There are 6 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2004 Ford F-150in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
WITH HEADLIGHT SELECTOR SWITCH IN THE AUTO POSITION THE HEADLIGHTS CAN SUDDENLY TURN-OFF WHILE DRIVING. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE NEW AND HAVE ALWAYS HAD THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH IN THE AUTO POSITION SINCE DAY ONE. WHEN DRIVING AT NIGHT THE HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY SHUT-OFF WHILE GOING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, VERY NEARLY LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE WHEN TRYING TO PULL OVER AND STOP. THE PARK LIGHTS STILL WERE FUNCTIONING AND GOT THE HEADLIGHTS BACK ON BY SWITCHING THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH TO THE MANUAL POSITION. PER DISCUSSION WITH DEALER BELIEVE THE BODY CONTROL MODULE QUIT WORKING. SPECIFICALLY, A RELAY IN THE BCM HAS FAILED BUT IS NOT REPLACEABLE. REPAIR COST IS OVER $400.00 TO CHANGE MODULE. CAN'T AFFORD RIGHT NOW TO FIX. RESEARCH ON INTERNET FOUND NUMEROUS OTHER SIMILAR FAILURES/SYMPTOMS BUT NOT CLEAR IF HAPPENED WHILE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN. *TR
TO BEGIN WITH I HAD TO HAVE ALL 4 WINDOWS REPAIRED. THE MECHANISM THAT RAISES AND LOWERS THE WINDOWS BROKE. SINCE THIS WAS BOUGHT AS A USED VEHICLE, THERE WAS NO WARRANTY. SO I PD. $150. TO $175.00 EACH. WAS TOLD FORD KNEW OF THIS PROBLEM BUT SINCE IT WASN'T A "SAFETY FACTOR" NO RECALL WAS ISSUED. I FEEL LIKE THIS IS QUITE UNFAIR TO THE CONSUMER. WE PURCHASE A VEHICLE THAT HAS A GOOD REPUTATION AND THEN ARE TOLD THAT THIS EXPENSE IS OUR BABY TO TAKE CARE OF. I FEEL LIKE THIS WAS VERY UNFAIR TO THIS CONSUMER. I HAVE PURCHASED FORDS FOR YEARS WITH NO COMPLAINTS UNTIL NOW. ALSO, THE HEADLIGHTS DEVELOPED A LEAK AND FILLED WITH WATER THUS SHORTING OUT MY RIGHT HEADLIGHT,AND IS SLOWLY DOING THE SAME TO THE LEFT ONE. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT JUST THE BURNED OUT BULBS CANNOT BE REPLACED,THAT THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY HAD TO BE REPLACED AND THIS IS AT A COST OF APPROX. $175 TO $200. PER ASSEMBLY. THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS. ALSO,THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH WHAT USED TO BE "POINTS & PLUGS" WHICH ARE NOW A "COIL" ASSEMBLY. THIS PROBLEM DEVELOPED APPROX. 6 MONTHS AGO. ACCORDING TO THE READOUTS I HAVE GOTTEN, THE #1 PLUG IS MISFIRING APPROX. EVERY 1,000 REVOLUTIONS WHICH CAUSES A MISS IN THE ENGINE AND WAS VERY ALARMING TO ME SINCE I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY ABOUT 200-250 MILES FROM HOME, TRAVELING BY MYSELF. SO, ANOTHER EXPENSE IS LOOMING. I REALIZE THERE ARE EXPENSES TO OWNING A VEHICLE. I DO NOT EXPECT TO NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS OR REPAIRS WITH MY VEHICLE,BUT I DID NOT ANTICIPATE THIS MANY. NOR DID I EXPECT THE COST OF THE REPAIR PARTS ALONE TO BE SO OUTRAGEOUS. I AM ON A FIXED INCOME AND HAD I ANTICIPATED THESE PROBLEMS I WOULDN'T & #8203; HAVE MADE THIS PURCHASE. I TRULY LOVE MY TRUCK, BUT IS THERE ANYWAY THESE OTHER REPAIRS CAN BE DONE FOR A LESSER AMT? I'VE ALREADY PD. TO REPLACE MOTOR & ROTORS IN ALL 4 WINDOWS. ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE ME WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANK YOU. [XXX] ('PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).')*JB
