What 506 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Ford F-150 Supercab Diesel

Transmission would shift into different gears when not intended

NHTSA ODI 11672698

There is a flaw in the design of the 2020 F150 and specifically the 5.0L V8 Engine. I have kept up to date on all maintenance, no visible oil spils and engine is consuming/burning significant amounts of oil. I've been told by numerous dealerships/mechanics that there is nothing that they can do and to try and join all of the class action lawsuits. I spent 50k on a vehicle that isn't even making it thru the life of the loan..... WHY DO I HAVE TO DO A CLASS ACTION. THIS SHOULD BE CONSUMER PROTECTION.

NHTSA ODI 11672513

The truck is stuttering when you go wide open throttle

NHTSA ODI 11671960

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal and the engine seized. The contact was able to coast to the side of the road. The oil warning light was illuminated. The oil gauge indicator was at zero. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with a cracked crankshaft between cylinders #2 and #3 and a cracked oil pan. The contact stated that the short block showed signs of metal shavings. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11671161

Ford 10r80 Transmission slips or revs for long period of time before banging into gear when accelerating. When accelerating and merging onto the highway I am unable to merge and accelerate to highway speed without the risk of being rear ended by oncoming vehicles already at highway speed. The vehicle has been inspected and confirmed that the transmission needs to be replaced. No other lights and absolutely not warnings at any time before problem started. As per TSB 23-2250 and several earlier TSB on this transmission, having a known defect, Ford should escalate this to a recall and compensate owners for the expensive repair when the vehicle should have plenty of more life in it.

NHTSA ODI 11668548

Exhaust manifold leak due to factory turbo mounting and bolts issue. Due to improper amount of bolts in rear of exhaust manifold where ford designed the turbochargers to mount to there is warping of the exhaust manifold and the mounting bolts break off due to heating and cooling with the turbochargers weight. Very common issue with the f150, causing exhaust leaks and possible carbon monoxide to leak into cabin. This is a dangerous design flaw that owners should not have to pay out of pocket to repair due to fords poor engine design flaw. Ford should have to recall the engine manifolds

NHTSA ODI 11668398

Time Line for the problem: 10/14/2024 Oil Change completed by Joe Myers Ford @69,392 miles [XXX] Check engine light comes on; solid; not blinking;01/20/25 Immediately took vehicle to Joe Myer, within one mile;01/20/25 Requested service advisor, Brandon P to check vehicle; was told it would be 5 days before anyone was available to look at the vehicle 01/20/25 Immediately took vehicle to Cliff Auto Repair, approx 3 miles. They checked the oil level and found no oil on the dip stick. They emptied the oil and found only 3 quarts was in the crankcase; approximately 5.5 quarts low. They completed the oil change an topped off the oil Per the technician, the oil was not burnt. Per comment on receipt "it appears oil was not filled to correct level on last oil change 01/22/25 Took vehicle back to Joe Myers to be checked for excessive oil consumption 01/22/25 Received estimate for repair service 01/23/25 Picked up vehicle Repairs completed: (1) oil change (2) Reprogramming PCM (3) Replaced dipstick; was told to return after 3000 miles to be checked again 03/20/25 Brought vehicle to Joe Myers at 3000 miles; was told after inspection that entire engine replacement was necessary at a cost of $11,007.10; Service Advisor, Kevin Ryan said Joe Myers was not responsible for the damage 04/10/25 I was referred to Service Manager, Phillip Martinez. He referred me to the Ford Motor Company to ask for good will. He gave me the number to call and said that was all he could do 04/11/25 Mr. Martinez told me he would check with Ford good will himself on my behalf 04/16/25 Ford agree to pay $5000 total 05/01/25 I received the vehicle back from Joe Myers with the engine replaced; paid $5,369.19. The vehicle has been "inspected" by Joe Myers at minimum 10 times since purchase. Why was the Technical Service Bulletin from Ford (TSB)19-2365) completely ignored thru all 10 inspections? I also suspect that Joe Myers technicians did not fill it with oil. I should be reimbursed for either reason INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11667960

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the engine, followed by a rough idle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related to the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 21B10. No further information was available. The failure mileage was approximately 100,800.

NHTSA ODI 11666554

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle made an abnormal rattling sound on cold start. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the cam phasers had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under Ford Campaign Number: 21N03. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for the VIN to be added in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 137,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11662626

I was driving on Loop 610 with stop and go traffic and after a lot of restarts the engine almost did not restart. If it would have not restart I would have been trapped in traffic in a mid lane which would have resulted in a various dangerous situation. Ford needs to install a switch to allow owners to disconnect the device that kills the engine when you stop. We are getting ready for hurricane season and based on past history if we have to do a mass evaluation we have vehicles with this devise that could result in blocking traffic and not allow people to evacuate result in potentially many lives lost.

