What 22 owners told NHTSA about the 2025 Ford Maverick Hev Early Release

While using the Auto Hold feature and stopped at a light, the truck went forward on its own - then made a loud clunk noise. Turned Auto Hold off and brought truck to Ford Service Dept. They could not find the problem.

NHTSA ODI 11747529

The contact called on behalf of her son who owned a 2025 Ford Maverick. The contact stated while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle became difficult to maneuver and her son loss control of the vehicle causing the front passenger side corner of the vehicle to crash into another vehicle; No further information was available. It was unknown if any warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was pronounced totaled at the scene. The contact stated her son was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver of the other vehicle was in critical condition however, the injuries were unknown. A police report was filed. The contact did research and was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V340000 (Suspension) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 11,460.

NHTSA ODI 11742701

The car has extreme vibration almost like speed wobbles when accelerating. Difficult to steer particularly if accelerating to change lanes. Appears the cv axles / have gone bad. Shocked there is not an active recall for the 2023 model year given the amount of reports of similar issue I have found online.

NHTSA ODI 11742730

I have been having issues with the vehicles audio speakers for a few months now, having random momentary bursts of full volume static noise, as well as sometimes consistent static noise that doesn’t stop for up to 30 mins even after the vehicle is turned off. On 5/21/26 this happened once again, turning vehicle off didn’t work. The static sound stayed playing even after the truck was turned off completely. I proceeded on my route to my destination when I smelled electrical burning smell, suddenly the front left driver speaker on the dashboard sparked and saw small flash of flames and smoke started rolling from the speaker itself. The sound of static continued and the smoke kept going for about 10 mins before the speaker stopped and then the smoke stopped. I towed the vehicle to the ford dealership where I bought it brand new last year, they are currently evaluating it to see what happened and if it is a manufacture issues. None of The speakers or any other part of this vehicle has been altered in any way at all, no aftermarket parts, of anything. Original OEM. Alll prior recalls are up to date, I was not hurt thankfully. Online there is other reports of speaker and sound amp issues with this model but see no recalls on it.

NHTSA ODI 11739451

Pressed brake pedal and vehicle did not stop. Then vehicle came to an abrupt stop after brakes floored for several seconds. Felt like the brakes locked up. Display flashed E-Brake.

NHTSA ODI 11737936

Got a warning chime and light that said electric steering fault. Power steering failed completely reverting to manual non power steering making it very hard to steer vehicle. This has happened twice, once at about 1200 miles and again at about 4800 miles. Inspected by dealership at the 1200 mile mark and confirmed that a code was left in the computer for it but no electrical or mechanical fault found. An ignition off-on cycle clears it and returns back to normal electric assisted power steering. Dealer stated a software update was needed but none is available at this time

NHTSA ODI 11714167

Shortly after purchase, my 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid AWD experienced a sudden and severe electrical burning or melting odor while driving at freeway speed (approximately 75 mph). The odor was extremely strong and clearly coming from my vehicle. At the same time, the vehicle produced a loud, continuous whirring or growling noise and experienced a sudden loss of power, as if under heavy load or braking. I exited the freeway as soon as safely possible. No visible smoke or fire was observed, but the odor raised serious concern for overheating electrical or hybrid drivetrain components Since the initial incident, the vehicle has experienced multiple similar but less severe events, including intermittent electrical odors, abnormal hybrid noises, hesitation or lag when switching between electric and gasoline operation, and a significant and permanent reduction in fuel economy. The vehicle has been taken to a Ford dealership multiple times for inspection. I requested inspection for signs of overheating or electrical damage. No diagnostic trouble codes were found and the vehicle was returned without repair. I am concerned this condition may involve overheating or failure of hybrid or electrical drivetrain components, such as the inverter, electric motor, or wiring, which may not immediately trigger diagnostic trouble codes but could pose a safety risk. I am also aware of other 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid owners reporting similar electrical odors, abnormal hybrid noises, and power loss symptoms in public owner forums, suggesting this may not be an isolated incident. I am submitting this complaint to document a potential safety-related defect involving overheating or electrical failure in the hybrid drivetrain system.

NHTSA ODI 11705804

Truck has total loss of power after stopping the truck and turning it off. Leaves you stranded. Some times jumping the truck it will run. Truck has only 14k miles.

NHTSA ODI 11682662

The vehicle has grade assist braking, which cannot be disabled. At speeds below 35mph this braking is too strong and cannot be properly controlled with throttle input. The effect is that, when going downhill, if you release pressure from the gas pedal, the vehicle will abruptly decelerate by several mph with no illumination of the brake light. In traffic, in hilly areas, this is extremely dangerous and has led to several instances of nearly being rear ended. Furthermore, the only way to avoid slowing down is to accelerate. There is no way to feather the gas pedal to coast downhill, so you are either speeding up or slowing down (abruptly). This also requires keeping your foot on the gas pedal when it would be safer to be able to control the vehicle with the brakes. I have reported this to Ford. I have not taken the vehicle to a dealership (because I suspect that they will not be able to do anything about it). There are no warning lights.

NHTSA ODI 11682006

When I first bought the vehicle the "pre-collision assist not available" light on the dashboard was on from the factory. Service did something and got rid of it. However, it still comes on and off intermittently every now and then. Everything states cleaning off the area might help but that's not the issue as windshield/camera area is always clean. I don't know why it keeps going on and off but wanted to raise this concern as I am not sure if others are getting the same thing. Can this please be researched as I'm thinking faulty parts are the culprit here and is a HUGE safety issue!

