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Ford · NHTSA safety record

2021 Ford F-150 Hybrid

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

247

Complaints

5

Crashes

3

Fires

5

Injuries

1

Deaths

Owners of the 2021 Ford F-150 Hybrid have filed 247 safety complaints with NHTSA between June 2021 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 122 of them (49%). The typical failure was reported at 31,500 miles, the median across the 34 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 247.

POWER TRAIN 122 49%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 40 16%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 27 11%
WHEELS 27 11%
ENGINE 23 9%
STRUCTURE 12 5%
SERVICE BRAKES 11 4%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 10 4%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 10 4%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 8 3%
EQUIPMENT 7 3%
SUSPENSION 7 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2022 at 73.

2021 2022 2026
2021 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.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ADAS:AUTONOMOUS/SELF DRIVING:SOFTWARE

1 death · 1 injured · crash · towed · 2,000 miles

The contact's father owned a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while his father was driving at 75-80 MPH on self-driving mode, the electronic steering wheel inadvertently locked, causing him to lose control of the vehicle and the vehicle crashed into an exit sign on the interstate. The air bags deployed. Then, the vehicle accelerated uncontrollably 260 yards and crashed into a tree where the vehicle came to a stop. A police report was filed. The contact stated his father sustained injuries and was transported out of the vehicle to the hospital by emergency units. The contact stated his father deceased 4 hours later. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot, where it was totaled. The

NHTSA complaint 11436013, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash

UNKNOWN Our F-150 was hit by a driver from a side street. The whole passenger side was damaged, front fender replaced, front door replace, post repaired, back door replaced, back panel of truck replaced, and back wheel. The long step was pushed up and under vehicle. It was replaced as well. The side airbag did not engage. I was thrown around in the passenger seat. I experienced a contusion on my right knee and three days later diagnosed with side impact whiplash. The truck was declared not safe to drive while we were trying to get estimates for repairs. They were concerned that the airbag didn’t go off and the door was not closing correctly even after they tried to tweak it. Our truck was

NHTSA complaint 11461562, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured

My Sunroof exploded. I was driving down the freeway on a Sunday morning. There were no other vehicles around me and noting overhead anywhere near me. I heard a loud bang similar to a shotgun blast and my sunroof glass shards began to rain down onto me. The sunroof was closed but the moonroof cover was opened. There is little to no chance that anything struck the sunroof because I was alone on the road with no other vehicle within many yards. Also there was a lot of glass in and on my truck bed so it seems like the glass exploded outwards before gravity took over. I was cut up on my arms, hands and on my forehead luckily I was wearing a hat and glasses so the glass did not get into my eyes.

NHTSA complaint 11431969, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:TV/RADIO/SPEAKERS

1 injured

My radio speakers turned to 100% volume and the subwoofer made an EXTREMELY loud static noise. It could not be turned off. My ears rang and thankfully I wasn’t driving fast enough, as I was about to pull into my driveway. Based on the advice of a thread I read online, the best way to fix the issue was to shut the truck off and let the noise eventually turn off… which took ten minutes. Since I could not reproduce the issue, and based on everything I’ve read about this issue, going to the dealer would not be a benefit of my time as they require the issue to be happening to diagnose the issue. I cannot replicate it again, but if this happens while I’m driving much faster, I fear it will cause

NHTSA complaint 11488482, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
My 2021 Ford F-150 PowerBoost, VIN [XXX], is included in Ford recall 25S75 / NHTSA recall 25V455. The vehicle has stalled more than five times and is experiencing the same dangerous condition described in the recall. The Ford dealer told me I can bring the truck in, and they will diagnose the problem and repair it if they can. However, I must pay all costs upfront and then request reimbursement after Ford releases the official recall remedy. I should not be required to pay out of pocket for the diagnosis and repair of a known safety defect covered by an active recall. There is also no clear timeline for when a remedy will become available or when I would be reimbursed. I cannot reasonably

NHTSA complaint 11756814, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I am filing a safety complaint regarding a recurring, hazardous transmission failure during highway and incline driving (specifically experienced on mountain highway passes in Arkansas). While driving at highway speeds on uphill inclines, the transmission severely hesitates and struggles to downshift under load. When it finally engages, it violently slams into gear. During these episodes, the truck experiences a sudden loss of motive power and acceleration lag, accompanied by an engine RPM flare of over 400+ RPM. And most recently, I have Live diagnostic data captured during operation revealed a downshift delay of over 3 seconds where the powertrain control module commanded 8th gear, but

NHTSA complaint 11754598, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I am reporting a safety-related transmission problem I experienced with my 2021 Ford F-150 equipped with the 10R80 automatic transmission. While driving normally, the transmission suddenly has lost propulsion and RPMs flare while driving steadily uphill. This occurred while merging onto a fast moving highway and while traveling at a steady speed going uphill, creating a potentially dangerous situation because the truck did not respond as expected when I needed predictable acceleration or propulsion. I believe this incident may be related to the known 10R80 CDF clutch-cylinder/sleeve problem. Ford technical information identifies axial movement of the CDF sleeve that can cause

NHTSA complaint 11754238, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Ive noticed that the electric motor sometimes doesnt want to disengage quickly when I step on the brakes. In this incident I had to make a hard brake because someone pulled out in front of me. I had the cruise control on. When I slammed on the brakes the vehicle did not stop fast the vehicle felt as if it was still being pushed by something. Then a small jolt was felt and then the vehicle finally slowed. Had I been going faster or had the car that pulled been closer. This fault would have resulted in an incident

NHTSA complaint 11754246. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I am reporting a safety-related transmission problem I experienced with my 2021 Ford F-150 equipped with the 10R80 automatic transmission. While driving normally, the transmission suddenly shifts hard/lags on gears 3-5 and sometime higher gears 7-9 at higher speeds. I’ve also noticed a buzzing/metallic rattling coming near the engine from inside. There is also times i can tell i have no power when trying to speed up and the other day i almost thought i was going to get T-Boned. This occurred while on my daily traffic commute to work, creating a potentially dangerous situation because the truck did not respond as expected when I needed predictable acceleration or propulsion. I believe this

NHTSA complaint 11754321, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I am reporting a safety-related transmission problem I experienced with my 2021 Ford F-150 equipped with the 10R80 automatic transmission. While driving normally, the transmission suddenly slipped at least twice, and shifts violently often. The truck while driving on a 35mph road after just going over a railroad track I went to accelerate and lost gear and the transmission slipped really bad and violently caught a gear after reaching around 4000 rpm. The truck also shifts violently when under moderate acceleration at almost all times in gears 2-5 creating a potentially dangerous situation because the truck did not respond as expected when I needed predictable acceleration or propulsion. I

NHTSA complaint 11754157, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Ford F-150 Hybrid

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 15 2 —
2024 31 0 —
2023 93 0 —
2022 207 0 —

Other 2021 Ford models

F-150 979 Bronco Sport 675 Explorer 411 Mustang Mach E 340 Escape 332 Ecosport 256 Expedition 228 Bronco 223

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