What breaks most · 1991 to 2014 model years
FORD F-350 problems by year
Owners have filed 2,454 safety complaints with NHTSA about the FORD F-350 across model years 1991 to 2014. Three years stand out: 1999 for tires complaints, 2000 for tires complaints and 1997 for tires complaints. The quietest years are 1998, 2009 and 2007.
- Years to check closely: 1999, 2000, 1997
- Fewest complaints: 1998, 2009, 2007
- Complaints on file
- 24541991 to 2014, all trims
- Worst year
- 1999410 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 206122 fires · 147 injuries · 12 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 65kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 104Across 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 3 | 7 | Brakes (hydraulic) (8) | |
| 52 | 1 | 7 | Engine and cooling (10) | |
| 101 | 5 | 9 | Brakes (hydraulic) (25) | |
| 94 | 4 | 7 | Brakes (hydraulic) (33) | |
| 134 | 8 | 3 | Brakes (hydraulic) (40) | |
| 130 | 9 | 4 | Tires (28) | |
| 154 | 10 | 4 | Tires (29) | |
| 12 | 1 | 1 | Tires (4) | |
| 410 | 46 | 13 | Tires (93) | |
| 290 | 36 | 5 | Tires (110) | |
| 152 | 21 | 6 | Tires (31) | |
| 107 | 11 | 3 | Engine and cooling (19) | |
| 83 | 11 | 3 | Engine and cooling (19) | |
| 153 | 13 | 3 | Engine and cooling (64) | |
| 99 | 1 | 3 | Steering (22) | |
| 127 | 10 | 4 | Steering (43) | |
| 29 | 1 | 3 | Suspension (10) | |
| 108 | 6 | 7 | Steering (38) | |
| 16 | 1 | 3 | Suspension (8) | |
| 75 | 3 | 4 | Steering (21) | |
| 51 | 4 | 4 | Steering (13) | |
| 25 | 0 | 1 | Engine (12) | |
| 21 | 1 | 0 | Suspension (6) |
What fails on the 1999 FORD F-350
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tires | 23% |
93 | 6 | — |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 16% |
64 | 1 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 1999 FORD F-350 |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 16% |
64 | 9 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 1999 FORD F-350 |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 11% |
46 | 10 | Shop steering parts for the 1999 FORD F-350 |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 9% |
35 | 3 | Shop suspension parts for the 1999 FORD F-350 |
| Air bags | 6% |
25 | 19 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 5% |
22 | 1 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 1999 FORD F-350 |
| Wheels | 4% |
18 | 0 | — |
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.
-
When accelerating vehicle slipped gear or jerked forward. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak
-
While driving 5-70 mph consumer lost power steering/braking. Consumer managed to pull over, and had the vehicle towed. Deaalership repaired the power steering and brake components, but the consumer was still having the same problems. *ak
-
A steel brake line on my truck rusted and ruptured causing a complete brake failure. This is the second occurrence of this problem on this vehicle. The brake line had rusted and had a partial failure, causing a leak. The rusted section was replaced about 5 years ago. The recent line failure caused an accident.
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 30, 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-350 years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1999, 2000, 1997 carry the most filings on the FORD F-350. The 1999 alone has 410 complaints, led by tires.
What is the most common FORD F-350 problem?
On the 1999 model year, the most-reported component is tires with 93 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do FORD F-350 problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all FORD F-350 complaints that include mileage is about 65,000 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.