupt downshifts while driving. I initially contacted Ford in April/May 2026 immediately following the recall notice, but was informed no remedy or repair parts were available at that time, forcing me to operate a vehicle with a known driveability and safety hazard for three months. Now that the vehicle is at the dealership, Ford is refusing…”
NHTSA complaint #11753033, 2026
“The vehicle experienced intermittent transmission-related drivability issues before the recall remedy was available. The vehicle had delayed/hard shifting, an intermittent wrench warning light, and a reduced power/limp mode condition where the transmission would not shift normally. The vehicle was inspected by an authorized Ford dealer on multiple occasions, including diagnostic visits on 10/09/2023, 05/12/2025, and 02/09/2026. Ford later issued recall 26S28 involving the powertrain control module/transmission control system, and the recall remedy was performed. After the recall repair was co…”
NHTSA complaint #11750956, 2026
Electrical System 1
“The vehicle experienced intermittent transmission-related drivability issues before the recall remedy was available. The vehicle had delayed/hard shifting, an intermittent wrench warning light, and a reduced power/limp mode condition where the transmission would not shift normally. The vehicle was inspected by an authorized Ford dealer on multiple occasions, including diagnostic visits on 10/09/2023, 05/12/2025, and 02/09/2026. Ford later issued recall 26S28 involving the powertrain control module/transmission control system, and the recall remedy was performed. After the recall repair was co…”
NHTSA complaint #11750956, 2026
Engine 1
“I bought my f150 a year ago. now I’m experiencing timing issues, Vvt solenoid failure (all four) . Loss of power, limp mode, failure to shift etc … I’ve had several mechanics look at it .”
NHTSA complaint #11754844, 2025
Wheels 1
“While driving on the highway on several occasions, the transmission drops from 6th gear to a lower gear, either seeming to slip, or locking the wheels causing a bad jerk. i have an appointment in two days , but am concerned that there may be more damage to my vehicle that will show up later due to this issue. I had another dealership try to charge to to repair my truck. i am hopefull that the new dealership will do right by me.”
NHTSA complaint #11754354, 2026
How we read this (methodology)
How to read this: raw complaint totals are not a clean reliability score — a model year with more cars sold, or simply more years on the road, accumulates more complaints regardless of how good it is. So this page leans on two signals that are not distorted by sales volume: the share of complaints falling on each vehicle system (the breakdown above) and NHTSA's own crash / fire / injury / death flags. When we compare model years of the same model, we normalise by years on the road (complaints ÷ vehicle age) rather than comparing raw totals. Age-normalised, the 2017 Ford F-150 draws about 0.8 complaints per year on the road, ranking 5 of 5 among the Ford F-150 model years we have ingested (1 = most complaints per year on road).
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Data source: U.S. NHTSA (nhtsa.gov). SaveVIN surfaces public recall data and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NHTSA.