CSR

Ford · NHTSA safety record

2019 Ford Transit Connect

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

51

Complaints

2

Crashes

0

Fires

1

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2019 Ford Transit Connect have filed 51 safety complaints with NHTSA between December 2019 and June 2026. The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 24 of them (47%). The typical failure was reported at 30,000 miles, the median across the 12 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints rose 33% year on year: 12 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 9 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 8 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (8)

BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE

25V442000 · June 27, 2025

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2022 Transit Connect, 2019-2020 MKZ, MKX, Edge, Continental, F-150, Nautilus, Fusion, 2019-2023 Ranger, Mustang, 2020-2021 EcoSport, Expedition, Navigator, 2020-2022 Escape, F-250 SD, Corsair, 2020-2023 Aviator, Transit, 2020-2024 Explorer, 2021-2024 Bronco Sport, and 2022-2024 Maverick vehicles. A software error may cause the rearview camera to display a blank image, or the image may remain on the display after the backing event has ended.
The risk
A rearview camera that displays a blank image can reduce the driver's view behind the vehicle. A rearview image that continues to be displayed after the vehicle is shifted out of reverse may distract the driver. Both of these situations can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will update the rearview camera software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 4, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S72.

Ford Motor Company · up to 200,237 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)

25V196000 · March 28, 2025

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Transit Connect vehicles previously repaired incorrectly under recall number 20V-636. The powertrain control module (PCM) software has fail-safe temperature threshold values higher than intended for the engine. This may delay engine cooling and result in engine overheating.
The risk
An engine that overheats increases the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Dealers will update the powertrain control module (PCM) software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 21, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S32.

Ford Motor Company · up to 152 vehicles across all model years covered

VISIBILITY:FIXED PANARAMIC ROOF/SKY LIGHT ASSEMBLY

24V294000 · April 26, 2024

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Transit Connect vehicles. An improper bond may exist between the panoramic roof and the vehicle body, which can result in the panel detaching from the vehicle.
The risk
A roof panel that detaches while driving can create a road hazard and increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will remove, clean, and reinstall the panoramic roof panel, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 4, 2024. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24S29.

Ford Motor Company · up to 1,315 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

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

21V376000 · May 24, 2021

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2021 Transit Connect vehicles equipped with 2.5L engines. 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, causing 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 underhood shifter cable bushing, and add a protective cap, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on June 29, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S24.

Ford Motor Company · up to 192,080 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

20V791000 · December 17, 2020

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 EcoSport and 2019-2020 Transit Connect vehicles. Depending on the model, either the driver side or passenger side frontal air bag modules are missing the first-stage booster propellant and sleeve. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
The risk
Air bag modules missing the first-stage booster propellant will not deploy as intended in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected air bag module on either the driver or passenger side, free of charge. This recall began February 18, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20C26.

Ford Motor Company · up to 12 vehicles across all model years covered

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM

20V636000 · October 15, 2020

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Transit Connect vehicles equipped with 2.5L engines. The powertrain control module (PCM) software has fail-safe temperature threshold values higher than intended for the engine. This may delay the fail-safe cooling strategy in the event of coolant loss and result in engine overheating.
The risk
If the engine overheats, it can result in engine damage and increase the risk of a fire.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the PCM software, free of charge. The recall began November 10, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S60.

Ford Motor Company · up to 2,903 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

20V550000 · September 10, 2020

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Edge, Transit Connect and Lincoln MKX and 2020 Escape and Lincoln Corsair vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing or loose bolts.
The risk
Missing or loose bolts on the start stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission fluid leak and may progress to a loss of transmission function. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the start/stop accumulator, free of charge. The recall began September 23, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S49.

Ford Motor Company · up to 97 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 51.

POWER TRAIN 24 47%
SERVICE BRAKES 17 33%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 6 12%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 10%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 4 8%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 6%
AIR BAGS 2 4%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 4%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 2 4%
ENGINE 1 2%
LANE DEPARTURE 1 2%
VISIBILITY 1 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 12.

