What breaks most · 1991 to 2026 model years
FORD F-250 SD problems by year
Owners have filed 6,507 safety complaints with NHTSA about the FORD F-250 SD across model years 1991 to 2026. Three years stand out: 2019 for steering complaints, 2017 for steering complaints and 2018 for steering complaints. The quietest years are 1991, 1998 and 1994.
- Years to check closely: 2019, 2017, 2018
- Fewest complaints: 1991, 1998, 1994
- Complaints on file
- 65071991 to 2026, all trims
- Worst year
- 20191162 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 169183 fires · 153 injuries · 10 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 40kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 175Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | Tires (1) | |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | Engine and cooling (1) | |
| 4 | 0 | 1 | Fuel system (2) | |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | Speed control and throttle (1) | |
| 9 | 0 | 1 | Electrical system (2) | |
| 11 | 0 | 1 | Engine and cooling (4) | |
| 39 | 1 | 2 | Engine and cooling (11) | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | Steering (1) | |
| 249 | 15 | 5 | Engine and cooling (95) | |
| 233 | 15 | 4 | Engine and cooling (69) | |
| 288 | 10 | 4 | Engine and cooling (91) | |
| 245 | 12 | 5 | Engine and cooling (101) | |
| 178 | 6 | 6 | Engine and cooling (72) | |
| 254 | 13 | 4 | Engine and cooling (101) | |
| 295 | 6 | 5 | Suspension (118) | |
| 274 | 5 | 3 | Suspension (144) | |
| 54 | 2 | 3 | Suspension (30) | |
| 141 | 6 | 2 | Steering (39) | |
| 23 | 1 | 1 | Suspension (7) | |
| 32 | 2 | 1 | Steering (13) | |
| 122 | 6 | 1 | Steering (47) | |
| 57 | 1 | 1 | Steering (18) | |
| 21 | 1 | 1 | Engine (7) | |
| 26 | 3 | 1 | Suspension (9) | |
| 296 | 8 | 3 | Steering (126) | |
| 287 | 6 | 4 | Steering (117) | |
| 1155 | 12 | 15 | Steering (717) | |
| 397 | 7 | 10 | Steering (252) | |
| 1162 | 16 | 12 | Steering (776) | |
| 263 | 2 | 15 | Powertrain and transmission (74) | |
| 163 | 3 | 13 | Fuel System, Diesel (25) | |
| 119 | 2 | 17 | Powertrain and transmission (21) | |
| 43 | 2 | 16 | Electrical system (13) | |
| 37 | 2 | 4 | Unknown or other (9) | |
| 15 | 2 | 7 | Brakes (5) | |
| 8 | 1 | 5 | Electrical system (4) |
What fails on the 2019 FORD F-250 SD
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 67% |
776 | 6 | Shop steering parts for the 2019 FORD F-250 SD |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 58% |
678 | 8 | Shop suspension parts for the 2019 FORD F-250 SD |
| Unknown or other | 10% |
113 | 3 | — |
| Wheels | 7% |
87 | 1 | — |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 4% |
45 | 1 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 3% |
33 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2019 FORD F-250 SD |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 3% |
30 | 0 | Shop fuel system parts for the 2019 FORD F-250 SD |
| Backup camera and sensorsCameras and park sensors | 2% |
28 | 0 | Shop backup camera and sensors parts for the 2019 FORD F-250 SD |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Experienced the oft reported death wobble while driving home from TN and had to limp my vehicle home while experiencing the constant, extreme and dangerous wobbling.
-
No less than 6 occasions now I have experienced extreme shaking (death wobble) even after Ford replaced the steering damper. I'm done with the vehicle and will take it in again for this issue.
-
While driving 75MPH on the freeway, the vehicle started to shake violently and wouldn't stop until I got the speed down around 45MPH (which was very dangerous given the location).
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which FORD F-250 SD years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2019, 2017, 2018 carry the most filings on the FORD F-250 SD. The 2019 alone has 1162 complaints, led by steering.
What is the most common FORD F-250 SD problem?
On the 2019 model year, the most-reported component is steering with 776 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do FORD F-250 SD problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all FORD F-250 SD complaints that include mileage is about 40,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.