NHTSA ODI 11661060

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and occupied, while attempting to start the vehicle, the contact heard an abnormal ticking sound coming from the engine. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed with cam phaser failure. The contact was informed that the cam phaser needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 94,000.

NHTSA ODI 11655011

I am writing to report a serious safety issue with my Ford F-150. On March 15th, 2025 while driving on State Route 167 - 410 in heavy rain, my vehicle experienced an intermittent engine shutdown while in motion. Second time happened to my wife while leaving the neighborhood on March 18th, 2025. Specifically, the engine completely shut off while driving at 40 mph. This occurred despite the Auto Start-Stop feature being manually disabled. Upon the engine shutdown, the Driver Information Center (DIC) displayed the message, "Auto StartStop Shift to P, then Restart Engine." The car did not lost power and I needed to do a full stop, shift to P, restart and switch back to D to continue driving. This malfunction occurred under hazardous conditions, specifically during heavy rain on a freeway. The sudden loss of engine power created a highly dangerous situation, placing myself and other drivers at significant risk. I am deeply concerned about the potential safety implications of this issue. The fact that the engine shut down while driving, even with the Auto Start-Stop feature disabled, suggests a critical malfunction that requires immediate attention. Despite having an extended warranty and the serious nature of this safety concern, the service department from Sunset charged me money for an unsuccessful diagnosis after two days, with service advisor unable to identify or replicate the problem.

NHTSA ODI 11654879

*Engine failed - Rattle was detected and after dealership took a look at the vehicle, it was determined that the engine needed replaced because the truck was consuming oil at a high rate and there was metal found in the manifold. *If I continued to drive a truck with low oil, a failure of engine/engine fire could have occurred (oil was changed 2 weeks prior to inspection). *Confirmed by dealer *Vehicle was inspected by dealership *No warnings, just a very subtle rattle at low speeds that was concerning. Engine ran fine otherwise. Rattle first appeared around $45k miles.

NHTSA ODI 11654629

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated had received notification of Manufacturer Recall Number: 24E12. The contact stated that the vehicle had not experienced any failure; however, the vehicle was taken to a dealer where the PCM module was updated as per the recall. The contact stated that 15 hours after the repair, the check engine warning light illuminated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 126,000.

NHTSA ODI 11653481

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated, and the contact became aware of a significant loss in fuel economy. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that the catalytic converter had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the catalytic converters had failed. The contact was informed that the catalytic converters needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and opened a case. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11652366

Transmission random acceleration, harsh downshifting, and banging coming to a stop. 3 to 5 gears and during emergency stop. Downhill acceleration without throttle while braking, overtaking brake control

NHTSA ODI 11650966

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle was hesitating and downshifted unintendedly. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent at first but had become a recurring failure. The contact stated that he had taken the vehicle to a dealer and was advised that the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, the check engine warning light was illuminated while the transmission was downshifting. The contact had taken the vehicle to the same dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the long block and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but advised the contact that the vehicle was over the mileage for the warranty and not covered. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

NHTSA ODI 11651136

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle started to lose power. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and was able to drive the vehicle at 15 MPH. The contact then pulled off the ramp. Another person was able to help the contact move the vehicle to a nearby gas station. The contact then towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with catastrophic engine failure. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired because it was not under recall. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 183,000.

NHTSA ODI 11649604

A ticking, rattling, or knocking noise from the engine The noise occurs when starting the engine after a long period of inactivity and when the engine is idling after warming up.

NHTSA ODI 11646117

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing excessive oil consumption. The contact stated that the vehicle was consuming 2 quarts of oil each 1,300 miles driven. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an oil consumption test was performed, and the dealer confirmed that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil. The dealer determined that the engine needed to be replaced; however, the repair was not covered under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11643613

Cam phasers sensors have failed three times and repaired each time. Caused the engine to stall and accelerate poorly.The third time they failed a part was defected the dealer claimed. All this work was covered under the powertrain warranty. My safety could have been at risk as my vehicle did sputter and wouldn’t accelerate at enough speed to keep up with traffic. Although I was not in an accident or hurt at this time. Yes, engine light has came on, on each occurrence. My powertrain warranty through ford will expire shortly and I’m afraid I will be left with a large repair bill if this issue occurs again soon.

NHTSA ODI 11641927

Cam Phasers need to be replaced due to knocking sound. The problem was reproduced by an independent service center. Check engine light is displayed. This issue is under recall for ford f 150 3.5 however we own a 5.0. The same issue is occurring in our vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11642008

dash screen went blank while driving engine has a sound like lifters rattling vehicle lost all electrical connectivity and then it finally came back on no other instances

NHTSA ODI 11641682

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle shuddered abnormally. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,800.

NHTSA ODI 11639315

Driving at approximately 20 miles miles per hour going up a slight incline per engine shut-off. I applied the brakes placed the transmisson in neutral and turned the ignition key to start, the engine started. Had some hesitation at first, but the engine continued to run normal after.

NHTSA ODI 11637792