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2016 Ford F-150: engine and transmission complaints

ELEVATED COMPLAINT SIGNAL
40%
674 of 1,743 relevant owner complaints are about the engine, transmission or fuel system

40% of relevant owner complaints on the 2016 Ford F-150 are about the engine, transmission or fuel system. That is elevated. Worth an independent inspection before you commit to one.

Better than 54% of the 1,230 model years we track (2010–2023).

NHTSA data checked September 13, 2026
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Drivetrain complaints
674
engine, transmission, fuel
Total complaints
1,743
this model year
Fires reported
23
owner-reported
Recall campaigns
14
51 crashes · 45 injuries

Complaints by component

POWER TRAIN372 · 21%
SERVICE BRAKES329 · 19%
ENGINE284 · 16%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER212 · 12%
STRUCTURE192 · 11%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM155 · 9%

The years either side

2010
34%
273 of 850
2011
56%
1,176 of 2,137
2012
62%
1,044 of 1,717
2013
61%
1,669 of 2,796
2014
39%
515 of 1,362
2015
34%
459 of 1,425
2016
40%
674 of 1,743
2017
56%
598 of 1,116
2018
64%
1,173 of 1,895
2019
76%
735 of 994
2020
61%
323 of 543
2021
49%
561 of 1,253
2022
40%
292 of 800
2023
48%
226 of 500

Manufacturers fix things mid-generation. A bad year next to a clean one is common; the fix usually arrived in between.

Cleaner alternatives

Other full-size pickups with no elevated signal

The percentage is each model year's drivetrain complaint share. No elevated signal describes the model year, not any one car; a well-kept example of a flagged model can still be the right buy, and any of these still needs an inspection.

What owners reported

AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM01/22/2025CRASH1 INJURED
Unknown, I was pulling into a parking spot, at Sam's Club, and lightly tap the gas petal for the turn and the truck lunched forward in the one carlink, and hit a concrete parking pole (Sam's club in Southgate Michigan has security cameras) it warped around the pole and bent the frame as if though it was 90 mph and a t…
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE03/13/2023CRASH1 INJURED
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the brake pedal went to the floorboard while depressed. The vehicle failed to stop immediately rear-ending another vehicle. No air bags deployed. The contact sustained injuries to his neck and back but did not receive medical attention…
ENGINE12/10/20211 INJURED
Engine block exploded with less than 100,000 miles while moving forward after a stop sign, dropped all water through a side of an engine, lost power unable to move from road blocking traffic. Once token into a shop, melted metal was found on the engine cover, and a big hole was found on the engine head. A lot of engine…

Three of 674 drivetrain complaints. The full report shows more, with quotes about the engine in the car you are looking at first.

Recall campaigns on this model year (14)

ENGINE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Ford F-150 and 2017-2019 Ford F-250 Super Duty, F-350 Super Duty, F-450 Super Duty, and F-550 Super Duty pick-up …
ENGINE
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Ford F-150 and 2017-2019 Ford F-250 Super Duty, F-350 Super Duty, F-450 Super Duty, and F-550 Super Duty pick-up …
SEAT BELTS:PRETENSIONER
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Ford F-150 Regular Cab and SuperCrew Cab vehicles. If a front seat belt pretensioner deploys as the result of a …

This does not say whether a particular car has an open, unrepaired recall. That depends on the VIN.

Before you buy a 2016 Ford F-150

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Experimental model-level information. This is not a vehicle inspection, vehicle-history report, financial advice or purchase recommendation. It describes patterns across a model year, not the condition of any individual vehicle. Combined across 4 body styles NHTSA files separately.