Most common 2017 Ford F-250 SD problems
Share of the 1,155 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Ford F-250 SD complaints by model year
Best F-250 SD years: 2013, 2014, 2012. Years to avoid: 2019, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2016. Compare all years →
2017 Ford F-250 SD recalls (14)
Back over prevention › Sensing system › Camera
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Lincoln MKC, Mustang, F-350 SD, F-250 SD, F-450 SD, 2015-2017 Lincoln Navigator, Expedition, 2015-2018 Edge, Transit Connect, 2016-2019 F-550 SD, Transit, 2017-2019 Econoline, and 2019 Ranger vehicles.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 13, 2026.
Power train › Driveline › Driveshaft
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2018 F-Super Duty F-250, F-350, and F-450 4x4 vehicles. A radial damper inside the driveshaft may move out of position over time, which can cause a driveshaft imbalance and result in a fracture.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the driveshaft, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 27, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S74.
Back over prevention › Sensing system › Camera
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2020 F-Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450, and 2017-2020 Lincoln Continental vehicles equipped with the 360-degree camera system. Degradation of the camera's anit-reflective lens coating can lead to a foggy or cloudy rearview camera image.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the rearview camera, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 14, 2023. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 22S51.
Structure › Frame and members › Underbody shields
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2022 F-250 and F-350 Super Duty vehicles equipped with gasoline engines and aluminum driveshafts. Underbody heat and noise insulators may loosen and contact the aluminum driveshaft, which could damage the driveshaft and cause it to fracture.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and repair the driveshaft as necessary, and properly attach the underbody insulators, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on April 7, 2022.
Seat belts › Pretensioner
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2019 F-Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 SuperCrew Cab vehicles with carpet flooring. If a front seat belt pretensioner deploys as the result of a crash, the sparks may ignite materials such as carpeting or insulation within the B-pillar area.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will apply heat resistant tape to the carpet and its insulation, and modify the B-Pillar insulation as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin January 20, 2020.
Latches/locks/linkages › Tailgate › Latch
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Super Duty F-250, F-350, and F-450 trucks equipped with an electric tailgate latch release switch mounted in the tailgate handle. Water may enter the electrical wiring system and cause a short circuit, activating the switch and releasing the tailgate latches.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will modify the tailgate/frame wiring harnesses by adding jumper pigtails to isolate the tailgate release control circuits and will install a new tailgate handle release switch, free…
Show 8 more recalls
Engine
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Ford F-150 and 2017-2019 Ford F-250 Super Duty, F-350 Super Duty, F-450 Super Duty, and F-550 Super Duty pick-up trucks equipped with an engine block heater and previously remedied under recall 18V894.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will disable the engine block heater from being used. When replacement cables become available, a second notice will be mailed and dealers will replace the engine block heater cord,…
Latches/locks/linkages › Doors › Latch
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Ford F-150, and 2017 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty trucks. The doors on these vehicles may have a bent or kinked actuation cable or the door latches may freeze after water gets into the latch.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the door latch actuation cables and repair if necessary, and install water shields over the door latches, free of charge. The recall began October 12, 2018.
Seats
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 trucks with manually-adjusted front passenger seats. The seat belt anchor may not be adequately welded to the seat cushion frame.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger manual seat track, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin November 6, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Seat belts › Rear/other
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2017 F-150, and 2017 F-250 and F-350 trucks equipped with a crew cab. The left rear inflatable seat belt buckle assembly may be inadequately attached to its mounting bracket.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat belt assembly, replacing the attaching rivet as necessary, free of charge. Interim notices informing owners of the safety risk were mailed October 18, 2017.
Seats › Front assembly › Recliner
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Ford Explorer, F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 vehicles equipped with a manual driver's seat back recliner mechanism. In the event of a crash, the seat back frame may not restrain the occupant due to having inadequate welds.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the seat back frame, free of charge. The recall began on June 7, 2017. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.
Power train › Automatic transmission
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Ford F-250 Super Duty trucks equipped with 6.2L engines and six-speed automatic transmissions. These transmissions may have a damaged park rod actuating plate that can result in unexpected vehicle movement even though the transmission has been shifted to 'Park.' As such, these…
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the park rod actuating plate and replace it, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began on June 1, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly › Mounting
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Ford F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks manufactured August 10, 2016, to September 17, 2016. The frame reinforcement bracket may not have been attached to the front fuel tank strap, allowing the fuel tank strap to separate from the frame.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, install the reinforcement bracket, free of charge. The recall began on February 7, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Fuel system, diesel
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2017 Ford F-250 SD, F-350 SD, F-450 SD, and F-550 SD trucks manufactured March 21, 2016, to August 28, 2016. The protective shield on the fuel conditioning module may have inadequate adhesion, allowing the shield to become dislodged.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the protective shield, free of charge. The recall began November 11, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 3 possible defects involving the 2017 Ford F-250 SD:
Power Tailgate Release Systems
In January 2021, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Recall Query (RQ21-001) to assess allegations of post-recall remedy uncommanded tailgate openings in model year (MY) 2017-2019 F-250/350/450 Ford trucks. Besides the recall remedy launched in January 2020, Ford also implemented a production update in November 2019.
