Ford F-150 / 1998
1998 Ford F-150 problems
Owners have filed 1,624 complaints about the 1998 Ford F-150 with NHTSA. Fuel system, gasoline accounts for 11.6% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of engine and engine cooling at 11.3%.
Complaints1,624
Crashes96
Fires107
Injuries61
Deaths1
What owners report breaking
Fuel system, gasoline 11.6% · 188
Engine and engine cooling 11.3% · 184
Tires 10.0% · 163
Structure 8.8% · 143
Suspension 8.4% · 137
Service brakes, hydraulic 7.5% · 122
Vehicle speed control 7.4% · 120
Steering 6.1% · 99
Severity
Of those complaints, 96 describe a crash, 107 describe a fire, 61 report an injury and 1 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 35 model years of the Ford F-150 in this data, 1998 sits 12th by complaint volume. 2013 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 11 in the last three years against 17 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 112,337 miles.
In owners' own words
The contact owns a 1998 Ford F-150. While driving 40 mph, the contact suddenly heard a loud noise as if something was scraping across the road. When he pulled the vehicle over, he realized that the gasoline storage tank fell and was dragging across the road. He towed the vehicle to the dealer, where it currently remains. Ford stated that nothing could be done. The current and failure mileages were 74,000. Fuel system, gasoline · reported at 74,000 miles
The straps broke off gas tank and fell to the highway leaking out 17 gal. Of gas and sparks were flying like crazy and I started to slow down and pull off to the side of road and I jumped out of truck and ran from it not knowing what would happen next......6 Weeks earlier the universal joints had been changed and all looked fine., New(not used) gas tank and straps and new gas line were all replaced ....... Fuel system, gasoline · reported at 220,000 miles
The contact owns a 1998 Ford F-150. The contact stated that one of the straps that connected to the fuel tank was missing. The contact called the manufacturer regarding the straps and the manufacturer informed the contact there were no recalls on the vehicle. The contact was concerned with the fuel tank possibly detaching from the vehicle, causing a crash or a fire. The failure mileage was 155,000. Fuel system, gasoline · reported at 155,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…
Other Ford F-150 years
1995 788 complaints · 22.2% service brakes, hydraulic 1996 383 complaints · 14.9% electrical system 1997 3,285 complaints · 17.1% engine and engine cooling 1999 1,323 complaints · 17.3% engine and engine cooling 2000 1,274 complaints · 15.4% electrical system 2001 1,451 complaints · 16.4% engine and engine cooling