2019 Ford F-450 recalls and problems

The 2019 Ford F-450 has 4 recalls and 20 owner complaints on file with NHTSA; the most reported problem area is steering.

Pictured: a 2020 model; the 2019 may differ in details. Photo: 2020 Ford F-450 by Syntaxlord, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How the 2019 compares

High

Fewest complaintsMost complaints

High complaint count among 10 F-450 model years — 3rd most.

4recalls

20complaints

1crashes

0fires

4injuries

26,000median miles

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA, not verified and not adjusted for sales. Ranking compares this model's own years only.

Does your car have an open recall?
Recalls apply to specific vehicles. Only a VIN lookup on NHTSA's official site shows whether yours is affected and still unrepaired.

Check your VIN →

4 recalls

Exterior Lighting

Feb 25, 2021 · NHTSA campaign 21V114000 · 2 vehicles

Problem: Life Line Emergency Vehicles (Life Line) is recalling one 2020 Ford F450 vehicle and one 2017 Navistar Durastar vehicle, equipped with 7x9 combination LED Stop-Tail-Turn reverse lights. The lights may be too bright, exceeding the maximum light output allowed which may adversely affect the vision of drivers. As such, these lamps fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Risk: The excessive brightness may affect the vision of other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy & notes

ECCO will provide a filter kit that will ensure the lights perform in the correct photometric intensity ranges, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 15, 2021. Owners may contact Life Line customer service at 1-563-578-3317 ext. 132.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Seats

Aug 28, 2019 · NHTSA campaign 19V633000 · 639,137 vehicles

Problem: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 F-150 and 2019-2020 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty pickup trucks, and 2018-2019 Ford Explorer, 2019-2020 Expedition, and 2020 Escape vehicles equipped with driver and/or passenger's manual front seat back recliner mechanisms. Also included are certain 2020 Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with rear outboard seats and manual seat back recliner mechanisms. The recliner mechanisms may be missing the third pawl required for seat back strength, resulting in a loose seat back. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 202, "Head Restraints" and 207, "Seating Systems."

Risk: A seat back with an improperly assembled recliner mechanism may have reduced strength and may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Remedy & notes

Ford will notify owners, and Ford and Lincoln dealers will inspect the seat structure and replace them, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 21, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19C07.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Equipment

May 29, 2019 · NHTSA campaign 19V398000 · 13 vehicles

Problem: LGE Coachworks, Inc. (LGE Coachworks) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Ford E-450, F-550, and Freightliner M2-based vehicles equipped with ASA Electronics Voyager back-up camera displays. The displays may unexpectedly revert back to the factory default settings which may cause the camera image to be reversed.

Risk: The driver may inadvertently turn the wrong direction to avoid an object behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy & notes

ASA will notify LGE Coachworks owners, and dealers will replace the displays, free of charge. The recall began May 9, 2019. Owners may contact ASA customer service at 1-800-384-4400 or LGE Coachworks at 1-800-209-3985.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Engine

Dec 18, 2018 · NHTSA campaign 18V894000 · 410,289 vehicles

Problem: 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 trucks equipped with an engine block heater. Water and contaminants may get into the block heater cable's splice connector causing corrosion and damage.

Risk: When the heater is plugged in, prolonged corrosion could cause a resistive short, increasing the risk of overheated or melted wiring which can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy & notes

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will disable the block heater cable, free of charge. Once parts are available, Dealers will replace the engine block heater cable, free of charge. The recall began June 3, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S45.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Recall text as published by NHTSA and the manufacturer.

What owners complain about

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA; one complaint can name several areas. Not verified by NHTSA.

Complaints by year filed

NHTSA investigations

Power Tailgate Release Systems

RQ21001 · opened Jan 15, 2021 · closed Jan 10, 2024

Summary

In January 2021, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Recall Query (RQ21-001) to assess allegations of post-recall remedy uncommanded tailgate openings in model year (MY) 2017-2019 F-250/350/450 Ford trucks. Besides the recall remedy launched in January 2020, Ford also implemented a production update in November 2019.Â At the time of the RQ opening, ODI had received eleven (11) Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs). ODI sent an Information Request (IR) to Ford in February 2021. In numerous meetings after receiving their IR response, Ford highlighted the drop in claims since the recall and production update and communicated how they were unable to verify the ownersâ complaints or replicate the concern. Despite this, Ford began developing ways to prevent uncommanded tailgate openings from various human, mechanical or electrical causes. Based on testing, Ford issued a Customer Satisfaction program, 21M05-S1/S2/S3, to further address the potential of unintended tailgate openings. This work was applied to vehicles being produced as of December 20, 2021.Â The program began for already delivered vehicles on July 22, 2022. The covered models include 2017-2022Â F-250, 350, 450, 550, 650 and 750 Super Duty and 2020-2022 F-600 Super Duty trucks. ODI has received 39 VOQs between February 24, 2020, and December 15, 2023, alleging uncommanded tailgate openings.Â In a detailed analysis, none of the vehicles in the VOQs were found to have received the Customer Satisfaction u…

Power tailgate opens unintended

PE18011 · opened Oct 12, 2018 · closed Dec 12, 2019 · led to recall 19V864000

Summary

By letter dated December 4, 2019, Ford Motor Company (Ford) notified the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of a safety defect that may exist in model years (MY) 2017 through 2019 Ford Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450 vehicles equipped with an electric tailgate. Following the receipt of five consumer complaints alleging unintended tailgate opening without vehicle operator knowledge, while the vehicles were in motion, NHTSA opened this investigation to assess the manufacturer's data including warranty claims, field reports, design changes, etc.In vehicles equipped with an electric tailgate, water can enter the electrical wiring system and may cause a short circuit resulting in the unintended activation and release of the tailgate latch. This could allow unintended opening of the tailgate while the vehicle is in motion.Analysis of the data provided by Ford found that the frequency of a tailgate opening unintended was high in vehicles equipped with electric tailgates. Unintended tailgate opening without vehicle operator knowledge may result in loss of unrestrained cargo, increasing the risk of a crash. In response to this investigation, Ford decided to conduct recall 19V-864.Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a Ford dealer to modify the tailgate/frame wiring harnesses by adding jumper pigtails to isolate the tailgate release control circuits, and will install a new tailgate handle release switch. With recall action 19V-864 taken by Ford Moto…

2019 vs. other Ford F-450 years

Owner complaints by model year; the darker bar is the 2019. Click a bar to switch year.

Questions

Does the 2019 Ford F-450 have recalls?

Yes — NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns covering the 2019 Ford F-450, the latest from Feb 25, 2021 (exterior lighting). A recall applies to specific vehicles: enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours is affected and still open.

What are the most common problems with the 2019 Ford F-450?

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA most often mention steering (9), suspension (5), engine (4). Complaints are consumer reports and are not verified by NHTSA.