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Ford · NHTSA safety record

2026 Ford F-350 SD

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

Owners have filed 8 safety complaints about the 2026 Ford F-350 SD with the US government. Of those, no death is recorded. 7 recall campaigns are open against it.

The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 4 complaints, 50% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers May 2026 to October 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

8 complaints on file

8

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
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 · 50%
POWER TRAIN 3 · 38%
ENGINE 1 · 13%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 13%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 · 13%
LANE DEPARTURE 1 · 13%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 · 13%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 · 13%
WHEELS 1 · 13%
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 8.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2026 Ford F-350 SD. 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

7 on file

STRUCTURE:BODY:TAILGATE:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS

26V689000 · October 20, 2026

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026-2027 F-150, 2026 F-250 SD, F-350 SD, and F-450 SD vehicles. The left-side tailgate cable may fail under certain heavy load conditions.
The risk
Tailgate cable failure may allow the tailgate to drop onto the rear bumper, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the left-side tailgate cable, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, are expected to be mailed December 14, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in January 2027. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S78. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning December 7, 2026.

Ford Motor Company · up to 30,123 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

26V653000 · October 6, 2026

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2026 F-250 SD, F-350 SD, F-450 SD, F-550 SD, F-600, 2026 F-150, and F-750 SD vehicles. The analog cluster’s tachometer and speedometer may become stuck or move erratically, providing inaccurate readings to the driver. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 101, "Controls and Displays."
The risk
A speedometer that fails to display accurate vehicle speed can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the instrument cluster modules, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, are expected to be mailed in October 26, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in December 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C46. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 7, 2026.

Ford Motor Company · up to 102,159 vehicles across all model years covered

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

26V606000 · September 22, 2026

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2027 Expedition, 2026 F-250 SD, F-350 SD, F-450 SD, and F-550 SD vehicles. The headlight assemblies may contain a contaminated LED chip, which can result in a loss of daytime running lights, parking lights, high beams or low beams. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
The risk
A loss of exterior lighting can reduce visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the headlight assemblies, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 26, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C43. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning October 26, 2026.

Ford Motor Company · up to 41,748 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY:AXLE SHAFT

26V119000 · March 3, 2026

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026-2025 F-250 SD and F-350 SD vehicles. The driveshaft friction weld may fail, resulting in rear driveshaft separation and a sudden loss of drive power.
The risk
A loss of drive power can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect the driveshaft serial number and replace the driveshaft as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 6, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S13. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on March 4, 2026.

Ford Motor Company · up to 11,431 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INTEGRATED TRAILER BRAKE CONTROL

26V104000 · February 20, 2026

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2021-2026 F-150, 2022-2026 F-250 SD, F-350 SD, F-450 SD, F-550 SD, Maverick, 2024-2026 Ranger, 2023-2026 F-600 SD, 2022-2027 Lincoln Navigator, Expedition, and 2026 E-Transit vehicles. When towing a trailer, the integrated trailer module (ITRM) may lose communication with the vehicle, possibly causing a loss of brake and turn signal lights, or a loss of brake function. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, " Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
The risk
Trailer lights or brakes that do not function can reduce the driver’s ability to control the trailer and decrease the trailers visibility to other road users, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
The integrated trailer module software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 25, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C10. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning March 17, 2026.

Ford Motor Company · up to 4,381,878 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY:AXLE SHAFT

25V866000 · December 12, 2025

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026 Super Duty F-250 and F-350 vehicles. The right rear axle shaft may have been improperly heat-treated during manufacturing and may break.
The risk
A broken rear axle shaft can result in a loss of drive power or vehicle rollaway when the vehicle is placed in park. Either of these scenarios can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect the right rear axle shaft date code and replace the axle shaft as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 15, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SD8. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on December 15, 2025.

