"How reliable is the 1997 Ford F-150?"

"Based on 3285 NHTSA complaints, the 1997 Ford F-150 has a median complaint mileage of 108000 miles. The most common issue is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE."

"What are common problems with the 1997 Ford F-150?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1997 Ford F-150 is ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE, accounting for a significant portion of the 3285 total complaints filed."

1997 Ford F-150: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 3285 complaints

3285

Total Complaints

108,000mi

Median Mileage

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

Top Issue

205

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

81,000 25th Percentile

108,000 Median Mileage

147,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

198

TIRES

168

STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR

164

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

155

TIRES:TREAD/BELT

137

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

136

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

128

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

111

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

101

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL

Severity Assessment

205

Crashes

296

Fires

180

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"FRONT FENDER WAS DAMAGED WHILE DRIVING TRUCK HOME FROM DEALER, PLEASE EXPLAIN. TT"

"SPARE ON THE TRUCK IS 16' AND THE TRUCK COMES WITH 17' TIRES FROM THE FACTORY. SPARE TIRE IS TOO SMALL FOR 4 WHEEL DRIVE. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE 198 complaints

25th: 76,000 mi Median: 100,000 mi 75th: 112,500 mi

TIRES 168 complaints

25th: 30,076 mi Median: 70,000 mi 75th: 78,000 mi

STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR 164 complaints

25th: 64,000 mi Median: 73,000 mi 75th: 82,250 mi

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 155 complaints

25th: 113,628 mi Median: 140,000 mi 75th: 170,000 mi

TIRES:TREAD/BELT 137 complaints

25th: 47,000 mi Median: 53,000 mi 75th: 70,500 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

TX: 316 CA: 272 FL: 205 MI: 175 OH: 169 PA: 142 NY: 125 GA: 116 TN: 98 IL: 95

Who Files Complaints?

39.5%

Original Owners

60.5%

Second+ Owners

Ford F-150 — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	25	76,696	FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM	0
1991	357	110,000	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY	12
1992	553	130,325	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:AUXILLARY TANK:SELECTOR DEVICES	25
1993	753	140,000	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY	32
1994	908	130,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	79
1995	788	117,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	61
1996	383	113,250	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL	22
1998	1624	112,337	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE	96
1999	1322	98,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	116
2000	1269	91,032	FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE	102
2001	1451	98,000	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	113
2002	963	90,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING	63
2003	520	64,266	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	57
2004	2429	59,312	VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS	99
2005	1363	62,000	VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS	66
2006	735	62,000	ENGINE	72
2007	623	60,000	ENGINE	51
2008	455	60,346	ENGINE	48
2009	397	53,500	VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL	34
2010	1131	56,183	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	33
2011	2938	68,500	POWER TRAIN	70
2012	2422	59,000	POWER TRAIN	57
2013	3849	72,000	POWER TRAIN	102
2014	1859	64,000	POWER TRAIN	56
2015	2036	48,000	SERVICE BRAKES	64
2016	2373	42,000	POWER TRAIN	67
2017	1595	46,500	POWER TRAIN	47
2018	2627	38,000	POWER TRAIN	104
2019	1532	59,142	POWER TRAIN	30
2020	797	33,000	POWER TRAIN	30
2021	1138	40,000	POWER TRAIN	19
2022	702	25,000	POWER TRAIN	29
2023	494	18,614	POWER TRAIN	25
2024	195	3,700	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	25
2025	112	6,500	POWER TRAIN	7

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28