Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2014 Ford F-150 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Driving down the highway, yellow wrench appeared on main screen. Truck immediately went to limp mode. No acceleration available. Difficult and dangerous to get to safety. Turned off truck and waited a few minutes to restart and truck seemed fine. Also, when cresting a hill in sixth gear and slightly lifting on the accelerator, the vehicle has a big thunk that can be felt throughout the vehicle. Seems to be in the transmission. However, 'no codes' are generated for this or the yellow wrench. Ford say possible electronic throttle body, lead frame for the transmission, or spark plugs. Our sparks plugs are Ford brand and new. There was a recall for this same issue for the 2011-2013 f150, but this doesn't include our truck as it's a 2014. This is a safety issue that deserves another recall and Ford again to cover the repairs. …
While I am driving with my pregnant wife in the vehicle the airbag light will illuminate saying that the airbag is off, I have to pull over while driving to have her get out of the vehicle and get back in for the light to turn off. It's a normal street in a development or on the road driving. Different speeds with flat roads, some have bumps others are recently paved asphalt. Happens intermittently, over a dozen times at different speeds. My vehicles VIN doesn't fit the recall for the airbag issue that is already aware by Ford. Took vehicle to Ford dealership 4 times for this same issue, only thong done was a recalibration of the seat weight and exactly 2 weeks and 1 day later light came on again, unable to pull over I drove hoping to find a way to pull over for the safety of my wife and unborn child, the light turned off after 40 seconds of realizing it was on. …
Warning lights came on dash about stability or traction control, no 4x4 lights were showing even though I had it in four wheel drive. Within seconds I could not control my truck in the snow and the steering would not allow me to change my course of direction. This truck acted like it was not in four wheel drive. My truck slammed/slid sideways into a curb on the rotary by my home causing $2129.19 damages to tires and rims and front end parts. After I hit the curb the 4x4 light was showing as was the traction control lights and I was able to steer my truck and keeping it from dropping over an embankment. My speed was 15 miles per hour as I came towards the rotary. I contacted Ford and received a call back 11/6/14 stating that I needed to go through my insurance and that my insurance company was welcome to subrogate this with Ford legal counsel. …
When driving this vehicle the steering seems to lock up making a slight adjustment going down the highway will throw you either to the right or to the left if making a turn it will not turn in all of a sudden it will release itself and suddenly throw you into a turns harder than what you wish and if you're not real quick to react you will almost crash this that this is happened several times to us and also to the technician who just drove the vehicle he almost wrecked my truck because of steering locked up on him on a 90-degree turn this is a very much a safety hazard and a safety feature other trucks are the same year have been recalled for this and I believe the recall should be expanded this is a issue that was continuing to happen
Driving down the highway, trying to change lane to exit the road, press on my brakes to slow down, then my brakes light came on, saying iam low on brake fluid, and my breaks dont work, the pedal went al the way down to the flood. Put on my hazards light on, and let the truck slow down to an exit, very slow to stop while driving. Found out there a recall on my truck, call Ford #, they tell me that the truck had been service before in 2016, and there only one recall fix per vehicle. So iam out luck, the brake booster and master cylinder have to be replaced again..at my own expense...
Warning light appears "service advancetrac", then lost power steering. This happened twice while driving the vehicle. Happening intermittently. Drove to Ford dealership. Diagnosis was defective electronic steering gear. Ford had recall on this same issue by recall #14s09, but my truck was not included in recall. This is a safety issue and could have caused an awful accident. Obviously the epas steering gear is defective and vehicles with it need to be recalled before someone has a major accident.
Service advance track, ABS, break lights all on. Break pedal fades to floor when held Ford dealer said module failure. This same truck had recall for hydraulic failure was serviced in 2016 now they want $1600 for a new module then the service manager said pedal was not spongey. Like I said standing still in any gear including park press the break and hold it it fades to the floor reel safe I'm sure. ABS and break light only go on when you move truck.service advance track on when engine started.
Etb. We lost power on are 2014 f 150 eco boost doing 50 plus miles an hour .. Out of no where it started to not accelerate and just shut down . Check engine popped on we managed to move to the side . It started up after two attempts then check engine light came on . It drove to nearest shop to have code checked they said oh its the etb.. That's recalled. So we explored and researching why it's not on recall. We were about a moment away from being slammed into the concrete medium from behind.
Driving down road and lost power steering. Took all my strength to steer truck. Pulled over and discovered also lost turn signal, headlights didn't work. Two messages came up, check traction control and low battery power save mode. Might of been other things not working but didn't check for anything else. Drove it to Ford dealer. Again took all my strength to turn steering wheel. Was driving down straight road about 20 MPH. Very lucky didn't happen on corner or when wife driving it.
First received advance trac warning, then hill descent warning and then power steering failure indication. Power steering failure was sudden and unexpected and almost caused an accident when in motion doing a turn, due to electronic power steering system lock up which prevented the front wheels from turning as much as expected. This is a very dangerous unexpected condition and could have caused a serious accident with injuries or worse if occurred at highway speeds!
Traction Control complaints in other F-150 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2014 Ford F-150?
NHTSA has 23 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2014 Ford F-150, 1% of the model year's 1,538 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2014 Ford F-150 traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2014 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 2014 Ford F-150 traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 48,000 miles, and 17% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to stability & traction control 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.