2018 Ford Flex problems, complaints & recalls

2018 Ford Flex recalls (3)

• Recall 25V732000Oct 24, 202592,347 vehicles
  STRUCTURE:BODY

  Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Flex vehicles. The driver and front passenger B-Pillar door trim may detach while driving.

  Risk: Door trim that detaches while driving can create a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Dealers will repair or replace the B-pillar trim as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed December 17, 2025. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated March 2027. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SB8. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 28, 2025.

• Recall 25V695000Oct 13, 20251,448,655 vehicles
  BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA

  Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, intermittent, or blank image when the vehicle is in reverse.

  Risk: A rearview camera that fails to properly display an image can reduce the driver’s view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model and model years. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on October 25, 2025. Additional letters will be mailed once the final remedy is available on each phase. Mustang owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA9. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 14, 2025.

• Recall 20V072000Feb 10, 2020211,207 vehicles
  SUSPENSION:REAR

  Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Lincoln MKT and Ford Flex and Taurus vehicles with the Police Interceptor or SHO Performance Pack. The rear suspension toe links may fracture due to stress on the rear suspension.

  Risk: A fractured rear toe link will cause a sudden change in vehicle handling and increase the risk of a crash.

  Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links, free of charge. Remedy parts are not currently available. Owners were notified about the recall on March 3, 2020. A second notice will be mailed when remedy parts become available, which is currently expected to be the end of September 2020. The recall began October 28, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 or Lincoln customer service at 1-800-521-4140. Ford's number for this recall is 20S04.

NHTSA defect investigations

• PE25007Opened Aug 7, 2025Closed Aug 5, 2026led to recall 25V732

  B-Pillar Trim Detachment

  On August 7, 2025, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE25007 to investigate instances of B-pillar trim detachment in model year (MY) 2019 Ford Flex vehicles manufactured by Ford Motor Company. During the investigation, MY 2011-2018 Ford Flex vehicles were analyzed as peer vehicles, and subsequently incorporated into the subject population because they use B-pillar trim pieces that are substantially similar to those used on the MY 2019 Ford Flex vehicles. In July 2025, prior to the opening of PE25007, ODI and Ford met to discuss B-pillar trim detachment in Ford Flex vehicles. For…

Recent 2018 Ford Flex complaints

Excerpts of the newest owner complaints, lightly cleaned of personal details. Complaints are unverified owner reports.

1. Filed Sep 18, 2026AZElectrical SystemOther / Unknown

   I own a 2018 Ford Flex, VIN [VIN removed], with two open safety recalls Ford cannot repair: 25SA9 (rear view camera, NHTSA 25V695) and 25SB8 (B-pillar trim, NHTSA 25V829). My rear view camera has been completely inoperative for two years — it has not worked at all since mid-2024. On 7/12/2024 a Ford dealer verified the failure (repair order 568991), over a year before Ford issued recall 25SA9 in 10/2025. On 9/10/2026 Ford left me a voicemail stating there are no updates for…

   NHTSA complaint #11765293 · source
2. Filed Sep 4, 2026AZOther / Unknown

   There's been a recall for the rear backup camera since October of last year. Although there hasn't been any particular incidents, there's been some close calls because the fix is still not available. Any help would be appreciated

   NHTSA complaint #11762278 · source
3. Filed Sep 4, 2026103,000 miTXDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   The contact owns a 2018 Ford Flex. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a black image. The vehicle was taken to two dealers, but the vehicle was not repaired due to parts not being available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the…

   NHTSA complaint #11762143 · source
4. Filed Aug 27, 2026150,000 miAZBody & StructureDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   The contact owns a 2018 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse, the rearview camera became inoperable. The contact stated that the rearview camera image would appear blank and other times the camera not available warning message would display. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 25V829000 (Structure) and 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was not…

   NHTSA complaint #11760123 · source
5. Filed May 31, 2026CADriver Assistance & Safety TechElectrical SystemOther / Unknown

   Recall has not been remedied, and it has been over six months.I was told it would be remedied by june or ford would be held accountable for compensating for repairs on the.Recall. #25SA9/25v695 The recall addresses the camera for backing up witch is still not functioning in a safety risk.

   NHTSA complaint #11741171 · source
6. Filed May 28, 2026KYBrakesSuspension

   Wile driving 40 mph, the right rear tire locked up and I had to counter steer aggressively to avoid spinning out and hitting oncoming traffic. The car was flat bed delivered to Ford and they recommended the following repairs. "Control Arm- Rear: rear suspension lateral links. The rear upper and lower control arms not only provide suspension travel but also secure the rear end to the vehicle." "*Tires - 4: passenger rear inner sidewall damaged."

   NHTSA complaint #11740622 · source
7. Filed May 27, 2026NVEngine

   An antifreeze leak is very hard to locate because Ford’s design placed the water pump INside the engine rather than on the OUTside, which would be more the norm. If antifreeze leaks enough, it gets into the oil and the entire engine stands to be destroyed. Our heater quit blowing warm air recently and after intently searching we discovered that we had an antifreeze leak inside of our engine, and antifreeze was slowly leaking out through a weephole in the engine. The water…

   NHTSA complaint #11740471 · source
8. Filed May 18, 202660,000 miNCBody & Structure

   The contact owns a 2018 Ford Flex. The contact received a notification of NHTSA Campaign: 25V732000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver-side B-pillar trim with the Security Key pad had detached and almost struck nearby vehicles. The contact stated that she managed to pull over on the shoulder of the road; however, the vehicle independently locked, leaving…

   NHTSA complaint #11738522 · source

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data, as of Oct 10, 2026. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology