2026 Ford F-250 Sd problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Service Brakes (3) · Electrical System (2) · Fuel/Propulsion System (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford F-250 Sd model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (8)
Structure:body:tailgate:hinge And Attachments 2026-10-20 · campaign 26V689000 · 30,123 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026-2027 F-150, 2026 F-250 SD, F-350 SD, and F-450 SD vehicles. The left-side tailgate cable may fail under certain heavy load conditions.
Risk: Tailgate cable failure may allow the tailgate to drop onto the rear bumper, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the left-side tailgate cable, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, are expected to be mailed December 14, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in January 2027. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S78. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning December 7, 2026.
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel 2026-10-06 · campaign 26V653000 · 102,159 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2026 F-250 SD, F-350 SD, F-450 SD, F-550 SD, F-600, 2026 F-150, and F-750 SD vehicles. The analog cluster’s tachometer and speedometer may become stuck or move erratically, providing inaccurate readings to the driver. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 101, "Controls and Displays."
Risk: A speedometer that fails to display accurate vehicle speed can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the instrument cluster modules, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, are expected to be mailed in October 26, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in December 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C46. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 7, 2026.
Exterior Lighting:headlights 2026-09-22 · campaign 26V606000 · 41,748 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2027 Expedition, 2026 F-250 SD, F-350 SD, F-450 SD, and F-550 SD vehicles. The headlight assemblies may contain a contaminated LED chip, which can result in a loss of daytime running lights, parking lights, high beams or low beams. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: A loss of exterior lighting can reduce visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the headlight assemblies, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed October 26, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C43. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning October 26, 2026.
Back Over Prevention:display Function 2026-07-28 · campaign 26V489000 · 47,587 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2021-2023 F-150 and 2023-2026 F-250 SD vehicles equipped with 8-inch SYNC infotainment screens. A software error may cause the rearview camera image to be obstructed by the infotainment home screen menu when the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Risk: An obstructed rearview camera image can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: The accessory protocol interface module (APIM) software will be updated by a dealer or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 9, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C37. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 31, 2026.
Power Train:axle Assembly:axle Shaft 2026-03-03 · campaign 26V119000 · 11,431 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026-2025 F-250 SD and F-350 SD vehicles. The driveshaft friction weld may fail, resulting in rear driveshaft separation and a sudden loss of drive power.
Risk: A loss of drive power can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the driveshaft serial number and replace the driveshaft as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 6, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S13. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on March 4, 2026.
Electrical System: Integrated Trailer Brake Control 2026-02-20 · campaign 26V104000 · 4,381,878 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2021-2026 F-150, 2022-2026 F-250 SD, F-350 SD, F-450 SD, F-550 SD, Maverick, 2024-2026 Ranger, 2023-2026 F-600 SD, 2022-2027 Lincoln Navigator, Expedition, and 2026 E-Transit vehicles. When towing a trailer, the integrated trailer module (ITRM) may lose communication with the vehicle, possibly causing a loss of brake and turn signal lights, or a loss of brake function. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Veh
Risk: Trailer lights or brakes that do not function can reduce the driver’s ability to control the trailer and decrease the trailers visibility to other road users, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: The integrated trailer module software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 25, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26C10. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning March 17, 2026.
Power Train:axle Assembly:axle Shaft 2025-12-12 · campaign 25V866000 · 6,819 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026 Super Duty F-250 and F-350 vehicles. The right rear axle shaft may have been improperly heat-treated during manufacturing and may break.
Risk: A broken rear axle shaft can result in a loss of drive power or vehicle rollaway when the vehicle is placed in park. Either of these scenarios can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the right rear axle shaft date code and replace the axle shaft as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 15, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SD8. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on December 15, 2025.
Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel 2025-08-22 · campaign 25V540000 · 355,656 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2026 F-550 SD, F-450 SD, F-350 SD, F-250 SD, and 2025 F-150 vehicles. The Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC) may fail at startup.
Risk: An instrument panel display that does not show critical information, such as warning lights or vehicle speed, increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: The instrument panel cluster software will be updated by a dealer or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 5, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S88.
Service bulletins (56)
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 2026-10-21 · TSB 26-2439 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some of the vehicles listed in the model statement above may exhibit the hvac (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and radio system turning off or radio may have no audio during snowplow operation. this may be due to the software in the powertrain control module (pcm).
