1996 Ford F-350 problems
NHTSA has received 167 complaints about the 1996 Ford F-350, and 20% of them involve brakes. After that come tires (18%) and engine (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 167 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 10 and 16
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 100,000 miles 25 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 | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 25 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 100,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 10 complaints mention a crash; 16 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1996 ranks 7th most-complained-about out of 23 model years of the Ford F-350 with enough data (99 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
On 1/30/09 I experienced a fire in the engine compartment on my ford f-350 due to a faulty speed control deactivation switch. I just happened to walk out to the vehicle that was parked in my driveway, not running, to see a glow underneath the truck. I opened the hood and realized that there was a fire coming from the brake master cylinder. After extinguishing the fire, and burning my hands, I could see that the reservoir was melted and the speed control deactivation switch is where the fire was coming from.
Consumer was coming to a stop when a ford ranger rearended them. At time of impact, the driver's and passenger's seatbacks broke and collapsed, consumers' back laid down and both were injured. Consumer's took vehicle to a all-state insurance.
ABS: while coming to intersection, pumped brakes, rearended/ locked up , caused accident, vehicle hit passenager's side of another vehicle.
Stepped on brake to release the parking brake and the brake peddle went to the floor, causing me to hit a post. On investigation I found the brake line to the rear wheels rotted in the middle. All other lines in the area are like new. I have owned much older vehicles without having brake line problems. I believe the material in these lines are quite inferior and dangerous for a vehicle. I had just been towing my fifth-wheel trailer the day before. *nlm
I have a ford f-350 7.3l turbo diesel. While driving on the freeway at 70 MPH., the check engine light came on and the engine power was reduced by half. After I pulled over the light went out and the engine returned to normal. Two weeks later the same thing happened again. I took it to a mechanic who found the fuel filter, the fuel pump, and the fuel pickup screens clogged with residue from the liner of the fuel tanks.