2013 FORD F 250 SD

What owners reported to NHTSA, ranked by how often and how seriously.

This is complaint data, not a random sample.

It only includes owners who chose to file a federal complaint, so it over-represents dramatic and safety-related problems and under-represents minor issues an owner just had fixed without reporting. Read this as what NHTSA complainants report most, not as this vehicle's true failure rate. Full methodology.

Component ranking

  1. #1

    engine cooling

    4 unsafe

    4
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=5)

    • "RADIATOR LEAKING. EXCESSIVE EXHAUST CLEANING (EVERY 200 MILES EXACTLY). TURBO GAUGE PEGS COMPLAINTS 2 AND 3 ARE REPEATED COMPLAINTS AND HAVE NOT BEEN FIGURED OUT BY FORD."~42,000 mi, complaint #1269993
    • "RADIATOR FAILURE DUE TO POOR DESIGN. LEAKING AT THE PLASTIC SEAMS UNDER DRAIN PETCOCK. THOUSANDS IF NOT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF THESE UNITS ARE FAILING YEARS BEFORE THEY SHOULD. SOME CONSUMERS SPEND 50K+ ON THESE TRUCKS AND YET ARE FORCED TO REPAIR THE LEAKIN…"~45,000 mi, complaint #1130810
    • "RADIATOR FAILURE, HIGH PRESSURE COOLANT LEAK WHICH IS NOT DISCERNIBLE BY COMMON INDICATORS. RADIATOR CRACKED AND ALL COOLANT WAS LOST WHILE VEHICLE WAS BEING OPERATED, WHEN COOLING SYSTEM NOT UNDER LOAD THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT VISIBLE LEAK. THIS POSES A RISK…"~46,000 mi, complaint #1158926
    • "AT LESS THAN 50K MILES, THE RADIATOR DEVELOPED A LEAK. COOLANT WILL LEAK ANYWHERE THE TRUCK IS PARKED, CAUSING AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN. FORD IS AWARE OF THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE, BUT REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM AND ENACT A PERMANENT S…"~49,200 mi, complaint #1284125
  2. #2

    alignment and pull

    3 unsafe

    3
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=5)

    • "MY VEHICLE HAS 'EXPERIENCED THE 'F250 DEATH WOBBLE' ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND IT IS A SCARY FEELING WHEN IT HAPPENS. TH DEATH WOBBLE USUALLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ANY YOU HIT A ROUGH PATCH OR BUMP IN THE ROAD. DURING THE 'DEATH WOBBLE…"~10,500 mi, complaint #1586462
    • "I WAS DRIVING MY TRUCK BETWEEN 60-[REDACTED ADDRESS] 4 AROUND A SLIGHT CURVE. THAT'S WHEN WHOLE FRONT OF TRUCK WENT INTO A A UNCONTROLLABLE WOBBLE, STEERING WHEEL WAS ALSO SHACKING LEFT TO RIGHT HAD TO SLOW TO 30-40 MPH TO BRING BACK UNDER CONTROL. BROUGHT TO…"~12,000 mi, complaint #1258965
    • "I AM EXPERIENCING WHAT IS CALLED THE FORD DEATH WOBBLE. HITTING A ROUGH SPOT, OR A TAR LINE WILL CAUSE VIOLENT STEERING WOBBLE.MUST SLOW DOWN BELOW 40 MPH TO STOP THE PROBLEM."~259,000 mi, complaint #1654812
  3. #3

    fuel pump

    2 unsafe

    2
    incidents

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "AS I PULLED OUT OF THE DEALER AFTER TAKING IT IN FOR A REPLACEMENT MIRROR AND WASHER NOZZLES,I GOT ONTO THE FREEWAY AND AT ABOUT 60 MPH MY MY TRUCK LOST POWER,SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON,THE WARNING SIGN ON THE DASH INDICATED THAT THE TRUCK DID NOT HAVE ANY F…"complaint #1266266
    • "FORD VOIDING WARRANT REPAIRS ON CP4 FUEL PUMP DUE TO FUEL CONTAMINATION - WE HAVE SEEN NHTSA RESOLVE THE ISSUE WITH CP4 FULE PUMP FOR VW- WE NEED TO HAVE NHTSA LOOK AT THIS FOR FORD- THEY REPAIR COST THAT FORD IS PUTTING ON THE OWNERS RANGE FROM 10-18KU . THER…"complaint #1318109
  4. #4

    airbag system

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD F-250 SD. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR REMAINED ILLUMINATED FROM THE INITIAL PURCHASE OF THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER (IMPERIAL FORD, [REDACTED ADDRESS], MENDON, MA 01756, 1-[REDACTED PHONE]) WHO SOLD THE VE…"complaint #1441636
  5. #5

