Problems · NHTSA complaints

2006 Ford F-150 problems

Owners filed 589 complaints about the 2006 Ford F-150 with NHTSA between Nov 2005 and Aug 2026. The most-cited component is engine and engine cooling (79).

Complaints
589
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
58
Reported by owners
Fires
18
Reported by owners
Injuries
42
People reported injured
Deaths
1
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Engine and engine cooling79
  2. Engine74
  3. Service brakes, hydraulic69
  4. Electrical system61
  5. Steering55
  6. Air bags48
  7. Power train47
  8. Structure44
  9. Fuel system, gasoline35
  10. Vehicle speed control32
  11. Tires28
  12. Suspension25
  13. Service brakes23
  14. Fuel/propulsion system23

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 9, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20052
200644
200736
200864
200940
201054
201165
201234
201339
201453
201528
201624
201716
201821
201916
202011
202112
202211
20235
20245
20254
20265

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Engine and engine cooling

79 reports3 fires
“The contact owns a 2006 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power with an abnormal popping sound coming from the engine compartment. The failure occurred more often while attempting to accelerate or driving uphill. The vehicle occasionally stalled during the failure. The contact released the accelerator pedal slowly and the vehicle then started driving normally. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the cam phaser had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cam phaser part no longer being manufactured. The contact stated that the part was no longer in production because the replacement part was defective and failed to fix the vehicle. The contact was informed by the dealer that a newer version of the cam phaser needed to be purchased and was not covered under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the repair was not covered under the Warranty. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 230,774.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 17, 2024Engine and engine coolingODI 11589276

Engine

74 reports5 fires
“Received notification by mail from your department about a recall on my trucks spark plugs breaking in the head .Took vehicle to local ford dealer and was told the vehicle was required to have over 100 thousand miles before the plugs would be replaced under recall . Now my vehicle has over 150 thousand miles and when I went to the same dealer I was told there wasn’t a recall on this truck . My documents I received from your department was lost during hurricane Sally. This is a well known recall every local mechanic knows about .”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 9, 2025EngineODI 11692320

Service brakes, hydraulic

69 reports14 crashes1 fire1 related recall
“The contact owns a 2006 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while coming to a stop, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to stop and continued rolling forward. The contact stated that the vehicle came to a stop once the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle returned to normal function afterwards. The local dealer was contacted; however, the dealer refused to diagnose the vehicle because of its age of the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while the contact's husband was driving at a slow speed, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to stop and continued rolling forward. The contact's husband stated that the vehicle came to a stop once the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 28, 2025Service brakes, hydraulicODI 11651318

Electrical system

61 reports1 crash5 fires
“Odometer Fraud. The contact sold a 2006 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle was sold with approximately 212,000 miles but later discovered that the buyer had relisted the vehicle for sale with an advertised mileage of 135,713. The vehicle was a private sale. Local authorities had been notified.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 24, 2025Electrical systemODI 11656585

Steering

55 reports1 crash1 fire
“When is some one going to do something about the faulty steering column in 2006 Ford F150 pick ups and similar model years? It is all over the internet about the grinding and catching of the steering column. In some cases can't steer at all. There is tons of information on this problem. I have a 2006 Ford F150. It is starting with the problem and it only has 82,000 miles. This should not be happening some one is going to get hurt or killed !”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 11, 2023SteeringODI 11501366

Air bags

48 reports28 crashes1 related recall
“The contact owns a 2006 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the contact's son was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact's son lost control of the vehicle, and the vehicle crashed into a guardrail and landed on its side. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to a local tow yard. A Police report was filed; the information was unavailable. No injuries were sustained. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000. The VIN was unavailable.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 12, 2026Air bagsCrash reportedODI 11743778
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 9, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.