NHTSA ODI 11679852

I took delivery of vehicle from dealer on [XXX]. On [XXX] I was driving on the freeway when a high voltage sign and the message "Pull off road when safe" lit up the dashboard. The engine lost all power and I was able to coast to a stop on the shoulder. After 10-15 minutes, the vehicle would restart and I dropped at the dealership for a fix - it had less than 2,000 miles. They kept it until 7/28/25 when they said it was a "glitch" and updated software. On [XXX] I was again driving on the freeway when the "Pull off road when safe" message displayed again and the engine once again stopped but I was fortunately able to coast to an exit ramp. There was a Ford dealership right there and three guys came out to try to get it started. Again after 10 minutes of sitting the vehicle started and we pulled into a service bay where the dealership still holds my vehicle. Their diagnostic was the hybrid battery junction box needed to be replaced. It is on backorder and is still not fixed. However, both times the engine shut completely down which is extremely dangerous on freeways with semi-trucks and traffic driving fast and all you can do is coast to a stop. I was fortunate in each episode that the truck was not hit by another vehicle. I have zero trust that this vehicle will run properly even with the dealer fix. I have been in contact with Ford about buying the vehicle back as I read similar stories online. This seems to be a huge safety issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11679536

While moving 60 mph, my curious toddler (fortunately from the safety of a 5 point harness car seat) decided to try to open the rear passenger door & was alarmingly successful in doing so. We pulled over & engaged the child safety lock on that door so it wouldn't happen again but made a point to test the feature as we accelerated to 60 mph again. While all the locks engaged right after we started moving again, the front passenger door automatically unlocked when my spouse tried the door handle. We repeated this action a handful of times & also checked the vehicle settings to confirm the automatic locks were enabled. She even attempted to press the unlock button at one point before trying the handle, but the button produced no click sound. The lock/unlock buttons are disabled, as they should be, while the vehicle is in motion. But the handles should not work either. The vehicle's first state safety inspection was completed on the date of purchase at the dealership the day before this happened.

NHTSA ODI 11669900

I have been on the open road in the Midwest today and the adaptive cruise control has been spontaneously accelerating, which is very dangerous. I have set the cruise control and then placed my hands at 10 and 2 o’clock on the steering wheel and I’m not touching any other controls and suddenly the truck starts to accelerate from the Speed. I have it set at to another 10 or 20 miles an hour and I have to hit the brake to kill it. I fully understand how adaptive cruise control works. This has nothing to do with the distance between my vehicle and the one ahead. This is on the open road with no vehicles in sight. It has been happening repeatedly and it’s obviously dangerous.

NHTSA ODI 11666164

The backup camera image froze while in reverse motion. I noticed the image froze and deferred to my mirrors but had I not noticed the freeze I could have hit something. This has happened twice in five months of ownership.

NHTSA ODI 11663462

During heavy rain the HVAC system can fill with water to the point it leaks on the passenger floor. The cabin air filter is full of water and high humidity air is blown from the vents. This results in diminished defrost performance. Took truck to dealership and they could not reproduce and did not document anything.

NHTSA ODI 11663470

Water leak/intrusion into the passengers side of the vehicle during a rain storm. The leak allows water to enter the car interior which causes mold to grow in the carpet. Also the area where the water enters is directly above the main fuse panel for the car. This was on a few week old car, essentially new from factory. The dealer confirmed there was a leak due to faulty component installation from the factory. The fresh air intake/cowl was defective. See attached photo for report from dealer tech.

NHTSA ODI 11662717

The contact owns a 2025 Ford Maverick. The contact stated that while approaching a stop sign at 5 MPH, the contact attempted to depress the brake pedal; however, the vehicle continued to surge forward, causing to the contact’s vehicle to crash into the vehicle that was stopped ahead. The front bumper had struck the rear bumper of the vehicle ahead. No property damage was reported, and the vehicle came to a stop after crashing into the rear of the other vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle did not have to be towed. A Police report was filed. No injuries were reported. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed; however, the contact was advised that further diagnostic tests were required to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,000.

NHTSA ODI 11662651

The contact owns a 2024 Ford Maverick. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V684000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION), and the vehicle was taken to a local dealer and the recall repair was performed; however, several weeks later the failure occurred while the contact was reversing, and the rearview camera display remained frozen. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 8,000.

NHTSA ODI 11662294

The speedometer is incorrect at highway speeds. Vehicle is brand new with factory installed Continental 225/65R17 tires. The speed indicated on the speedometer is slower than the actual speed. This was verified by 2 GPS devices and LIDAR. At between 70-80mph the speedometer reads slow by 2mph. I wouldn't be as concerned if it read off in the other direction, but this will cause people to unknowingly speed and break the law.

NHTSA ODI 11661396

Water is leaking into the cabin air filter and onto floor of the passenger side. That’s the water I could see it’s likely in the fire wall and carpets as well and will cause a mold issue.

NHTSA ODI 11661428

Vehicle required replacement of exhaust heat exchanger due to check engine light. Vehicle sat at dealer for 67 days awaiting parts due to national back order because of high failure rate.

NHTSA ODI 11651302

The back middle seatbelt warning light always thinks someone isn’t buckled even when no one is there. We keep that buckled so it doesn’t ding. The forward pre collision sensors do not work at all.

NHTSA ODI 11636865