Sogefi Secondary Diesel Fuel Filter Leak
The Office of Defect Investigations (ODI) has received 27 complaints alleging diesel fuel leaks due to a fracture in the secondary fuel filter housing in model year (MY) 2015-2021 Ford Motor Company (Ford) F-250, 350, 450, and 550 Super Duty vehicles equipped with 6.7L diesel engines. Of these complaints, 12 describe an engine compartment fire.
Power tailgate opens unintended
By letter dated December 4, 2019, Ford Motor Company (Ford) notified the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of a safety defect that may exist in model years (MY) 2017 through 2019 Ford Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450 vehicles equipped with an electric tailgate.
What 2017 Ford F-250 SD owners say
Steering all 717 →
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50-55 MPH the steering wheel began aggressively shaking causing them to crash into another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. Both the vehicles received damage to the driver-side view mirror. The vehicle was able to be driven from the scene. There were no warning lights illuminated. A police report was filed. There were no injuries and no medical attention was needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it had not been diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 111,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-250. The contact stated while driving approximately 50-60 MPH and hauling a trailer, the vehicle drove across uneven pavement, and the vehicle went into the death wobble and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact pulled over to the side of the road but found no cause for the failure. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering dampener had failed and needed to be replaced. The steering dampener was replaced. The dealer confirmed that the vehicle had been repaired under Customer Satisfaction Program: 20N04 (Steering, Equipment) but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included the Customer Satisfaction Program. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. …
Suspension all 587 →
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle experienced the death wobble. The steering wheel shook aggressively, making it difficult to maneuver the vehicle. The contact decelerated and was able to coast to the emergency lane on the side of the road to get off the interstate. The contact continued to drive the vehicle to the residence but did not exceed 15 MPH. The dealer was contacted by phone and referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. The contact had scheduled an appointment with a certified mechanic. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and provided the contact information to the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-250. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the contact experienced the death wobble. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to control the vehicle and slowed down, and prevented the vehicle from driving off the road into a ditch. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with hesitation in the steering wheel linkage, suspension failure, and an oil leak. The death wobble was due to the failure of the suspension. The vehicle was taken to a second dealer, and the contact was provided the same diagnostic results. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
Wheels & tires all 71 →
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-250 equipped with Super Swamper Tires (Tire Size: 37/1250/r20LT and DOT Number: 3u5hp3lx4720). The contact stated that while driving 50 mph when suddenly the rear driver-side tire had blown. The contact had pulled over to the side of the road and placed the spare tire on the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to a tire shop that replaced all the tires on the vehicle with the same brand and size tire, however, the DOT Number was different from the one replaced (3u5hp3lx3921). The contact then stated the failure reoccurred with the new tire on the front driver-side of the vehicle while parked in the garage. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage of the vehicle was 29,000. The approximate failure mileage for the first tire was approximately 4,900 and for the second tire was 3,000.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned: Steering Dampner failed causing other issued in steering and front-end suspension failures. You can inspect anytime you want. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Repetitive failure on these components put me and family at risk and other drivers to the loss of control Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes problem has been reoccurring from 16k mile to present just under 100K miles. Truck has been in the shop multiple times for the same repetitive failure. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes, ford has inspected it, independent shops have inspected it, the BBB has inspected it. Ford has told me on more than one occasion to go after market. …
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2017 Ford F-250 SD a good car?
Based on 1,155 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2017 F-250 SD rates avoid: 8.5× as many complaints as a typical year of the F-250 SD at the same age. It is one of the F-250 SD years we suggest avoiding. 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 2017 Ford F-250 SD?
The steering — 717 complaints, 62% of all complaints for this model year, most often about linkages. Next are the suspension (587) and wheels & tires (71).
How many recalls does the 2017 Ford F-250 SD have?
There are 14 recalls for the 2017 Ford F-250 SD, the most recent from September 3, 2025 (camera). 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-250 SD?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2013, 2014 and 2012. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2019, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2016. See the full Ford F-250 SD years comparison.
At what mileage do 2017 Ford F-250 SD problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 29,000 miles; 82% 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.