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Ford · NHTSA safety record

2016 Ford C-MAX

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

21

Complaints

2

Crashes

1

Fires

3

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2016 Ford C-MAX have filed 21 safety complaints with NHTSA between April 2016 and March 2026. The most complained-about system is back-over prevention, named in 4 of them (19%). The typical failure was reported at 26,240 miles, the median across the 12 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 3 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (3)

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

25V695000 · October 13, 2025

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, intermittent, or blank image when the vehicle is in reverse.
The risk
A rearview camera that fails to properly display an image can reduce the driver’s view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model and model years. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on October 25, 2025. Additional letters will be mailed once the final remedy is available on each phase. Mustang owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA9. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 14, 2025.

Ford Motor Company · up to 1,448,655 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)

22V413000 · June 10, 2022

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2019 Escape, 2013-2018 C-Max, 2013-2016 Fusion, 2013-2021 Transit Connect, and 2015-2018 Edge vehicles. The bushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission may degrade or detach.
The risk
A damaged or missing bushing may prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear, and cause the vehicle to move in an unexpected direction. Additionally, the vehicle may roll after the driver selects the 'Park' position. Either scenario increases the risk of a crash or injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the under hood shift bushing and add a protective cap over the shift cable bushing, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters, informing owners of the safety risk, were mailed July 1, 2022. Remedy parts are expected to be available in 4th Quarter 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed October 27, 2022. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S43.

Ford Motor Company · up to 2,925,968 vehicles across all model years covered

STRUCTURE:BODY

17V052000 · January 24, 2017

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016 Focus and C-Max vehicles. The floor pan may have improperly welded left-hand apron joints.
The risk
Improperly welded apron joints may reduce the front-end structural integrity of the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the apron joints, repairing the vehicle, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began March 8, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S03.

Ford Motor Company · up to 17 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 21.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 24%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 4 19%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 10%
POWER TRAIN 2 10%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 10%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 10%
AIR BAGS 1 5%
ENGINE 1 5%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 5%
SEATS 1 5%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 1 5%
SUSPENSION 1 5%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2021 at 4.

2016 2021 2026
2016 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured · crash · towed · 20,000 miles

HEAD IMPACT - PREVIOUSLY RECALLED IN JULY 2013 BY FORD MOTOR COMPANY FOR HEADLINER DESIGN ISSUES. STRUCK WHEN TURNING VEHICLE ONTO HIGHWAY.

NHTSA complaint 10855102. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

1 injured · crash · towed · 44,530 miles

The contact owned a 2016 Ford C-Max. The contact stated that while coming to a stop in a parking lot attempting to obtain mail from a mailbox; the vehicle independently accelerated and it was unknown what gear the vehicle was stationed in. In addition, it was unknown if the brake pedal was depressed or the gear the vehicle was in at the time of the failure. The vehicle had struck and knocked 3 mailboxes down and crashed into the front passenger side corner panel of a Mail Van coming to a stop as it was revving. The vehicle traveled 26 feet from its original stationed position. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. Both front wheels were severely bent outwards after the crash. The air bags

NHTSA complaint 11643456, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEATS

1 injured

We drove from Cincinnati, OH to Wray, Co for Christmas. We drove 15 hrs straight back home ( gas and potty breaks). I drove the last 9 hrs. I have fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis. So the heated seats are wonderful - usually. Yes, I used the heated seats almost all the way. I’m always hurting so I didn’t notice a problem. On our last gas stop I told my husband I must have been sweating because I felt like I had a heat rash. We got home at 3 am and my husband said it looked more like a burn. It was painful and when I looked at it I saw blisters. Next morning it was more painful and red and ugly looking. I called Ford Corporate to give them a heads up that there was an issue with their heated

NHTSA complaint 11446172, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

fire

I was driving slowly leaving a supermarket parking lot. There was no one else around. There was a sudden loud bang, the car lurched upward and to the right, coming to rest over a curb hanging down a ditch. The front end started to smoke and then caught fire. The car was a total loss. There had been no impact. I was able to escape down the ditch with the help of police and the fire department put out the fire. The first 2 pictures are on the scene; the remainder in the tow lot. Friends have suggested that perhaps the hybrid battery exploded.

NHTSA complaint 11447580. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

BACK OVER PREVENTION

40,000 miles

The contact owns a 2016 Ford C-Max Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the rear-view camera displayed a black screen while the vehicle was in reverse(R). The contact stated that the failure obstructed the driver's visibility, preventing the driver from safely operating the vehicle. The message "Rear-view Camera not Available" was displayed on the screen. The local dealer was contacted. 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.

NHTSA complaint 11721963, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
See attached document for complaint. RE: NHTSA SAFETY RECALL 25V695 To whom it may concern, In August 2025 we took our 2016 CMAX into the Ford Dealer we purchased it from to have the check out the back-up camera that was not working and have a service done. They charges us $225.00 to check it out and then wanted to service it for several hundred dollars more. There was no mention at that time about a recall, and after re-reading the bulletin you sent out, that did not come until October. The online status was that any repairs were not to begin until June 2026. Both of us are seniors and being concerned of the safety issues with the camera, we looked for the best price to repair/replace the

NHTSA complaint 11718757, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY/WIPER
The backup camera doesn't regularly function, ranging from 15% to 75% of the time. A tire man with prior experience in a Ford dealership recommended checking for an electronics update to the system. There may be a worsening functionality when the weather is wet, but that's not a clear correlation.

NHTSA complaint 11556335. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
Both this 2016 and my 2013 ford c-max hybrid have the backup cameras failing. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they have a black or blue screen than pops up and it says camera unavailable. I know there is a recent recall for other fords with backup camera issues, but the c-max sells much lower volumes so it is harder to get the same exact problem recalled.

NHTSA complaint 11454351. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Ford C-MAX

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2018 10 1 —
2017 15 1 —
2015 50 6 —
2014 80 8 —
2013 187 8 —

Other 2016 Ford models

Explorer 2,440 F-150 2,017 Fusion 1,603 Focus 1,177 Escape 1,083 Edge 891 Mustang 371 F-250 SD 287

Every Ford on this site — 348 vehicles, 1210 recall campaigns and 10 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst