Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2001 Ford F-150 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
On 9/4/2018 I bought 4 brand new destination le2 p-metric owl p265/75r16 tires with a 60000 warranty from Firestone in hesperia ca. My daughter just bought the truck and I wanted her to be safe with new tires.on November 14, 2018 on her way to work at 5:00 a.m she had a terrible roll over. She is currently in icu. She just had a cranioplasty 15 days ago. She has a severe tbi. She hasn't walked since the day of rollover. She was on life support. Still on tracheostomy. She will be disabled all if her life. She is 22 years old. She was driving approx. 55 MPH. She was out of control when all three witnesses saw her coming at them. This happened on summit valley rd in hesperia ca. It is one lane each direction. She was approaching th top of a hill. When she got over the hill she was out of control and the vehicle rolled and she was ejected. She was found under the truck. …
There has been no incident as yet but the frame of this vehicle has such extreme corrosion that certified mechanics are reluctant to work on this vehicle since they are concerned about a failure occurring at connection point where the steering and suspension connects to the frame of the vehicle. Their concern is a loss of control of the vehicle if any of the steering or suspension connection points fail due to the severely corroded frame. This is not surface corrosion, the metal is flaked and separated and it is the entire frame of the vehicle. I had just spent $4,000 to replace the entire exhaust system from the exhaust manifold back to the tail pipe and the mechanic is warning me about the safety of the suspension and steering components because of the extreme corrosion. The vehicle only has 77, 000 original miles and has never been in severe weather conditions.
Dear NHTSA: re: VIN# [redacted] my Ford 150 extended cab back doors latches have failed. The two back doors do not open. At first, I thought the rubber that runs along side the trim was caught, but when the second door stopped opening I took it to a Ford dealership and he said there are two latches on each door , a bottom latch and a top latch. Both top latches have failed and now I cannot open the two back doors to my Ford truck. The first door(driver side door) went out in November of 2019, and the second door stopped opening last week. Who is responsible for this? I am sure it will be expensive to take the doors off and replace the latches. Thank you for your time and help. Sincerely, [redacted]
Gas tank fell out of vehicle,tearing filler hose. Tank straps and supporting structures rust thru, failure. Drivers' side rear shock dropped from vehicle because metal bracket it was attached to rotted thru. Bed rails completely rusted thru. Frame has rusted thru holes. Complete rust failure. Vehicle has only 90K miles always maintained, washed underneath weekly in winter. Vehicle in motion when parts fell on rte 58 and the shock on town street..$900 to repair gas tank. Shock incident happened today 11/26/2017, gas tank 9/12/2016
Woke up this morning to a couple of loud "booms". My husband went to check it out and discovered his truck (which we just purchased in May) was on fire. The fire destroyed the truck, melted the siding on our house and garage, and even cracked three of our neighbor's windows. We are so grateful the firefighters arrived when they did or this fire would've kept burning our house. The truck hadn't moved since last night...don't know what happened but we will not be purchasing a Ford again.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Ford f-150. The contact inadvertently tried to open the door to the rear driver side of the vehicle, but the door would not open. The contact stated that this was a recurring failure. The dealer diagnosed that the door upper locking system need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000. Updated 10/31/2017
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Ford f-150. While driving at any speed, the vehicle made an abnormal noise. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic where it was diagnosed that the panel radiator support was rusted and fractured. The dealer was not able to repair the vehicle and recommended it be taken to a body shop. The contact took the vehicle to the body shop, but the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 133,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Ford f-150. The contact stated that after pulling into the driveway at the residence, the spare tire detached from the vehicle. The contact became aware that the spare tire cable was fractured. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be inspected. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 173,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Ford f-150. While driving at 45 MPH, the contact heard a noise and noticed that the spare tire separated from underneath the vehicle. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed that the carrier cable that holds the spare tire fractured. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 163,787.
I was driving northbound on I-95 when the driver of an adjacent vehicle alerted me that there was fire shooting out from the area of the fuel filler door. I immediately pulled over onto the highway median and jumped out. The truck was engulfed in flames, and the cab was on fire. I burned myself on the melting steering wheel and was singed by melting plastic.
Body complaints in other F-150 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2001 Ford F-150?
NHTSA has 65 complaints about the body & structure of the 2001 Ford F-150, 5% of the model year's 1,236 complaints. The component named most often is body (31 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Ford F-150 body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2001 Ford F-150, though it has 8 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2001 Ford F-150 body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 119,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 3 crashes, 7 fires and 5 injuries and 1 death to body & structure problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.