2017 Ford Flex problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Suspension (12) · Visibility/Wiper (4) · Back Over Prevention (4)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford Flex model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (4)
Structure:body 2025-10-24 · campaign 25V732000 · 92,347 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Flex vehicles. The driver and front passenger B-Pillar door trim may detach while driving.
Risk: Door trim that detaches while driving can create a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will repair or replace the B-pillar trim as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed December 17, 2025. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated March 2027. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SB8. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 28, 2025.
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera 2025-10-13 · campaign 25V695000 · 1,448,655 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, intermittent, or blank image when the vehicle is in reverse.
Risk: A rearview camera that fails to properly display an image can reduce the driver’s view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model and model years. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on October 25, 2025. Additional letters will be mailed once the final remedy is available on each phase. Mustang owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford'
Suspension:rear 2020-02-10 · campaign 20V072000 · 211,207 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Lincoln MKT and Ford Flex and Taurus vehicles with the Police Interceptor or SHO Performance Pack. The rear suspension toe links may fracture due to stress on the rear suspension.
Risk: A fractured rear toe link will cause a sudden change in vehicle handling and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links, free of charge. Remedy parts are not currently available. Owners were notified about the recall on March 3, 2020. A second notice will be mailed when remedy parts become available, which is currently expected to be the end of September 2020. The recall began October 28, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 or Lincoln customer service at 1-800-521-4140. Ford's number for this recall i
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline:turbo/Supercharger 2016-12-22 · campaign 16V925000 · 1,163 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford Taurus, 2016-2017 Ford Flex, Lincoln MKT, 2017 Ford Explorer and Ford Explorer Police Interceptor Utility vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI engines. Improperly brazed turbocharger oil supply tubes may leak oil on engine components.
Risk: An oil leak, in the presence of an ignition source, increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the turbocharger oil supply tubes, free of charge. The recall began on January 31, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S46.
Service bulletins (82)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-30 · 25E10-S1 · Other
25e10-s1 owner letter
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-02 · 25E10-S1 · Emissions
new vehicle delivery hold - emissions recall 25e10 - supplement #1 certain 2018-2020 model year f-150 vehicles with 3.3l engines and 2016-2019 model year explorer, taurus, and flex vehicles with 3.5l engines powertrain control module (pcm) reprogramming
Unknown Or Other 2026-02-24 · SSM 54601 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ford and lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. unlike the integrated wired keypad, the accessory wireless keypad master code cannot be retrieved from the
Electrical System 2025-11-26 · TSB 25-2570 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this article supersedes tsb 24-2165 to update the tsb service procedure. some vehicles listed in the model statement above may exhibit various sync performance related concerns including but not limited to: display operation concerns navigation inoperative voice recognition concerns phone co
Power Train 2025-11-12 · SSM 54366 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2015-2021 ford and lincoln vehicles may exhibit an illuminated mil with diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p0011, p0012, p0014, p0015, p0016, p0017, p0018, p0019, p0021, p0022, p0024 and/or p0025. pinpoint test hk in the powertrain control and emissions diagnosis (pc/ed) or in section 303-14 of th
Unknown Or Other 2024-10-10 · SSM 53040 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
while performing a transmission repair on some 2012-2024 ford and lincoln vehicles, a transmission seal kit may be on backorder due to supply chain interruptions.
Showing the 6 most recent of 82 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-07-24 · Structure · 190,000 mi“the contact owns a 2017 ford flex. the contact received notifications of nhtsa campaign numbers: 25v829000 (structure) and 25v695000 (back over prevention); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. the contact stated …”
2026-07-22 · Back Over Prevention · 85,000 mi“the contact owns a 2017 ford flex. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v695000 (back over prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the contact stated that while reversing, the rearview camera displayed a distorted image. no warning light was illuminated. the dealer was contacted and con…”
2026-06-18 · Back Over Prevention“the contact owns a 2017 ford flex. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v695000 (back over prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amoun…”
2026-05-21 · Structure · 80,000 mi“ the contact owns a 2017 ford flex. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's side b-pillar applique trim detached and flew off. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. the dealer was made aware of the failure, and the contact was informed that the parts were unavailable. the cont…”
2026-04-17 · Engine“i am submitting this complaint to report a serious and potentially dangerous safety defect involving the internal water pump design in the 3.5l duratec v6 engine used in my 2017 ford flex. the water pump in this engine is mounted internally behind the timing chain cover. when the pump fails, coolant is not externally visible but instead leaks dire…”
2026-03-19 · Structure“the contact owns a 2017 ford flex. the contact received notifications of nhtsa campaign numbers: 25v732000 (structure) and 25v695000 (back over prevention); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. the contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. the dealer was made…”
2026-03-11 · Visibility/Wiper“my 2017 ford flex has an open safety recall for the rearview camera system (ford recall 25s49 / nhtsa recall 25v695). the recall states the camera may display a blank image or show the message “camera unavailable” when the vehicle is placed in reverse. my vehicle is actively experiencing this exact failure. the screen frequently displays “camera u…”
2026-03-11 · Visibility/Wiper“hello, i recently submitted a safety complaint regarding my 2017 ford flex. the complaint number is xxx. i would like to add additional information that i forgot to include in the original report. the vehicle’s power liftgate has intermittently opened on its own while the vehicle was parked. there have been occasions where i came outside and fou…”
2026-03-09 · Back Over Prevention · 90,000 mi“the contact owns a 2017 ford flex. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v695000 (back over prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the contact stated that the rear-view camera image was blank or inverted while the vehicle was in reverse(r). the dealer was notified of the failure. the ve…”
2026-02-10 · Back Over Prevention · 60,000 mi“the contact owns a 2017 ford flex. the contact stated that months after a routine service appointment with a local dealer, the rear-view camera failed to operate as designed. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v695000 (back over prevention). the dealer and the manufacturer were contacted, and the contact was informed that…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.