PASSENGER SIDE DRIVING/FOG LIGHT REFLECTOR LOOKS RUSTED/ FAST FORWARD TO JULY 9TH, 2014 THE WHOLE REFLECTOR BRACKET IS RUSTED SITTING ON THE BOTTOM OF THIS LIGHTING HOUSING. ITEM WAS REPORTED JUST AFTER WARRANTY PERIOD WAS OVER AND ITEM WAS NEVER CORRECTED WITH FORD. THIS HOUSING WAS DEFECTIVE FROM THE DAY I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE NEW. *TR
THE 2004 F150 SC HAS A FEW PROBLEMS: FIRST WAS THE WATER LEAKING FROM THE THIRD BRAKE LIGHT IN WHICH I HAD TO APPLY SILICONE AROUND THE RUBBER SEAL OF THE LIGHT...NEVER LEAKED AGAIN. SECOND ISSUE WAS FAR MORE FRUSTRATING, WHEN TRAVELING AROUND 40 TO 50 MPH WHEN DECIDING TO ACCELERATE QUICKLY THE TRUCK WOULD ACT AS IF IT WAS BEING STARVED OF FUEL. THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE IT WAS BY DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR AND RELEASING IT VERY QUICKLY. I TOOK IT TO THE WONDERFUL FORD DEALERSHIP, SARCASTIC, AND THEY TOLD ME NOTHING WAS WRONG, AND SHOP MANAGER TOLD ME IT WAS BECAUSE OF COLD AIR INTAKE... FINALLY ,AFTER CALLING FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE AND COMPLAINING THE DEALERSHIP DECIDED IT WAS MY THROTTLE BODY...NATURALLY ALL MY PROBLEMS WERE GONE. NOW, LESS THAN A YEAR LATER THE PROBLEM AROSE AGAIN AND I WILL POST THE OUTCOME ONCE KNOWN. THE THIRD INCIDENCE WAS THE FRONT BUCKET SEATS, STARTED NOTICING SHREDDED FOAM UNDER THE FRONT PART OF THE SEATS, NOT KNOWING WHAT IT COULD BE I ASSUMED IT WAS EXCESS FOAM AROUND THE SEAT STRAPS LOCATED UNDER EACH SEAT, TO MY SURPRISE A HOLE APPEARED ON THE DRIVER'S SEAT ON THE FRONT LEFT CORNER FACING THE DOOR AND AGAIN I WENT TO THE WONDERFUL DEALERSHIP AND I SHOWED THEM THERE WAS A PIECE OF METAL WITH A SHARP BARB THAT WAS SLOWLY SHREDDING THE FOAM AND WAS THE CULPRIT IN CREATING THE HOLE AND THE SHREDDED FOAM. CAUTION!!!!!! IF YOUR TRUCK HAS THIS PROBLEM BE CAREFUL!!! I WAS GETTING OUT OF THE TRUCK AND THE METAL BARB CAUGHT MY PANTS AND TORE A HUGE HOLE AND GAVE ME A PRETTY DEEP CUT ON THE INNER THIGH. NONE THE LESS THE DEALERSHIP DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I FINALLY CONVINCED THEM TO REPLACE THE SEAT WITH ME PAYING FOR THE REPLACEMENT COST...BUT, BEFORE I COULD GET THE WORK DONE THE WONDERFUL DEALERSHIP WENT OUT OF BUSINESS AND I HAVEN'T HIT-UP THE NEW OWNERS. *AK
TURN SIGNALS FAIL INTERMITTENTLY. SOMETIMES HITTING THE BRAKE PEDAL, JIGGLING TURN SIGNAL SWITCH OR PARKING, PUTTING THE VEHICLE IN "P" THEN INTO "D" WILL GET THE SIGNALS TO WORK. DEALER CANNOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM (HENCE THE INTERMITTENT), BUT THE PROBLEM IS NOT FIXED. DEALER WILL NOT REPLACE PARTS. THE PROBLEM BEGAN OCT. 2005 AND CONTINUES. THE SIGNALS WILL WORK FOR DAYS AT A TIME, THEN FAIL FOR HOURS AT A TIME. THIS IS AN ACCIDENT AND TRAFFIC CITATION WAITING TO HAPPEN. *JB
DRIVER'S SIDE TAIL LIGHT HAS WATER (MOISTURE) IN IT. *NM
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026