2010 Ford Flex problems
Owners have filed 181 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 Ford Flex. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 21% of complaints. Next are steering (18%) and brakes (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 181 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 11 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 69,000 miles 148 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 | 23 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 20 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 18 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 27 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 16 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 19 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 8 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 9 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 5 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 148 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 69,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 74,000 miles (33 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 11 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 4 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2010 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 11 model years of the Ford Flex with enough data (87 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
My wife and I were preparing to pull into a parking space, outside of an applebee's restaurant. When she tapped on the gas paddle to pull into the parking space, the vehicle lunged forward extremely fast, causing the vehicle to jump the curb. Here immediate reaction was pressing the brake, but the vehicle did not stop until it crashed into the restaurant. Thankfully there were not any civilians walking in front of the vehicle. The only person that was injured is my wife.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 ford flex. While waiting at a traffic light, a vehicle traveling approximately 40 MPH crashed into the rear of the contact's vehicle. As a result, the contact's vehicle crashed into the rear of a third vehicle. The vehicle was destroyed and the air bags failed to deploy. The contact suffered contusions to the abdomen and a left shoulder injury, which required medical attention. A police report was filed. The manufacturer was not notified of the air bag failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 ford flex. While driving 25 MPH the contact crashed head on into another vehicle after the other vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign. The air bag warning light remained illuminated prior to the crash. The air bags failed to deploy. The police advised the contact that due to the impact the air bags should have deployed. The fire department had to force the door open in order to remove the contact from the vehicle.
Engine stalls out, while driving the car around town. Has occurred twice, separated by a few weeks. No warning, or engine trouble or indicator lights prior or after the event. Occurs while driving a low to moderate speed both times, about 30 MPH. Car can be restarted immediately after and drives fine. Have had mechanics check fuel and air sensors and lines and find no obvious defects. Other ford flex owners report similar problem since 2009. Rumor is that replacing the throttle body corrects the issue.
2010 ford flex limited ecoboost AWD. Electrical power steering. Intermittent loss of power steering with no lights, notifications, or warning. Fixed short term by turning car off and back on again. Very dangerous at low speeds, especially with the weight of the vehicle and size of the tires, specifically for smaller people. Recall from ford for 2011, will not help at all with a 2010 flex.