    brake hydraulics

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "I WAS DRIVING DOWN FM 624 WHEN I CAME UP TO AN 18 WHEELER THAT WAS COMING TO A STOP. I STEPPED ON THE BRAKE PEDAL AND NOTHING HAPPENED, THE PEDAL WAS SOLID LIKE I HAD BRAKES BUT THE TRUCK DIDN'T RESPOND. I HIT THE BACK OF THE SEMI AT ABOUT 40MPH AND TORE THE F…"~11,750 mi, complaint #1114139
  6. #6

    control module

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "I HAVE A 2013 F-250 SD. HERE IS THE PROBLEM, RANDOMLY WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING ALL OF THE GAUGES ON THE DASHBOARD GO DEAD. IN ADDITION, ALL THE ALERT LIGHTS (CHECK ENGINE, TRACTION, ETC.) LIGHT UP. FURTHERMORE, THE MESSAGE DISPLAY READS "SERVICEADVANCETRAC". IF…"~18,000 mi, complaint #1178418
  7. #7

    engine stall or no start

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "STALLING WHILE DRIVING AT NORMAL SPEEDS. AFTER TAKING IT TO GULLO DEALERSHIP WHILE IN TX, THE DEALERSHIP CHARGED US $2100 AND "FIXED" THE PROBLEM AFTER REPLACING THE PCM AND RCM MODULES. THE NEXT DAY, THE TRUCK STALLED ON THE HIGHWAY! TOOK IT BACK TO GULLO…"~107,000 mi, complaint #1344863
  8. #8

    exhaust system

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "EGR AND EGR COOLER FAILED AT 21,000 MILES. DEALER FIXED UNDER WARRANTY 3/22/16. SAME PARTS HAVE FAILED AGAIN AT 46,000 MILES AND IS OUT OF WARRANTY. SEARCHING THE WEB SHOWS THIS IS A COMMON REPEAT FAILURE FOR THE 6.7 DIESEL AND COSTS $2,000 FOR REPAIR. ENGINE…"~46,000 mi, complaint #1583822
  9. #9

    fuel tank and lines

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "HAD CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COME ON. BROUGHT TO FORD SERVICE 3 TIMES. THE LAST TIME THEY QUOTED ME 11,145 TO FIX SAYING WATER WAS IN FUEL. I THOUGHT IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY, WHICH THEY CLAIM IT IS NOT. MY INSURANCE COMPANY SENT BY AN ENGINEER, WHICH HE SENT FUEL TO I…"~30,000 mi, complaint #1051357
  10. #10

    heater core and blower

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD F-250 SD. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DETERMINED THAT THE HEATING ASSEMBLY FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS…"~140,000 mi, complaint #1518315
  11. #11

    infotainment head unit

    1 annoyance

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "2013 FORD F-250 SUPER DUTY. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM ISSUES. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED THE RADIO WOULD SOMETIMES COME ON WITH THE KEY AND WOULD ONLY WORK ON ONE AM CHANNEL AND ON FM CHANNEL AND IT WOULD NOT TURN OFF. THE ONLY W…"complaint #1177954
  12. #12

    suspension arms and bushings

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=2)

    • "I WAS DRIVING DOWN HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH AND HIT BUMP IN ROAD. THE TRUCK WENT INTO A MASSIVE VIBRATION ALMOST LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE HAD TO SLOW DOWN TO ALMOST 35 MPH VIBRATION STOPPED AND CONTINUED ON DOWN HIGHWAY! TOOK INTO FORD DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THAT T…"~32,000 mi, complaint #1164862
  13. #13

    suspension struts shocks

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=0)

    • "2013 FORD S.D 4X4. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE SHAKING AFTER HITTING A POT HOLE. *LD *JS"complaint #1475620
  14. #14

    wheel or rim

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=1)

    • "VEHICLE STARTED VIBRATING HARD- STOPPED AT LOCAL TIRE STORE, NEW HANKOOK TIRES HAVE THE STEEL BELTS COMING APART ON THEM"~90,000 mi, complaint #1400110
  15. #15

    wiring harness

    1 unsafe

    1
    incident

    Mileage: suppressed (fewer than 10 mileage-bearing reports; n=3)

    • "THE INNER CORE OF THE IGNITION SWITCH IS BAD WHICH WHEN MOVED UP OR DOWN BY MOVEMENT OF THE TRUCK GOING DOWN THE ROAD CAUSES THE DASH LIGHTS ,GPS, RADIO AND ANY OTHER ELECTRICAL PART TO STOP WORKING , ALSO IF YOU HAVE A MEMORY ADJUST SEAT IT WILL START GOING F…"~5,216 mi, complaint #1141722

NHTSA investigations

Search NHTSA's own recall and complaint database for FORD F 250 SD directly.