2020 Ford F-450 Owner Complaints
Complaint Summary
The 2020 Ford F-450 has 32 reported complaints.
- Top issues involve fuel system, diesel and unknown or other.
Reliability Score
Reliability Score
Based on 32 complaints
Most Frequent Issues
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
6 18.8%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
4 12.5%
POWER TRAIN
4 12.5%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
3 9.4%
ENGINE
2 6.2%
Quick Insights
The top category is FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL, accounting for 18.8% of all complaints.
Owners have reported issues across 17 distinct vehicle systems.
Note: Complaint data reflects owner reports and may not always indicate a verified defect. Compare with Recalls and TSBs for a complete picture.
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What owners keep reporting on the 2020 Ford F-450
The 2020 Ford F-450 has 32 owner complaints in this dataset. FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL is the most common complaint category, representing about 19% of the reports shown here.
Most common complaint categories
The top complaint groups for the 2020 Ford F-450 are FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL (6), UNKNOWN OR OTHER (4), POWER TRAIN (4).
Are these complaints a serious red flag?
Potentially. 15 complaint reports involve higher-attention systems like brakes, steering, engine, powertrain, fuel, suspension, airbags, or electrical components, which is enough to justify a focused inspection.
What should buyers inspect on a used 2020 Ford F-450?
Start with the top complaint systems, compare them against the recall report, then inspect service records for evidence that those same areas were already repaired or monitored.
Detailed Complaint Log
Showing 17 of 17 systems
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
6 Reports19% of totalPreviewing the first 2 complaint summaries.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with metal shards in the fuel system. The dealer informed the contact that the fuel system kit needed to be replaced but parts were on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 33,875.
4/13/2022
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V957000 (Fuel System, Diesel); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while starting, the "Low Fuel Pressure" message was displayed. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost power. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the fuel filter had exploded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the fuel system was contaminated with metal and that the entire fuel system needed to be flushed and replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
2/3/2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
4 Reports13% of totalPreviewing the first 2 complaint summaries.
Vibration at highway speeds aprox. 15,000 miles that continues to worsen to a slight vibration at idle and vibration/bounce/hop at aprox. 30,000 miles, to a violent shake at aprox. 45,000 miles, making it very hard to maintain the control needed to stay in your lane and extremely hard to come to a stop in an emergency braking sitiation. When towing or hauling the defect seems to worsen. The vehicle has been to two dealerships that has kept the vehicle over 90 days, replacing or repairing a large list of components, they are always able to reproduce and confirm the defect, but have not been able to repair it.
6/29/2022
RECALL ON MY F450 with no remedy, Ford will not give me an equivalent replacement - this is putting lives in danger. All of the dash engine lights will come on, no ABS, no traction control, no brakes whatsoever, power loss, will not go over 2k RPM. Then truck will not go into park when it does stop. It is an extreme danger to myself and others to not be able to drive or brake my truck. Ford is âtoo busyâ to even diagnose the problem even though it is clearly because of the recall. This needs to be remedied before someone gets hurt.
7/11/2022
POWER TRAIN
4 Reports13% of totalPreviewing the first 2 complaint summaries.
Sudden acceleration while braking. While towing a gooseneck trailer aprox. 25,000 lbs, with the truck in tow/haul mode and the exhaust/engine brake turned on, started down a long winding 8% grade, could feel the engine brake working as normal, holding the truck from gaining speed, as the truck entered the second turn, the truck lunged forward gaining a lot of speed causing me to quickly stab the brakes, the truck continued this type of on/off cycle with quickly acclerating while standing on the brakes to try and control it until I leaned over and swithched the engine brake off, making it necassary to ride the brakes down the grade to maintain a safe speed and not lose control. By the time we reached the bottom, smoke was coming from both the truck and trailer brakes and the stopping power was nearly gone. The truck has done this intermittently without warning and is a major concern for safety. A search on truck forums show a number of people with the same concern. Dealer has been able to reproduce the problem, but does not have a solution. I beleive its a defect in the new 10 speed transmission and tied to the ongoing vibration / shake / hop / bounce we are experiancing.
