CSR
Check a VIN

Look up

About

Ford · NHTSA safety record

2016 Ford F-53

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

Owners have filed 15 safety complaints about the 2016 Ford F-53 with the US government. Of those, no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the power train.

The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 6 complaints, 40% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 2,800 miles, the median across the 13 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers January 2016 to November 2025 · How this is counted

What is on file

15 complaints on file

15

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
POWER TRAIN 6 · 40%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 · 13%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 13%
STRUCTURE 2 · 13%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 · 13%
ENGINE 1 · 7%
SEAT BELTS 1 · 7%
VISIBILITY 1 · 7%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 · 7%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 15.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2016 at 10.

12 9 6 3
16 17 18 22 25

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2016 to 2025.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2016 Ford F-53. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

15V611000 · September 30, 2015

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford F-53 and F-59 stripped chassis trucks manufactured June 1, 2015, to August 11, 2015. Due to an incorrect shift cable bracket and an improper shift cable adjustment, the affected vehicles can be shifted out of 'PARK' without applying the brakes.
The risk
If the vehicle can be shifted into reverse without the brakes being applied, the vehicle may unintentionally move, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the transmission shift control bracket and adjust the transmission shift cable, free of charge. The recall began on November 12, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S25.

Ford Motor Company · up to 1,477 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

STRUCTURE
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-53. The contact stated that upon further inspection of the vehicle, the contact noticed that the chassis body had several fractured welds, and the brackets were missing. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the brackets holding the chassis body of the frame were fractured. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA complaint 11698088. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEAT BELTS

24,000 miles

The contact owns a 2016 Fleetwood Flair RV built on a 2016 Ford F53 Chassis. The contact stated that the dealer had repaired the seat belt bolts upon purchasing the RV; however, while her husband was driving approximately 55-65 MPH in the mountains with her in the front passenger’s side seat, the front driver's side seat belt detached from the wall while it was buckled. The contact's husband pulled to the side of the road. Upon inspecting the front passenger's side seat belt, the contact's husband noticed that it was also loosened. The RV was taken to the dealer and was being repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the dealer should contact them

NHTSA complaint 11457837, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER

9,078 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FORD F-53. WHILE DRIVING IN A RAIN STORM, THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS FAILED TO OPERATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO REPAIRED THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THOR MOTOR COACH (701 COUNTY ROAD 15, ELKHART, IN 46516) WHERE THE CONTACT WAS NOT INFORMED OF A DIAGNOSIS; HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TAKEN TO CAMPING WORLD OF OAKWOOD (4696 SMITHSON BLVD, OAKWOOD, GA 30566, (888) 425-9114), BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSIS A FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF THE FAILURE AND DID NOT ASSIST. THE

NHTSA complaint 11113121, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

2,800 miles

PURCHASED NEW IN AUGUST, 2016. ONE MONTH LATER WE DROVE OUR NEW MOTORHOME SOUTHWEST INTO NM AND AZ. AT 2735 MILES ON THE ODOMETER IN CENTRAL NM WE GOT TWO BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING LIGHTS WHILE TRAVELING WEST ON I-40 AT 65 MPH. WE STOPPED TO INSPECT SYSTEM. FRONT BRAKE ROTORS WERE EXTREMELY HOT! FRONT MASTER CYLINDER CHAMBER SPILLED OUT EXTREMELY HOT BRAKE FLUID! I ADJUSTED IT'S LEVEL THEN CHECKED REAR CHAMBER. IT WAS ABOUT 2' BELOW CORRECT LEVEL. I FILLED TO CORRECT LEVEL. FOR SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE THIS I NOTICED A VERY HARD BRAKE PEDAL WITH DECREASING BRAKE EFFICIENCY. WE STOPPED IN ALBUQUERQUE, NM AND CONTACTED BOTH FORD DEALERS ADVERTISING RV/TRUCK SERVICE. WE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT 7 WORKING

NHTSA complaint 11088932, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
ELECTRICAL TRANSFER SWITCH BUZZES AFTER ONE TO TWO HOURS OF PLUGGING IN. LOUDER AFTER MORE HOURS. HYDRAULIC JACK PUMP REPLACED TWICE IN FIRST YEAR AND NEEDS REPAIR OR REPLACE AGAIN AFTER 13 MONTHS.

NHTSA complaint 10992385. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY

270 miles

PURCHASED NEW. TOOK HOME FROM DEALER AFTER CUSTOMER INSPECTION BUT BATTERIES WERE DEAD PREVENTING FULL OPERATION OF AMENITIES. SIX DAYS AFTER BEING HOME, WE WERE GOING TO TAKE THE MOTORHOME ON A TRIP. KITCHEN SLIDE WAS OPEN SINCE WE BROUGHT IT HOME. TRY TO RETRACT KITCHEN SLIDE AND IT JAMMED. PROBLEM IS THE ROOM SLIDE IS TOO BIG FOR THE OPENING IN THE WALL CAUSING UNIT TO BIND (ONE MOTOR WORKS, OTHER DOES NOT) OVERLOADING AND BURNING OUT MOTORS. ALSO, METAL SCREWS DRIVEN IN TO CHANNEL IN WALL GOING TO SLIDE MOTORS PENETRATED RED WIRE TO FRONT SLIDE MOTOR. MOTORHOME HAD 270 MILES ON IT WHEN BROUGHT HOME AND SLIDE JAMMED ON FIRST CLOSING OPERATION BY CONSUMER/OWNER. PROBLEM NOTED WHEN IN YARD

NHTSA complaint 10906754, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Ford F-53

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2021 13 2 —
2020 32 2 —
2018 11 1 —
2014 17 1 —
2013 8 1 —

Other 2016 Ford models

Explorer 2,455 F-150 2,059 Fusion 1,631 Focus 1,181 Escape 1,131 Edge 914 Mustang 378 F-250 SD 289

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Ford on this site — 359 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

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