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2020 Ford F-450 problems, recalls and owner complaints
What the 2020 Ford F-450 has been recalled for and what owners report, from official government data. Updated November 2, 2026.
- 1safety recall
- 24owner complaints
- 2crash reports
- 2fire reports
- 1injury reported
The most complained-about Ford F-450 year on file: 24 complaints, against an average of 10 for the other 14 model years.
Every Ford F-450 model year with its number of owner complaints. Pick a year to compare.
What goes wrong with the 2020 Ford F-450?
The components named most often in the 24 owner complaints. One complaint can name several, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
What symptoms do 2020 Ford F-450 owners describe?
Found by reading the text of all 24 owner complaints. Tap a symptom for the answer, a real owner quote and any related recall.
Fault codes 2020 Ford F-450 owners mention
Diagnostic trouble codes owners wrote in their complaints. Open a code to see what it meant on other cars and whether a recall names it.
Has the 2020 Ford F-450 been recalled?
1 U.S. safety recall. Repairs are free at a franchised dealer; some are done over the air.
Seats: Front Assembly: Recliner Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 F-150 and 2019-2020 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty pickup trucks, and 2018-2019 Ford Explorer, 2019-2020 Expedition, and 2020 Escape vehicles equipped with driver and/or passenger's manual front seat back recliner mechanisms. Also included are certain 2020 Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with rear outboard seats and manual seat back recliner mechanisms. The recliner mechanisms may be missing the third pawl required for seat back strength, resulting in a loose seat back. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 202, "Head Restraints" and 207, "Seating Systems."
Risk: A seat back with an improperly assembled recliner mechanism may have reduced strength and may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and Ford and Lincoln dealers will inspect the seat structure and replace them, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 21, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19C07.
What do 2020 Ford F-450 owners report?
12 of the 24 complaints, the most recent for the most-reported components, as the owners wrote them. NHTSA removes names and VINs; long reports are trimmed. CarHooq has not verified individual claims.
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 the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
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 local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.
Vehicle caught fire. Fire in the engine compartment after heavy fuel smell/odor.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V957000 (Fuel System, Diesel). The contact stated that while hauling an RV at 65 MPH, with the cruise control feature activated, the message that the "Engine has Stopped - Pull Over Immediately" was displayed, and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road, and the contact attempted to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the engine was turning over however, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to a dealer to be diagnosed, and the dealer retrieved…
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the engine ran for several minutes before the vehicle independently shut off. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V957000 (FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL) as probable cause for the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure…
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…
The vehicle is experiencing very erratic shifts between gears. The transmission is slingshot shifting in all gears between 3rd through 6th. If this continues it will undoubtedly blow the transmission out. I work with this truck every day and if it blows it will very likely cause a very big safety hazard as I would very possibly have a load on my trailer and this could force me out of my lane. There is a ford customer satisfaction program number of 21B03 that directly applies to this issue but as of yet they are not approving the fix for it. There is also another safety recall on this truck…
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.
My tailgate came open randomly while pulling a trailer. Ford knows about this issue, but is yet to make a recall and not sure they’re 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.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-450. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the transmission experienced rough shifting. The vehicle then inadvertently decelerated and failed to exceed 50 MPH. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle. The contact then drove to the residence. The vehicle was later towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there were metal shavings in the transmission and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the VIN…
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 “too busy” to even diagnose the problem even though it is clearly because of the recall. This needs to be remedied before someone gets hurt.
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…
2020 Ford F-450: questions owners ask
Is the 2020 Ford F-450 reliable?
NHTSA data alone cannot rate reliability, but it shows what owners reported. Owners filed 24 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Ford F-450; the most common categories were fuel system (8, 33.3%), diesel (7, 29.2%), power train (5, 20.8%). There is 1 safety recall. 2 complaints mention a crash, 2 mention a fire, 1 injury was reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2020 Ford F-450?
Across 24 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the categories mentioned most often are fuel system (33.3% of complaints), diesel (29.2% of complaints), power train (20.8% of complaints), electrical system (12.5% of complaints), engine (8.3% of complaints). One complaint can name several components.
Does the 2020 Ford F-450 have any recalls?
Yes. NHTSA lists 1 recall for the 2020 Ford F-450; the most recent (campaign 19V633000, 2019-08-28) concerns Seats: Front Assembly: Recliner. Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer; check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Why does my 2020 Ford F-450 stall, lose power or shut off while driving?
4 of the 24 owner complaints NHTSA has on file for the 2020 Ford F-450 (16.7%) describe the engine stalling, losing power or shutting off while driving. One owner wrote: "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." (NHTSA complaint 11460687, April 2022). If it happens to your car, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls and report the problem to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations.
Check your own F-450
Counts are a starting point, not a verdict: popular models collect more complaints because more of them are on the road, and NHTSA does not verify individual reports. To see whether a recall is still open on your car, enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls (U.S.) or your registration at check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk (UK). Had a safety problem? Report it to NHTSA; complaints are what trigger investigations and recalls.
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall and complaint databases (public domain), retrieved November 2, 2026. Model year 2020 only. How these reports are made.