What breaks most · 1990 to 2008 model years
Ford F Super Duty problems by year
Owners have filed 412 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Ford F Super Duty across model years 1990 to 2008. Three years stand out: 1999 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints, 2000 for tires complaints and 2002 for engine and cooling complaints. The quietest years are 1990, 1991 and 1993.
- Years to check closely: 1999, 2000, 2002
- Fewest complaints: 1990, 1991, 1993
- Complaints on file
- 4121990 to 2008, all trims
- Worst year
- 199993 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 1512 fires · 20 injuries · 1 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 87kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 23Across 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 | 1 | Electrical system (1) | |
| 1 | 0 | 2 | Fuel system (1) | |
| 8 | 0 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (6) | |
| 3 | 0 | 3 | Engine and cooling (2) | |
| 20 | 0 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (6) | |
| 12 | 0 | 1 | Suspension (3) | |
| 8 | 0 | 2 | Speed control and throttle (3) | |
| 24 | 1 | 3 | Tires (13) | |
| 14 | 0 | 0 | Tires (8) | |
| 93 | 6 | 3 | Brakes (hydraulic) (22) | |
| 63 | 4 | 3 | Tires (15) | |
| 32 | 1 | 1 | Powertrain and transmission (8) | |
| 34 | 2 | 0 | Engine and cooling (10) | |
| 27 | 0 | 0 | Engine (9) | |
| 14 | 0 | 0 | Engine (4) | |
| 27 | 1 | 0 | Steering (10) | |
| 31 | 0 | 0 | Steering (10) |
What fails on the 1999 Ford F Super Duty
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 24% |
22 | 2 | Shop all brakes (hydraulic) parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Tires | 18% |
17 | 2 | — |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 17% |
16 | 1 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 13% |
12 | 0 | Shop all engine and cooling parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 8% |
7 | 0 | Shop all electrical system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Parking Brake | 4% |
4 | 1 | — |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 4% |
4 | 0 | Shop all fuel system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Exterior lightingHeadlights, tail lights and bulbs | 4% |
4 | 0 | Shop all exterior lighting parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
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.
-
Driving 1999 f250 superduty sudden and complete loss of brake function. Later found ruptured corroded rear brake line responsible for sudden loss of brake pressure, dual circuit master cylinder was not effective in allowing alternate brake circuit to slow truck creating a dangerous situation.
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I've had two spark plugs blow out of the engine. Both on driver side. Tearing up their boot and breaking off the coil. The cost to replace the boot and coil is aprox 50+ each time. First time i was driving aprox 35mph when it blew out the second time aprox 45mph. 2000 FORD f250 gas engine super duty extend a cab.
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I have a 2002 FORD f250 that in the last year has blown out the sparkplugs 3 different times. I have bought the replacement kit for it each time and i am still having the problem.
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 Super Duty years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1999, 2000, 2002 carry the most filings on the Ford F Super Duty. The 1999 alone has 93 complaints, led by brakes (hydraulic).
What is the most common Ford F Super Duty problem?
On the 1999 model year, the most-reported component is brakes (hydraulic) with 22 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Ford F Super Duty problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Ford F Super Duty complaints that include mileage is about 87,000 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.