Ford Motor Company · up to 6,819 vehicles across all model years covered

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

25V540000 · August 22, 2025

The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2026 F-550 SD, F-450 SD, F-350 SD, F-250 SD, and 2025 F-150 vehicles. The Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) may fail at startup.
The risk
An instrument panel display that does not show critical information, such as warning lights or vehicle speed, increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
The instrument panel cluster software will be updated by a dealer or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 5, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S88.

Ford Motor Company · up to 355,656 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.

VISIBILITY/WIPER
When using the rear camera while towing a trailer, the image is partially blocked by a persistent message stating “full view not available”. This creates a safety issue as it obscures the driver’s view of the trailer and/or the trailer load. It is critical to be able to monitor the trailer and the load during towing to ensure a hazardous condition is not developing. I believe the rear view camera is working as designed, that is I do not believe there is a defect or failure in the hardware. However the design of the message is the problem. If the driver needs to know that “full view not available” then the message should be moved to a different part of the screen to not obscure the view of

NHTSA complaint 11771195, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The trailer light control module is intermittently causing trailer light faults messages and signal failures. This is associated to recall 26C10. The software update doesn’t correct the problem. Ford does not have the hardware on hand to replace the failing part. This is a safety issue for us who are on the road towing travel trailers.

NHTSA complaint 11764803. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
When we plug our F350 into our fifth wheel trailer, the lights work until we put the brakes on once we apply the brakes the rear right brake light and turn signal no longer work. So we are forced to drive with only one working brake light and tail light when we disconnect and reconnect. It does the exact same thing again we have had two other pick ups both GM products connected to our trailer and it works perfectly. We’ve had a mechanic look at it and tell us it was not our trailer. It is our truck. I’ve contacted Ford who refuses to do anything about it. We get brake module error messages from the truck as well as brake lighting, module errors from the truck.

NHTSA complaint 11755987. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I purchased my 2026 Ford F-350 Platinum from Sandy Sansing Ford Lincoln on June 11, 2026. I was not informed that the vehicle has two unrepaired/unresolved Recall's. Both of the recalls were issued in March, 2026. The Dealership had this vehicle on their lot from September, 2025 to the date that I purchased it. The first recall is 26E01 "Powertrain Control Module PCM Software" and the second recall is 26C10 "Trailer Module Reprogramming." I was not aware of and it was never brought to my attention at the time of sale that the vehicle had two recalls and, I purchased the vehicle three months after both of these recalls were issued.

NHTSA complaint 11747451. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Recall service not available right now. We have a remedy but parts are not available right now. We will inform you when the service is available. Or, you can contact your dealer.Description On your vehicle it is possible that the trailer module trm may lose communication at vehicle start-up. If a trm loss of communication occurs and a trailer is connected to the vehicle, trailer stop lamps and turn signal indicators will not function. Additionally, for trailers equipped with electronic trailer brakes, the trailer brakes will not function. This loss of communication can occur with-or-without a trailer connected to the vehicle and can only initiate at vehicle start-up. If this occurs, a

NHTSA complaint 11744637, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Description On your vehicle, it may be possible to experience a noisy, partially inoperable, or completely inoperable heating ventilating and air conditioning HVAC blower Motor. Safety Risk An inoperable or partially inoperable HVAC blower Motor may affect windshield defrost and defogging capability, which can decrease visibility under certain driving conditions, increasing the risk of a crash. Remedy Parts are available to repair your vehicle. Ford Motor Company has authorized your dealer to inspect and possibly replace the blower Motor assembly. Free of charge. Next Steps Contact your dealer for more information to schedule the free service.

NHTSA complaint 11743721. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Ford F-350 SD

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 14 7 —
2024 45 3 —
2023 41 15 —
2022 115 17 —
2021 98 14 —
2020 189 15 —
2019 467 11 —
2018 205 9 —
2017 575 13 —
2016 209 3 —
2015 208 3 —
2013 9 9 —
2012 29 9 —
2011 43 7 —
2010 50 6 —

Other 2026 Ford models

Every Ford on this site — 360 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