1999 Ford F-250 SD problems
NHTSA has received 304 complaints about the 1999 Ford F-250 SD, and 33% of them involve engine. Next are brakes (12%) and electrical system (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 304 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 33% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 21 and 16
- Injuries and deaths
- 13 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 96,000 miles 235 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 | 11 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 6 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 30 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 40 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 32 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 33 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 20 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 25 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 15 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 10 |
| 200k+ miles | 13 |
What the data shows
Of the 235 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 96,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 112,000 miles (87 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 21 complaints mention a crash; 16 complaints mention a fire; 13 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1999 ranks 18th most-complained-about out of 27 model years of the Ford F-250 SD with enough data (111 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.
I have a 1999 ford super duty pickup. I was driving home after my sons baseball practice and the unthinkable happened. My truck made a loud bang and noticed a burning smell. I stopped to see what the problem with my truck. As I opened the hood I saw a flash of light and saw the engine on fire. I immediately shut the truck off and grabbed my sons water bottle to try to stop the fire. Luckily I was able to smother the fire out with a baseball glove. My son and I waited for over an hour for the tow truck.
Horn cannot be activated quickly or repeatedly because only a very small spot in the airbag/steering pad is live. Finding the small, unmarked spot is impossible under emergency conditions and difficult at any time. Dealers know it's a problem but have no fix. Common to all super duty with airbag.
Engine died while traveling at approximately 60 MPH and going around a turn on a 2 lane highway. Since loss of power, also had loss of power brakes and steering. Had to slowly pull vehicle over shoulder of road. It restarted after several attempts. This happened about 4-5 times, before it finally would not start. Had it towed to dealer. It was the camshaft position sensor. Was told this is a common problem with this truck.