Unknown Or Other 2026-10-15 · SSM 55255 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2024-2026 f-super duty vehicles equipped with a 360-degree camera may exhibit a distorted or corrupted 360-degree camera image in the center display screen, but the rear-view camera image is operating correctly. to restore the 360-degree camera image, download and run the "ipma - reset the imag
Unknown Or Other 2026-10-14 · TSB 26-2442 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin supersedes 26-2297. reason for update: add 2022-2025 transit vehicles. some of the vehicles listed in the model statement above equipped with sync4 may experience a blank center display screen or black center display screen after welcome animation. the rear-view camera will still funct
Unknown Or Other 2026-10-12 · SSM 55239 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2023-2026 f-super duty vehicles equipped with a trailer brake control module and built on or before 08-may-2026 may exhibit a "trailer disconnected" message after cycling the ignition off and back on with a trailer connected. this may be due to the presence of an integrated battery charger on a
Unknown Or Other 2026-10-06 · SSM 55218 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
for 2020 2026 vehicles equipped with the 10r140 transmission, a new transmission clutch circuit leak test has been introduced in the ford diagnosis and repair system (fdrs). this test utilizes the pressure and vacuum transducer (pvt) when available. workshop manual (wsm) updates related to this di
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-25 · SSM 55208 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2024-2026 f-150, 2025 explorer/aviator, 2025-2026 expedition/navigator, or 2026 f-super duty vehicles may exhibit diagnostic trouble code (dtc) u211b:43:48 stored in the body control module (bcm) when performing a self-test. this dtc sets due to an internal bcm timing issue during the self-test
Showing the 6 most recent of 56 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-09-15 · Engine“- oil leak at 300 miles. - oil loss can lead to catastrophic engine failure and loss of drivability. - oil leak can be easily repeated after wiping down and driving as little as 6 miles. - dealer changed the oil drain plug but that didn't correct the leak. self inspection indicates the leak is coming from around the oil cooler, which the dealer …”
2026-08-24 · Exterior Lighting · 12 mi“the contact owns a 2026 ford f-250 sd. the contact stated that while driving at night on several occasions at various speeds, the led headlights showed vertical lines projected from the headlight lenses that created blind spots. the vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. the contact was informed that the vehicle operated a…”
2026-06-08 · Service Brakes“after the vehicle was jumpstarted the vehicle failed to correctly enter gear- when shifting into reverse it instead rolled forward downhill. the following systems also displayed failure warnings: abs traction control parking brake ( parking brake also showed as activated when it was not active- it would audibly disengage but the parking brake light…”
2026-06-05 · Service Brakes · 💥 crash“2k miles on a new 2026 ford transit. while in traffic there was sudden braking i had plenty of space in front of me (also reported by the driver in front of me) i was not able to stop in time which resulted in rear ending another driver. my abs acted extremely loose, as if i was on ice on a clear day 80 degrees. the driver behind me confirmed seein…”
2026-04-30 · Service Brakes“i leased a pickup truck from enterprise truck rental on dyer blvd in riviera beach. the brakes slipped and i thought it was because i didn’t apply the parking brake. i googled the vin and found it to have an open recall on the right rear axle shaft. …”
2026-04-16 · Electrical System“trailer brake control module (trm) software update for recall notice 26c10 failed and caused module to fail. replacement part attempt #2 also failed. vehicle has been with dealership service department with no solution for 20 days. vehicle is currently still at dealership service center. vin: [xxx] 2026 ford f250 3,878 miles autonation ford marg…”
2026-04-06 · Electrical System“truck lost all electrical power while backing a trailer up. engine died, no steering, no brakes, no power on dash, no emergence brakes, no power to door locks, no power to windows. if vehicle had been moving any faster no telling what could have been. vehicle was towed to ford dealership and zero reasons for such a total loss of power. when vehic…”
2026-03-17 · Unknown Or Other“put the vehicle in park, exited the vehicle, vehicle rolled away after walking away from the vehicle.…”
2026-02-04 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 🔥 fire“i have a 2026 f-250 diesel with 6k miles on it that caught fire about 3-5 minutes after using it to jumpstart a utv. i ensured to cook all cables up correctly, as i've jumpstarted many times, but the first time with this vehicle, utilizing the drivers side battery. jumping the utv went just fine as expected, and i disconnected the cables and shut t…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.