2021-2024 Ford F-150 known problems

If you are shopping for a new Ford truck, you’ll want to read over this list of 2021-2024 Ford F-150 known problems.

This list was created with help from the F150gen14 forum and its members. Make sure you check out our other post on 2022 Ford F-150 known problems sourced from ConsumerReports.org, Carcomplaints.com and NHTSA.gov as well.

2021-2024 Ford F-150 known problems, major issues

Let’s start with the more wide-spread major issues, then talk about minor issues affecting fewer owners.

10-speed transmission issues

Without a doubt, 10-speed transmission is the largest issue affecting some 2021-2024 Ford F-150 trucks.

This transmission, co-developed with General Motors, has many owners frustrated over harsh shifting. Interestingly, the GM version hasn’t had nearly as many complaints.

There is already a class-action lawsuit over the transmission, and many owners have had to go the Lemon Law route on the truck.

One of the things people have been trying is to reset the transmission. It is learning transmission, which means it will learn and adapt to how you drive. The issue seems to be if you drive like a race car driver, then start driving like a cautious driver, you’ll experience issues.

User Porpoise Hork offers this on this issue:

“Clear the adaptive tables with Forscan. One of the parameters the adaptive tables do is set pressures and detect for slipping under different conditions. If the system has picked up an off pressure setting that is allowing the clutches to slip, clearing the tables may help fix it. This is something the tech should do after servicing the transmission anyway. So it’s worth a shot.

“Reset it and drive it calmly on surface streets for about 30 minutes to set the initial values. Then over the next 250-500 miles it will “re-learn” your driving style and adapt to it.”

I’ve spoken to several owners who have had this done at their dealership and it has completely fixed the issue. Others haven’t had such luck and have instead needed transmission work.

Many recalls, including the sheared bolt

Another common complaint has been the myriad of recalls causing owners to miss work or leave their trucks at the dealership for days.

In fact, Ford led the industry in 2022 with 65 recalls, affecting an astonishing 8.6 million vehicles. That’s the third year in a row they have led the industry.

There have been recalls on items like parking lights, wiper motor and brake harness.

One particularly scary recall is a sheared bolt for PowerBoost owners with the maximum towing package. This bolt literally is sheared off the axle and you can spot on it the rear tire.

Forum user Snakebitten shared the following photos. He got his Ford F-150 repaired by the dealer, but this is definitely something to keep an eye out for when shopping.

Electrical gremlins especially with PowerBoost

Several forum users have reported a slew of issues such as a bad trailer brake controller, parking sensors not working correctly and other issues.

Forum user Oilberta shares his perspective on these issues on the new model and the older models.

“I think of note it appears to have been going on for some time, at least two generations of trucks, my dads 2016 F150 had identical electrical issues, trailer connector/module problems, and his 2019 F350 had one bad leaf pack, bad rear differential almost immediately off the sales lot and SAME trailer connector/electrical module problems within the same time frame, on his second trailer connector harness with trailer brake controller in 100k miles. I would chalk that up to quality control/expected life cycle the part suppliers didn’t quite perfect yet, it’s supposed to fail just after the warranty runs out.”

Dead batteries

Another common issue seems to be dead batteries with owners stating they had them replaced within the first year or so of ownership.

Is it necessarily have a bad batch of batteries? Forum user HammaMan shares this.

“It’s more of ‘weak’ batteries. Ford’s charge logic is to get the battery to 80% state of charge. Unfortunately with all of the connected features, there’s parasitic loss associated with those features. The BMS logic on the F150 sucks. Once it gets to about 70% indicated it will begin to back off on the voltage. As such even people that drive 15-20 minutes each way to work will find they’re not getting enough charge in the 12v battery to satisfy the the needs of the features of the truck. Upon approach the welcome lighting won’t come on, the interior lights may not light. Another issue is that the remote features go to sleep including the ‘head unit’ which will then boot upon starting. Not so much an issue with ICE f150s, but in ford EVs when the low batt issue is present, and most things including climate gated behind a computer screen, It’s possible to be already driving on a public roadway before someone can adjust climate due to system startup.

Now recently with the EVs ford has begun to allow it to turn on the DC/DC converter and charge the 12v battery if it sees a parasitic load. Look into the mach-e for instance if the 12v batt gets drained, the process to get into it includes removing a door to power an electronic hood release motor, and once the hood is open you have to tear off 2 panels (breaking clips in the process) just to reach the jump points to provide 12v power to get into the car, as there is no key slots anywhere (has no physical key at all) and the doors are completely electrical.”

Differential housings breaking

Finally, many owners are reporting their differential housings have broken for seemingly no reason. Some have speculated it is a bad cast from the factory.

This photo shows a massive crack in the differential cover.

While it seems like a repair-it-and-you-are-done fix, forum user Discipher is on his 4th differential cover in just 26 months.

“My truck is a 2021 F150 – XLT 2.7 4×4 with locking rear with 54,000 km (~34k miles) purchased Nov 21. First differential was replaced about 8 months after purchase and was a complete drop in differential replacement. About 6 months later that one failed and they replaced what I believe was the internal components of the diff but didn’t quite give me an explanation of what. Now I am heading into yet another likely replacement. Goes on Tuesday for a full inspection and determination of cause. Same issues as before. I’m assuming something in the transfer case is causing the issue as this time I had some major clanks right after putting it in four low with the electronic diff lock engaged so I could to pull my trailer up a hill where at the top I had to make a 90 deg turn while the trailer would still be on the incline.”

People have discussed the 90 degree turn as a possible reason for the differential cover breaking since you shouldn’t turn when the axles are locked. This is one possible reason for the issue, but I’d think this cover would crack after extended years of abuse — not just in 26 months.

Less common 2021-2024 Ford F-150 known issues

The less common concerns from owners range from a variety of electrical issues to general build issues.

For example, some owners have reported issues like rattling and insulation falling down into the cabin. I know this one too well, since the 2021 Ford F-150 PowerBoost I bought a few years ago for a long-term review truck had some rattles on the A-pillars near the windshield.

The electrical issues are mainly with radio and technology not working how it should.

Are there engine issues?

This list is absent of talk about the engines. What about them? Does Ford still have cam phaser issues? EcoBoost engines blowing turbos?

These model years come with three engine choices: 2.7-liter V-6 EcoBoost, 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost and 5.0-liter V-8.

The EcoBoost is a twin-turbocharged engine and the PowerBoost is a hybrid powertrain using this engine.

First, getting specific details on reliability by engine type is nearly impossible. The data is just not separated out like this when you search online.

Second, most engines these days are pretty reliable. We just don’t see one engine having a lot of issues versus other ones. And the assumption of turbocharged engines being unreliable due to blowing turbos just isn’t as big of an issue as people may assume.

Sure you’ll find someone with a blown turbo if you look hard enough. You’ll also find people with issues like the cam phasers that affected 2017-2020 trucks. Those issues do come up and they are either fixed under warranty, recalled by the manufacturer or included in a class-action lawsuit to address the problem.

For this article, the forum didn’t list any major engine issues for 2021-2024 Ford F-150 trucks.

The bottom line

There’s a lot to like about the 2021-2024 Ford F-150, and these issues are definitely frustrating for owners who love their trucks.

One more thing to keep in mind is there are many happy owners with none of the issues detailed above.