Most common 1999 Ford F-150 problems
Share of the 1,044 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Ford F-150 complaints by model year
Best F-150 years: 1996, 2009, 2008. Years to avoid: 2018, 2013, 2016, 2012, 2021. Compare all years →
1999 Ford F-150 recalls (7)
Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly › Mounting
Ford is recalling certain 1997 through 2003 model year Ford f-150, 2004 model year Ford f-150 heritage, 1997 through 1999 model year f-250 less than 8,500 lbs. Gross vehicle weight rating (gvwr), and 2002 and 2003 Lincoln blackwood vehicles manufactured from June 20, 1995, through August 4, 2004, originally sold, or currently…
Remedy: Ford will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicles to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the fuel tank straps replaced with straps that have increased corrosion protection.
Vehicle speed control
On certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles equipped with speed control, the speed control deactivation switch May overheat, smoke, or burn.
Remedy: By letter dated September 12, 2005, owners were instructed to return their vehicles to their dealers to have the speed control deactivation switch disconnected.
Equipment › Other › Labels
Certain light duty pickup trucks equipped with a heavy duty service package fail to comply with the requirements of FMVSS no. 120, "tire selection and rims for motor vehicles other than passenger cars." a typographical error occurred resulting in an incorrect tire size and pressure on the safety certification label for these…
Remedy: Owners will be sent a corrected tire information label and installation instructions. The customer May also have the dealer install the label on the vehicle, if they so desire.
Equipment › Other › Labels
Vehicle description: bi-fuel cng pickup trucks and bi-fuel cng vans, modified by cfi control systems, inc., fail to conform to the requirements of FMVSS no. 303, "fuel system integrity of compressed natural gas vehicles." the label affixed to the fuel filler door by the vehicle modifier contains the inspection date and…
Remedy: Owners will be provided a label with the required statement, along with instructions for affixing the label at the fuel filler door. Owner notification began November 2, 2000.
Equipment › Other › Labels
Vehicle description: 4x4 vehicles with off road and high fgawr option packages, and 4x2 vehicles with sport option package. The tire and rim identification information is incorrect on the certification labels for these vehicles. This does not meet the requirements of FMVSS no.
Remedy: Owners will be provided with a revised label overlay.
Vehicle speed control › Cables
Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks. A speed control cable May not have fully seated into the accelerator bracket at time of installation. If the cable is not fully seated into this bracket, the cable could separate from the bracket.
Remedy: Dealers will add a retaining clip to the speed control cable fitting at the accelerator bracket.
Show 1 more recall
Fuel system, gasoline › Fuel injection system
Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks. The fuel pressure regulator o-ring May have been damaged when the fuel pressure regulator was installed in the engine fuel rail. If the o-ring is damaged, fuel vapor or leakage could occur.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel pressure regulator.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 5 possible defects involving the 1999 Ford F-150:
Blow back during refueling
There is no summary currently available
Fuel Tank Strap Corrosion/Rust
One or both of the steel straps holding up the fuel tank and attaching it to the truck frame can corrode and break.If one strap breaks, the tank may tilt and drop and possibly contact the road surface.If both straps break, the entire tank may drop to the road.If either failure occurs while the vehicle is being driven, contact with the road can abrade the tank and create a hole from which gasoline can spill.When the…
Fuel Tank Strap Failure Due to Corrosion
One or both of the steel straps holding up the fuel tank and attaching it to the truck frame can corrode and fail (break or separate).If one strap fails, the tank may tilt and drop and possibly contact the road surface.If both straps break, the entire tank may drop to the road.If either failure occurs while the vehicle is being driven, contact with the road can abrade the tank and create a hole from which gasoline…
Engine compartment fires
Ea05-005 is closed with Ford?s actions in recalls 05v-017, 05v-388, and 06v-286, recalling approximately 6.7 million vehicles equipped with texas instruments speed control deactivation switches (scds).the brake systems in these recalled vehicles generate a vacuum that can potentially cause the scds to fail and, in certain switch installation orientations, catch fire.Ford is also including the entire population of…
Spark plug ejection from cylinder head
On September 6, 2005, odi received a petition requesting that the agency investigate allegations of engine spark plug ejection in certain model year 1997 through 2004 Ford vehicles with triton v-8 and v-10 engines.odi received a total of 474 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles where the complainant, or the dealer repairing the vehicle, reported that a spark plug detached from the cylinder and/or…
What 1999 Ford F-150 owners say
Engine & cooling all 246 →
Tl* the contact owned a 1999 Ford f-150. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked at his residence, the vehicle caught fire. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with a water hose. The fire department and police department were not informed nor was a report filed. The contact attempted to call the local dealer jim click Ford (6244 e 22nd st, tucson, az 85711: [phone]) and manufacturer but was unable to speak to anyone. The vehicle was not drivable. The VIN was associated to NHTSA campaign number: 05V017000 (vehicle speed control). The failure mileage was approximately 230,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 Ford f-150. While the contact's daughter was driving 70 MPH, the vehicle made a loud noise and began sputtering. The driver noticed flames under the hood. A passerby extinguished the fire. The fire department was not contacted. There were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that a spark plug had been blown out of the cylinder head, igniting a fire. The mechanic also noted that the spark plug boot had melted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. A dealer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.
