F Series Dashboard Light reliability data
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From: West Virginia
F Series Dashboard Light reliability data
Some of you may be familiar with the Dashboard Light.com site, which ranks vehicles based on long-term power train reliability. It's one of my go-to information sources when I'm shopping for a used vehicle. They use real-world data on defects, rather than relying on owner reports and surveys. IMHO, it's a better source for information than JD Power, Consumer Reports, etc. Of course the down side of the site is that it doesn't address anything outside the power train, but I feel like the things that make it go are the most important parts of the truck, and probably are a good indicator of overall quality.
I bought a used 2015 F-150 late last year, and since that time I've been hanging around this forum learning as much as I can about common F-150 issues. After several months of this, I thought it would be interesting to look at the Dashboard Light data again to see if it matched up with any common themes. https://www.dashboard-light.com/vehi..._F_Series.html
On average, F-series trucks since 1992 have exhibited mediocre reliability, getting beat out by the Tundra, Titan, GMC/Chevy, and Ram trucks, in that order. But the average is a mish-mash of good years and bad years, and the bad years seem to line up pretty well with problems that have gotten a lot of attention on this forum. Scroll down the page to the graphs depicting yearly defect ratio and yearly quality index. Two time periods of low reliability stand out: the 2004-2010 and 2018-19 model years. The first time period corresponds to the much-panned 5.4 Triton V8, while the second corresponds to the first years of the third generation Coyote engine and use of the 10R80 transmission across the entire model lineup. In contrast, the 99-03 and '11-16 models exhibited above-average reliability, with the 2015 even rivaling the Tundra's reliability score. So maybe I'm breathing a little easier about having bought a used '15, ha ha.
Another thing to point out is that even in the bad years, the problems don't affect every truck, or even a majority of the trucks. Even in the worst year (2004), the defect ratio is about 28%. That's pretty bad, but it doesn't mean your 2004 truck is destined to have every problem that gets a lot of attention on the forum. That's something that those of us who get paranoid from reading about all these problems should keep in mind. Don't let that stuff keep you from driving your truck and living your life.
I bought a used 2015 F-150 late last year, and since that time I've been hanging around this forum learning as much as I can about common F-150 issues. After several months of this, I thought it would be interesting to look at the Dashboard Light data again to see if it matched up with any common themes. https://www.dashboard-light.com/vehi..._F_Series.html
On average, F-series trucks since 1992 have exhibited mediocre reliability, getting beat out by the Tundra, Titan, GMC/Chevy, and Ram trucks, in that order. But the average is a mish-mash of good years and bad years, and the bad years seem to line up pretty well with problems that have gotten a lot of attention on this forum. Scroll down the page to the graphs depicting yearly defect ratio and yearly quality index. Two time periods of low reliability stand out: the 2004-2010 and 2018-19 model years. The first time period corresponds to the much-panned 5.4 Triton V8, while the second corresponds to the first years of the third generation Coyote engine and use of the 10R80 transmission across the entire model lineup. In contrast, the 99-03 and '11-16 models exhibited above-average reliability, with the 2015 even rivaling the Tundra's reliability score. So maybe I'm breathing a little easier about having bought a used '15, ha ha.
Another thing to point out is that even in the bad years, the problems don't affect every truck, or even a majority of the trucks. Even in the worst year (2004), the defect ratio is about 28%. That's pretty bad, but it doesn't mean your 2004 truck is destined to have every problem that gets a lot of attention on the forum. That's something that those of us who get paranoid from reading about all these problems should keep in mind. Don't let that stuff keep you from driving your truck and living your life.