6/29/2022
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact stated that while shifting into drive, the vehicle jolted forward. The vehicle was hard to shift into gear. There was an abnormal sound detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V256000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission shifter sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
2/7/2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
3 Reports9% of totalPreviewing the first 2 complaint summaries.
Unknown. So, on May 30th, 2021 my passenger side main battery blew up for no reason. I took it to Autozone and we checked the system and everything seem fine and had the correct voltage. On July 3, 2021 my truck started smoking. I pulled over, put the truck in park and shut off the truck. I looked around trying to locate the cause of the smoke but couldnât. I opened all the doors to air out the truck. Everything seemed to be fine at the time so I got back in and started driving. I got about 200 yards and then smoke started to come heavily out of the vents on the left and right side of the stereo. I pulled over again in a safe area away from cars and building, put the the truck in park and shut off the truck. I looked in the vents where the smoke was coming from and noticed flames. I grabbed my keys, ran to my trailer, grabbed a 7 gallon jug of water, ran back, called 911 and proceeded to try and put the fire out. While talking to 911 they asked where I was and address. I didnât know but they kept insisting. I stopped located a number on a building and told them. Turned around after 30 seconds or so and the entire dash was engulfed in flames. I grabbed my computer, Xbox, and dogs. One dog got scared and ran into the trailer it took me about a min to get her out. I looked back at the truck and the whole truck at that time was engulfed in flames
7/11/2021
My horn started going off continuously, I got messages on my digital dash system, saying that my lane assist had a fault, my adaptive speed control was faulty, and other system. Safety features were inactive. Ford has an issue, and they acknowledge the issue of the fuse box under the hood randomly coming off, which allows water to get into the fuse system, and start corroding wires which start sending mixed signals and failures to the system.
12/30/2023
ENGINE
2 Reports6% of totalPreviewing the first 2 complaint summaries.
Sudden acceleration while braking. While towing a gooseneck trailer aprox. 25,000 lbs, with the truck in tow/haul mode and the exhaust/engine brake turned on, started down a long winding 8% grade, could feel the engine brake working as normal, holding the truck from gaining speed, as the truck entered the second turn, the truck lunged forward gaining a lot of speed causing me to quickly stab the brakes, the truck continued this type of on/off cycle with quickly acclerating while standing on the brakes to try and control it until I leaned over and swithched the engine brake off, making it necassary to ride the brakes down the grade to maintain a safe speed and not lose control. By the time we reached the bottom, smoke was coming from both the truck and trailer brakes and the stopping power was nearly gone. The truck has done this intermittently without warning and is a major concern for safety. A search on truck forums show a number of people with the same concern. Dealer has been able to reproduce the problem, but does not have a solution. I beleive its a defect in the new 10 speed transmission and tied to the ongoing vibration / shake / hop / bounce we are experiancing.
6/29/2022
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle vibrated and the vehicle briefly lost motive power. The vehicle returned to normal functionality once the accelerator pedal was depressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the power train control module (PCM). The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to another dealer, who diagnosed that cylinder #4 had failed, and there was a misfire in cylinders #3 and #5. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall for the failure. A case was opened with the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
1/23/2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
2 Reports6% of totalPreviewing the first 2 complaint summaries.
Sudden acceleration while braking. While towing a gooseneck trailer aprox. 25,000 lbs, with the truck in tow/haul mode and the exhaust/engine brake turned on, started down a long winding 8% grade, could feel the engine brake working as normal, holding the truck from gaining speed, as the truck entered the second turn, the truck lunged forward gaining a lot of speed causing me to quickly stab the brakes, the truck continued this type of on/off cycle with quickly acclerating while standing on the brakes to try and control it until I leaned over and swithched the engine brake off, making it necassary to ride the brakes down the grade to maintain a safe speed and not lose control. By the time we reached the bottom, smoke was coming from both the truck and trailer brakes and the stopping power was nearly gone. The truck has done this intermittently without warning and is a major concern for safety. A search on truck forums show a number of people with the same concern. Dealer has been able to reproduce the problem, but does not have a solution. I beleive its a defect in the new 10 speed transmission and tied to the ongoing vibration / shake / hop / bounce we are experiancing.
6/29/2022
My horn started going off continuously, I got messages on my digital dash system, saying that my lane assist had a fault, my adaptive speed control was faulty, and other system. Safety features were inactive. Ford has an issue, and they acknowledge the issue of the fuse box under the hood randomly coming off, which allows water to get into the fuse system, and start corroding wires which start sending mixed signals and failures to the system.
12/30/2023
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER:FUEL FILTER
1 Report3% of totalPreviewing the first 1 complaint summaries.
Kept smelling faint diesel fuel odor would come and go while driving for 11,000 miles, never saw a leak, then became worse and saw drops on driveway size of a dime. Found a steady drip of fuel only while running from fuel filter under hood above valve cover, replaced filter and leak stopped. Closer look found heavy stains from fuel leak on top of engine. Has been that way since new. Leak now fixed. This could be a fire hazard. Glad I found it.
5/31/2021
STRUCTURE:BODY
1 Report3% of totalPreviewing the first 1 complaint summaries.
On two separate occasions, while towing a 5th wheel trailer, the tailgate opened by itself, coming in contact with the 5th wheel while turning. There was no warning or indication that the tailgate had opened. The tailgate was not opened by a person or by a bumping the keyfob -- it opened completely on its own.