2019 2025 2026
2019 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.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

On May 17 2022, I was involved in a multi vehicle accident in which my vehicle was hit on the side and ended up with a right frontal impact into a concrete barrier. Despite the severity of the impact, None of the airbags deployed. The onboard collision sensor was triggered and dialed 911. I was injured, but not to a catastrophic Degree. I have cuts and bruises as would be expected. My concern is that an airbag should have deployed and would have been beneficial in this instance, since My shoulder did impact the steering wheel. There is a recall for this particular vehicle, but my VIN Is not listed and should be.

NHTSA complaint 11465266. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

crash

Our employee was on a job site, parked and exited the vehicle and it rolled into a fence causing damage to the hood, fender and headlight. There was no warning chime that the vehicle was not in park. No one was in the vehicle at the time and no one was injured. Because there were no injuries, we did not make an insurance claim for the damage nor file a police report. This happened approximately three months after we purchased this vehicle. I believe this vehicle should be included in the current Ford recall 21S24. I have contacted both the dealership and Ford Motor Company and they say there is nothing to be done unless/until NHTSA adds our VIN/batch to the current recall.

NHTSA complaint 11425435. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

towed · 84,500 miles

The contact owns a 2019 Ford Transit Connect. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the electrical system failed to respond, and the vehicle turned off. There were no warning lights illuminated. There was no power to the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where unknown repairs were performed along with a taillight repair. On a separate occasion, while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle failed to respond, the transmission was not shifting properly, which caused the vehicle to jerk. The contact stated that while driving after the engine had warmed up, the vehicle would unintendedly stop. The contact returned from a trip and the vehicle was taken to a dealer and was diagnosed

NHTSA complaint 11652334, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Since I’ve bought it at 48,000 miles the van has always had hard engagements on 1 gear and 2nd. I knew the transmission was bad a week after I bought it at the ford dealership. All they did under their limited warranty was a transmission flush. Now it has 70,000 and the torque converter is toast now. I was on the interstate going 70mph. Let off the gas and a huge aggressive deceleration happened and I almost lost control. It is constant issue now when going over 70mph. Took it to ford, no transmission codes so they didn’t try fix it or find anything wrong. Noticing high rpms trying to get up to speed. Torque converter is clearly slipping.

NHTSA complaint 11744955. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Description of Defect: When the vehicle is shifted into reverse, the rearview camera display freezes for several seconds before going black. This malfunction creates a direct and serious safety hazard — during the period the display is frozen, the image shown does not reflect actual real-time conditions behind the vehicle. Any pedestrian, child, or object that moves into the path of the vehicle after the display freezes will not be visible to the driver. This significantly increases the risk of a backover collision. Dealership Inspection Outcome: I brought the vehicle to an authorized Ford dealership for diagnosis. Upon inspection, the technician was unable to detect the diagnostic trouble

NHTSA complaint 11737254, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
The vehicle has only been driven for 24K miles and there was an issue with the ABS Hydraulic Control Unit (HCU) and the recommendation is for it to be completely replaced. Seems ridiculous if the ABS Hydralic Control Unit is meant to last 100k-200k miles.

NHTSA complaint 11735649. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
While traveling on the freeway after approximately 45 minutes of driving at 65 mph, the car suddenly felt like it was down shifting causing it to slow substantially. When I tried to accelerate to avoid cars behind me from hitting me, the car prevented me from speeding up for approximately five seconds. RPM is over 5000 b4 it allowed speed up. This happened on two separate occasions,. The car would not start after the second trip and was towed to a Ford dealer for repair. I was told I needed a new alternator and battery and what I experienced on the freeway was the alternator impacting the transmission. I picked up what I thought was a repaired vehicle, traveled to one of the same places I

NHTSA complaint 11732535, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Transmission failure after all known transmission recalls were repaired.

NHTSA complaint 11726533. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Safety Recall issued April 2024 for Panoramic Glass. Ford dealerships are unable to repair due to glass companies refusing to assist. This issue has been taken to all dealerships on the island, with the same results. Calling Ford recall (4 times) has finally prompted an open case and claim number #XXX INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11719716. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Ford Transit Connect

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2021 8 4
2020 31 8
2018 22 6
2017 28 6
2016 104 10
2015 66 10
2014 127 15
2013 32 4
2012 26 1
2011 24 1
2010 42 2

Other 2019 Ford models

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