Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Ford F-150 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owned a 2006 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at a low rate of speed, an abnormal, popping sound emitted from the vehicle without warning. Soon after he heard the sound, the vehicle caught fire. The contact exited the vehicle and attempted to extinguish the fire with two fire extinguishers. The fire department was called to the scene and they managed to extinguish the fire. No injuries were reported and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it remained in their possession. The dealer nor the manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle was deemed a total loss. The failure mileage was 174,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power with an abnormal popping sound coming from the engine compartment. The failure occurred more often while attempting to accelerate or driving uphill. The vehicle occasionally stalled during the failure. The contact released the accelerator pedal slowly and the vehicle then started driving normally. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the cam phaser had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cam phaser part no longer being manufactured. The contact stated that the part was no longer in production because the replacement part was defective and failed to fix the vehicle. …
while in drive, accelerating to highway speeds or cruising around 30 mph it will downshift and jump to about 4000 PMS's and not shift up into 3rd gear. It blown 1 engine and I have replaced the transmissions, taken it to a Ford dealership and they weren't able to help me. I've replaced the ECM and anti-theft modal also and the symptoms still persist. i am i in for over 11K for the new engine and transmission, and another $100 on the ECM and anti-theft modal plus the shop charges. The truck has under 190,000 miles before any of this started. I am the 2nd owner an had for less than 3k miles before any of the problems started. Now I see the 2015-2017 F-150s are having the same problems getting recalled. is there anything involving the earlier Triton's engines?
Received notification by mail from your department about a recall on my trucks spark plugs breaking in the head .Took vehicle to local ford dealer and was told the vehicle was required to have over 100 thousand miles before the plugs would be replaced under recall . Now my vehicle has over 150 thousand miles and when I went to the same dealer I was told there wasn't a recall on this truck . My documents I received from your department was lost during hurricane Sally. This is a well known recall every local mechanic knows about .
Rotted and bent frame realized after purchase on February 22 at nj car and driver (Cadillacs Plus) for $3500.00 Continues to stall and feels like it's going to crack in two. Stalled a few times while driving and had to put it in neutral to start back up
Tl* the contact owned a 2006 Ford f-150. After the contact parked the vehicle in the driveway, flames were seen coming from the engine compartment approximately five hours later. The fire department was called to the home and extinguished the flames. A fire report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed along with two other vehicles that were parked in the driveway. The cause of the fire was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not notified. The failure mileage was 120,000.
At 9:20 Monday morning 6/25/18 my 2006 f-150 had been sitting stationary, unoccupied and turned off for 3 and half hours. I was waken up by my wife telling me my truck was on fire. The fire had breached through the hood and contained to the engine compartment. I had no prior trouble to the operation of my truck that would indicate a problem. The fire destroyed entire front of truck.
Morning of July 23,2015, I was driving about 25 mpr speed when number three spark plug blow out of the cylanderhead on my f-150 triton v8. Took it to the local machanic shop walton's. Three hours later, walton's had to replace and resleeve number three cylanderhead and replaced electrical sparkplug wire, plus replaced all eight spark plugs. All at a cost of $543.00. Not only this happened to me but walton's stated that I was the 10th person this week this has happened too. I presented the part to my local Ford dealership where we bought the truck (hall's Ford motor company) brand new in 2006 and paid cash to the sum of $30,000.00. I asked them if they know of this problem with triton v8's. They stated they did but no know recalls and they too had several repairs come in for the same thing in the pass week. …
Originally factory installed sparkplug blows out of the engine head traveling at approximately 35 MPH. This was disclosed after taking vehicle to a Ford dealership for diagnostics as there was a loud noise while engine running and loss of power. Repair cost was $617. Discussion with dealer discloses that this a well know problem by Ford management, a tbs has been issued. Further Ford has denied any responsibility and will not provide any monetary assistance. This is a Ford created design engineering defect that Ford just ignores and let's the customer pay for its mistake. Customer is subject to cost of repair that is far from normal wear and tear, a safety concern of fire in engine compartment from raw fuel blown out of the hole vacated by sparkplug, a reliability issue and a safety concern from sudden loss of power. …
My truck caught on fire yesterday. Due to a heat shield missing over passenger side catalytic converter caused the plastic grommets that hold the sound barrier material on the floorboard to drop and hang on top of the catalytic converter until the material caught on fire. My insurance company is still investigating how the catalytic converter heat shield was missing. Less than a month after I bought the truck and it was used, they had to do service work on it because I purchased the truck with a broken front coil spring and the transmission dipstick tube had rotted. Even though the truck was missing a heat shield, I believe there should be any kind of flammable material near the catalytic converter just in case a heat shield happens to rot and fall off or for any reason the heat shield is missing .the fire traveled through the material almost to the top of my engine. …
Engine complaints in other F-150 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2006 Ford F-150?
NHTSA has 151 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2006 Ford F-150, 26% of the model year's 585 complaints. The component named most often is engine (20 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2006 Ford F-150 engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2006 Ford F-150, though it has 4 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 2006 Ford F-150 engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 80,000 miles, and 15% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 8 fires and 1 injury to engine & cooling 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.