2013 Ford Flex problems
Owners have filed 777 complaints about the 2013 Ford Flex with NHTSA. Electrical system accounts for 25.7% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of steering at 19.3%.
Complaints777
Crashes20
Fires1
Injuries23
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Electrical system 25.7% · 200
Steering 19.3% · 150
Unknown or other 10.0% · 78
Structure 9.0% · 70
Fuel/propulsion system 7.6% · 59
Exterior lighting 4.6% · 36
Engine 4.1% · 32
Electronic stability control (ESC) 3.1% · 24
Severity
Of those complaints, 20 describe a crash, 1 describe a fire and 23 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 8 model years of the Ford Flex in this data, 2013 draws the most complaints of any of them.
Filings have fallen off, 62 in the last three years against 92 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 62,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Driver's side door is fully closed yet the "door ajar" warning light comes on and remains on. This warning light will thus turn on the interior lights. We need to open and close the door approximately (7) times on average before the warning light and the interior lights recognize the door is closed, then the warning and lights turn off. This type of incident has occurred while in park and while driving. Electrical system · reported at 43,000 miles
The door ajar warning comes on even when the doors are closed. With this happening the overhead lights stay on an alarm sounds and tells you to shift to park when you stop the doors don't lock because it thinks the doors are open and the alarm goes off whenever the car senses the doors are ajar when shut off and the lights don't turn off all night long because it thinks the doors are open. Electrical system · reported at 29,763 miles
Recurring problem with the door switches. The switches fail, telling the car that a door is open, causing the dome lights to remain on while driving. This is a major safety concern at night as it is difficult to see with interior lights on. This also causes a constant drain on the battery when the car is parked as the sensor indicates the door is open, causing the lights to remain on. Electrical system · reported at 138,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…