How Long Do Ford F-150s Last? The Scoop on Vehicle Lifespan
We explore how long Ford F-150s last: common breakdown points, lifespan by generation, and other F-150 longevity info.
Few vehicles have been as impactful on American motoring as the Ford F-150 pickup. As part of the automaker’s venerable F-Series truck line, the F-150 has been a popular pickup since hitting Ford showrooms in 1975. Given the many of these trucks on the road, it’s reasonable to ask, “how long do Ford F-150s last?”
Last year’s sales benchmark of over 650,000 F-150s continues this pickup’s phenomenal success. According to Ford, the F-150 has been America’s best-selling truck for 46 consecutive years and the country’s most popular vehicle of any kind for 41 years. Last year, the company sold a F-Series truck once every 49 seconds.
Ford’s continuous win with the F-150 translates into a robust second-hand market for these trucks. These pickups are like ants at a summer pickup; they’re everywhere. But just because they’re plentiful doesn’t mean they’ll stay on the street forever. A used truck buyer will want to know how long do Ford F-150s last.
To answer this vital question, we’ll examine the longevity of the Ford F-150. Consumer Reports says that the average modern automobile is good for 150,000 miles. Does this also apply to the venerable Ford F-150? A close-up examination of reliability data and other findings offers keen insights.
However, we’ll break things down by generation instead of making a blanket ruling about all F-150s. And don’t worry, we’re not starting with the first F-Series truck from 1948, nor the premier F-150 from 1975. We’ll focus on more modern editions:
- 10th Generation: 1997-2003
- 11th Generation: 2004-2008
- 12th Generation: 2009-2014
- 13th Generation: 2015-2020
- 14th Generation: 2021-Current
RepairPal gives the F-150 fair grades. It gets a somewhat above-average 3.5 out of 5.0 for reliability while ranking in the middle (7th) of a field of 17 full-size trucks. Reliability is a key contributor to longevity, as undependable vehicles often find a parking place in junkyards.
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Do Ford F-150s Last Long?
Answering the “how long do Ford F-150s last” question comes from analyzing data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Consumer Reports, and carcomplaints.com. While vehicles can have all sorts of complaint-worthy problems, we concentrated on the prevalence of engine and transmission issues with the F-150. These systems are the most expensive to fix and the leading reason an F-150 gets turned into spare parts.
How Many Miles Does A Ford F-150 Last? The Breakdown
1997-2003 Lifespan: 250,000 miles
There’s something to be said about the simplicity of an older vehicle. While the 10th-generation F-150 has its share of engine-related complaints (hundreds against about 800,000 units in annual sales), it’s enough to earn a “pretty good” rating from carcomplaints.com (for several years).
What’s particularly comforting is the low number of reports about the transmission. A truck’s gearbox can get abused thanks to towing and heavy hauling, but such usage doesn’t appear to exact a toll among these F-150s.
A non-scientific look at online for-sale listings provides additional insight. Among the 582 1997-2003 Ford F-150 for sale (as of October 6, 2023), 27% had at least 200,000 miles. Still, 11% had 250,00 miles or more. That’s enough to tell us that a 250,000-mile lifespan for the 10th-gen F-150 is a reasonable achievement.
2004-2008 Lifespan: 200,000 miles
The 2004 model year marks the appearance of the 11th-generation F-150. Unfortunately, this Ford gets an “avoid like the plague” designation from carcomplaints.com. Meanwhile, the 2005-2006 editions are tagged with the unfortunate “clunker” label from the same outfit. At the same time, reliability (according to Consumer Reports) hovers between a bottom-of-the-barrel 1 (out of 5) and a mediocre 3.
In addition to numerous engine-related troubles (no vehicle is perfect, like with the previous generation), we also see a worrisome trend for transmission problems in the early years (2004-2006). “Gremlins” are nothing unusual with the first edition of an all-new model, but sometimes it takes a few years to work out the kinks. Such is the case with the 11th-generation F-150, and it’s enough to reduce the longevity of these model years.
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2009-2014 Lifespan: 150,000-200,000 miles
Longevity for the 12th-generation F-150 follows its predecessor with up to 200,000 miles, but some examples reaching that end of life closer to 150,000 miles won’t be surprising. Much of this stems from numerous engine issues reported for most model years (2009-2013), with 2010 being especially bad (it’s another clunker, according to carcomplaints.com). The 2014 F-150 does receive a “pretty good” rating, but it’s the last year of this generation.
Consumer Reports doesn’t have anything good to say, either. Every model year of this generation gets a reliability rating of 2 (out of 5). The vast majority of problems for these F-150 are engine-related. However, transmission issues do have some presence. Ford reworked the six-speed automatic to improve fuel economy. However, the improvements have proved to be problematic.
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2015-2020 Lifespan: 200,000 miles
The 13th generation marks the debut of the first aluminum-bodied F150, a weight savings that helps with fuel economy. The reduced weight also makes things less taxing on the engine and transmission (which aids longevity). That said, the 2015 Ford F-150 has a fair share of engine and transmission complaints, making the lifespan for this model year less certain.
These issues subside for the 2016-2020 model years, making these F-150 more likely to reach the 200,000-mile benchmark.
2021-Current Lifespan: 200,000 miles
How long do Ford F-150s last? Up to 200,000 miles if it’s from the latest (14th) generation. This most recent edition has gotten off to a good start with few owner reports about the engine or transmission. Yes, it may be too early to have all the answers. However, we’re encouraged with close to two million 14th-generation examples already on the road and only a few dozen engine or transmission complaints on record so far.
We’ll add one exception. Ford launched the all-electric F-150 Lightning for the 2022 model year. There’s not enough data to predict what longevity is like for this EV.
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