8/16/2021
TIRES:SIDEWALL
1 Report3% of totalPreviewing the first 1 complaint summaries.
225/70R 19.5 Cont Hybrid HD3. Truck is a 2021 F450 dually pickup. Mileage on the OEM tires is about 20,000 miles. The tire "blew out" while pulling a horse trailer with 7 horses on board. I personally checked tire pressure before departure. Our driver was able to get to safety without harm. Had the blow out occurred on a front tire, the results could have been catastrophic. Road side assistance told us he has had 3 other tires, same truck, same tire, same age, blow out in the last 7 days. I know from your site and consumer reports, Continental has a huge recall campaign for blow outs. ALSO there is "0" inventory of this tire for us to replace our bad tire, due to high failure rates. I have called Continental about this. They deny any problem nor responsibility. 0 contrition Contact there is manager "Rod" at 618-242-7398.
9/21/2021
WHEELS
1 Report3% of totalPreviewing the first 1 complaint summaries.
Front tires on F450 Super Duty are all chopped up, and needing replacement after only 20,000 miles.
4/21/2022
SUSPENSION
1 Report3% of totalPreviewing the first 1 complaint summaries.
Vibration at highway speeds aprox. 15,000 miles that continues to worsen to a slight vibration at idle and vibration/bounce/hop at aprox. 30,000 miles, to a violent shake at aprox. 45,000 miles, making it very hard to maintain the control needed to stay in your lane and extremely hard to come to a stop in an emergency braking sitiation. When towing or hauling the defect seems to worsen. The vehicle has been to two dealerships that has kept the vehicle over 90 days, replacing or repairing a large list of components, they are always able to reproduce and confirm the defect, but have not been able to repair it.
6/29/2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
1 Report3% of totalPreviewing the first 1 complaint summaries.
RECALL ON MY F450 with no remedy, Ford will not give me an equivalent replacement - this is putting lives in danger. All of the dash engine lights will come on, no ABS, no traction control, no brakes whatsoever, power loss, will not go over 2k RPM. Then truck will not go into park when it does stop. It is an extreme danger to myself and others to not be able to drive or brake my truck. Ford is âtoo busyâ to even diagnose the problem even though it is clearly because of the recall. This needs to be remedied before someone gets hurt.
7/11/2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
1 Report3% of totalPreviewing the first 1 complaint summaries.
RECALL ON MY F450 with no remedy, Ford will not give me an equivalent replacement - this is putting lives in danger. All of the dash engine lights will come on, no ABS, no traction control, no brakes whatsoever, power loss, will not go over 2k RPM. Then truck will not go into park when it does stop. It is an extreme danger to myself and others to not be able to drive or brake my truck. Ford is âtoo busyâ to even diagnose the problem even though it is clearly because of the recall. This needs to be remedied before someone gets hurt.
7/11/2022
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:TAILGATE:LATCH
1 Report3% of totalPreviewing the first 1 complaint summaries.
My tailgate came open randomly while pulling a trailer. Ford knows about this issue, but is yet to make a recall and not sure theyâre going to cover the damage done to my tailgate. The tailgate randomly came open when I had turned a corner, and when I straightened back out made my truck and trailer jumped all over the road because the tailgate contacted the trailer.
12/30/2023
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
1 Report3% of totalPreviewing the first 1 complaint summaries.
See attached document for complaint
3/8/2024
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
1 Report3% of totalPreviewing the first 1 complaint summaries.
Vehicle caught fire. Fire in the engine compartment after heavy fuel smell/odor.
8/17/2025
STEERING
1 Report3% of totalPreviewing the first 1 complaint summaries.
The contact owned a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, the steering wheel failed to steer in the intended direction. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle had driven independently sideways and then into a deep ditch before coming to a stop. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was uncontrollable. The vehicle was towed to a local tow yard. The vehicle was condemned as a total loss by the insurance company. The contact was unconscious and transferred to the local hospital. The contact sustained six broken ribs, a punctured left lung and a hematoma in the left leg. In addition, the contact had to have emergency surgery to remove the hematoma. The contact was receiving continued medical treatment due to the injuries. The contact stated a Police report was filed. The contact later received a recall notification: NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V626000 (Steering) however the parts were not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.
10/14/2025
Data and Methodology
Scores are derived from NHTSA recalls and owner complaints, normalized by vehicle segment averages.
What are the most common owner complaints for the 2020 Ford F-450?
Are complaints about the 2020 Ford F-450 a serious warning sign?
How should buyers use complaint data for the 2020 Ford F-450?
Are complaints about the 2020 Ford F-450 severe?
Complaint list entries are sourced from owner-submitted NHTSA ODI records.
Ford F-450: How should complaint data influence buying decisions?
Carfocal links complaint data directly to recall and maintenance routes for the same model year.
- Complaint entries
- 32
- Top-topic view
- 5 grouped topics shown
- Primary source
- NHTSA ODI owner complaint records
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