1996 Ford F-150 problems
The 1996 Ford F-150 has 383 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (15%) concerns electrical system. After that come fuel system (15%) and brakes (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 383 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 22 and 87
- Injuries and deaths
- 21 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 113,000 miles 134 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 3 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 6 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 15 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 23 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 22 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 18 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 18 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 10 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 9 |
| 200k+ miles | 8 |
What the data shows
Among the 134 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 113,000 miles. For electrical system specifically, the median reported mileage is about 100,000 miles (24 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 22 complaints mention a crash; 87 complaints mention a fire; 21 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 94% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 34th most-complained-about out of 36 model years of the Ford F-150 with enough data (148 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Smoke in house. Owner investigated problem. Saw fire coming from under the hood in pickup. Gas tank exploded. Burned down attached garage and house, killing one person and injuring another.
My daughter placed the transmission in park. She got out of the truck which was parked on a slight incline and walked behind the small trailer she was pulling to close a gate. The truck transmission failed or released and the trailer and truck both ran over, resulting in her death. Dt
Going 35MPH a frontal collision occurred where on impact a fire came from both sides of the hood, causing total damage to the vehicle. Afterwards, saw fuel coming out of one of its fuel lines.
My wife came home from work, was talking on the phone and notice smoke drifing by the sliding glass windows. She went out onto the back deck and saw that the 1996 ford f-150 (4-wheel drive) was on fire under the hood. (august 9, 2004) the truck was parked at the basement level on our house. She heard the truck repeatly trying to start as if someone was in side, she thought that I had come home and saw the fire and was trying to move it away from our house. She call 911.
Dt: 1996 ford f150 xlt pick up truck. The wheel assembly and the shaft on the driver side in the back slid out. The truck was being driven on a side road about 35 -40 MPH when this happened. The mechanic told the consumer that these vehicles were designed to fail. It was repaired at the cost of $1300.00. Also, while trying to back out of the driveway the shifter was flopping around and a bolt fell out at the consumer's feet. The vehicle would not go into any gear.