Fuel & propulsion system all 132 →
When backing up after my f150 has been sitting about 2 days I have no brakes unless I rev up the engine for about 20 sec to build up pressure in the electric vacuum brake booster. Have almost hit my wife's car if I forget to let it sit to build up pressure. I have contacted my Ford dealer and they won't do anything about it because I am past the warranty. I am going to have to replace it myself because this is unsafe condition and Ford won't repair it. Also my truck loses power sometimes when accelerating and Ford stated that the turbo chargers are sometimes sucking in water that shuts down one side of the engine to prevent damage to the turbo chargers. There fix is to put a shield or longer tube on it to prevent this. Again because it is over the warranty period they won't do anything. Very disappointed in my f-150 3.5 EcoBoost and won't be buying another one.
Top front of fuel tank rusted out and fuel leaks especially when tank is full . Other areas on top are also very close to rusting thru . Ironically there was a recall few years ago to replace the 2 gas tank holding straps and the Ford dealer said the gas tank was fine ?!? So either he was blind or didn't have a flash light or have an inspection mirror or was too lazy to replace the gas tank because it isn't an easy job ? I feel that Ford has endangered my life and my family's life due to their blatant show of incompetence and irresponsibility ! Once the gasoline should ignite it will catch the gas tank on fire resulting in a fireball and explosion . I also have any more pictures if needed . Thank you,
Brakes all 107 →
Went to stop at light had no brakes with no warning. I hit the car in front of me in the rear this also caused a delayed release of the air bags. This appears to be problem going back years that Ford or the government wont do anything about.
Since buying the vehicle new from my local Ford dealer I've notice that there is very excessive travel in the brake pedal and an air noise when I apply the brakes. When I took it in to check it out I was told that the brakes needed to be bled. When this wouldn't fix the problem I was told my fluid was contaminated and I would need a fluid flush. This also didn't solve the problem. A few years after the warranty period was up I was told that this happens to Ford truck a lot and I would need to replace a part that was over $800.00 for parts and labor. I declined this work stating it should have been covered under warranty on my previous visits that were all documented. Since then they are back to the system bleed and fluid flush routine every time I mention the issue. …
1999 Ford F-150 engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.2L 6-cyl | 5-speed manual | RWD | 15 / 20 / 17 |
| 4.2L 6-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 14 / 18 / 16 |
| 4.6L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 13 / 18 / 15 |
| 4.2L 6-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 13 / 16 / 15 |
| 4.2L 6-cyl | 5-speed manual | 4WD/AWD | 13 / 17 / 15 |
| 4.6L 8-cyl | 5-speed manual | RWD | 13 / 17 / 14 |
| 5.4L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 12 / 16 / 14 |
| 4.6L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 12 / 16 / 14 |
| 4.6L 8-cyl | 5-speed manual | 4WD/AWD | 12 / 16 / 14 |
| 5.4L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 11 / 15 / 13 |
| 5.4L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 2WD | 12 / 15 / 13 |
EPA ratings. Class: Full-size pickup.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1999 Ford F-150 a good car?
Based on 1,044 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 1999 F-150 rates average: about as many complaints as a typical year of the F-150 at the same age. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 1999 Ford F-150?
The engine & cooling — 246 complaints, 24% of all complaints for this model year, most often about engine. Next are the fuel & propulsion system (132) and brakes (107).
How many recalls does the 1999 Ford F-150 have?
There are 7 recalls for the 1999 Ford F-150, the most recent from July 29, 2011 (mounting). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Ford F-150?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 1996, 2009 and 2008. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2018, 2013, 2016, 2012 and 2021. See the full Ford F-150 years comparison.
At what mileage do 1999 Ford F-150 problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 100,000 miles; 14% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.