The short list
Where the money goes wrong — and where it doesn’t.
✕ Years to avoid
The loudest year by a mile — death wobble. 1,151 complaints, more than quadruple any other year here, and the front end is the reason: this is the year the death-wobble filings pile up. The mechanism is a solid front axle plus play somewhere in the steering — most often the track bar — so that hitting an expansion joint above about 45–55 mph sets off a violent, self-sustaining shake. Ford's response was a service bulletin (18-2268) that grew into a customer satisfaction program replacing the steering linkage damper on 2017–2019 four-wheel-drive trucks. Understand what that is: a program, not a safety recall, and mechanics say the damper buys a month or two before the wobble returns if the underlying track bar or ball joints are worn. This year also has a genuine recall worth confirming — 18V802, a 2019-only campaign where an incorrect transmission case casting may leave the park pawl unsecured, so the truck can move when you think it's parked. Inspect the front end harder here than on any other year.
The aluminum redesign's launch year. The first year of the new aluminum-body generation, and it carries the heaviest recall sheet in the range — fifteen campaigns, including fuel-system fire-shield work, door latches that can freeze, and rollaway-related items. That's the classic redesign-year signature: lots of individually free fixes, but a lot of homework, and a truck whose bugs were still being found. This is also where the death-wobble program window opens (2017–2019 four-wheel drive), so the front-end inspection applies from here on. Our complaint count for 2017 is the one number on this page we're still re-verifying — NHTSA's data feed returned a bad response for this specific year — so we've written the year from its recall record and the mechanic sources rather than leaning on a count we can't stand behind.
✓ Years to hunt for
The most-sorted aluminum truck. 116 complaints, the smallest file in the range — the last year of the aluminum generation before the refresh, with the redesign's teething long since resolved. The recall homework is ordinary and free (trailer-brake and airbag-cover campaigns). The diesel's CP4 pump remains the thing to diligence: this is the last year in the scope of recall 24V957, so confirm it was performed, and get the fuel-system service history. A one-time diesel particulate filter replacement program (22N05) also covers 2022 diesels if a dealer evaluation calls for it. Front end still deserves the same check — the axle design didn't change.
Quiet, and past the redesign. 158 complaints. By now the aluminum truck is mature: the file is small and the items are the standard Super Duty punch list rather than launch bugs. Diesel homework is the story — a fuel-filter recall (22V013), the CP4-related campaign (24V957), and a steering-column recall — all free, all worth confirming by VIN. The death-wobble program window (2017–2019) has closed by this year, but the solid front axle hasn't changed, so inspect the track bar, ball joints and tie rods for play regardless. If you want the aluminum generation without the redesign's bugs or the newest truck's teething, 2021 and 2022 are the window.
The last old-body truck — known quantity. 285 complaints and only four recalls, the shortest list here. This is the final year of the previous body style, which means the design is fully sorted — but it's also the oldest truck on this page, so it's a condition buy, not a year buy. The two signature risks still apply in full: the 6.7-liter diesel's CP4 fuel pump (mechanics quote around $10,000 when it lets go, because the metal it makes contaminates the whole high-pressure system) and the solid front axle's death wobble. The gas alternative here is the 6.2-liter V8, which a Ford technician rates poorly and which carries a roughly $3,500 misfire job when the coils and plugs go. Buy on maintenance records and a front-end inspection.
Same year. Different engine.
One badge, several engines — the year’s verdict assumes the riskiest one. Yours might be the calm one.
Which engine is in the one you found?
Where the years split by engine — the diesel carries the expensive risk, the gas V8s carry their own quirksThe engine most Super Duty buyers want — and the CP4 fuel pump. The 6.7-liter Power Stroke is offered every year in this range, and it carries the truck's single most expensive risk: the Bosch CP4.2 high-pressure fuel pump. When it fails it 'makes metal' internally, and that debris contaminates the entire high-pressure fuel system — pump, injectors, high-pressure and return lines, the fuel conditioning module, the separator. You cannot just replace the pump or flush it. Mechanics quote the full job at around $10,000 (their figure, not Ford's). The triggers are contaminated or dirty fuel, poor maintenance, and misfuelling — putting gasoline or DEF in the tank is a fast route to a destroyed pump. Ford has acknowledged a related failure mode: recall 24V957 (2020–2022 trucks, with a re-repair campaign 26V158) addresses biodiesel deposits with a software remedy. There are other diesel-specific items worth knowing: a torque-converter recall (20V365), a park-washer rollaway recall (22V256), a diesel particulate filter program (22N05) on 2022 trucks, and a documented oil-leak bulletin traced to a clogged crankcase vent separator. Get the fuel-system and maintenance history in writing before you buy any of these.
The old gas engine, 2016–2019. The 6.2-liter gas V8 was the base engine through 2019. It doesn't have a catastrophic failure pattern, but it isn't loved: a Ford technician rates it two out of ten and advises buying up to the diesel or waiting for the later 7.3 if the budget allows. The concrete cost item is the ignition job — eight coils and sixteen spark plugs — which mechanics quote at around $3,500 when it comes due, plus intake manifold runner problems and the occasional broken valve spring. It's a durable-enough engine doing hard work; just price the maintenance realistically and don't expect diesel torque or diesel resale.
The big pushrod gas V8, 2020+. For 2020 Ford replaced the 6.2 with the 7.3-liter Godzilla, a big-displacement pushrod V8 with no turbo and no variable valve timing — simple, strong and cheap to run for towing, and a clear upgrade on the engine it replaced. Its known weaknesses are specific rather than systemic: spark plugs can seize in the aluminum heads, turning a routine service into thread repair or even head work, and oil leaks are commonly reported. On 2023 trucks, owners have filed complaints describing an engine tick with metal in the oil, traced to camshaft and lifter wear from the variable-displacement oil pump under-lubricating at idle. Those owners cite Ford program codes for a fix, but we could not verify those programs in Ford's own communications — so we're reporting the symptom, which the federal complaints do corroborate, and not quoting coverage terms we can't stand behind. Listen for a tick at idle and have the oil inspected.
The split is partial by design — we draw an engine row only where a Ford campaign, a mechanic source, or a complaint cluster names that engine. The truck's other signature problem, death wobble, is deliberately not on this list: it's a chassis issue on four-wheel-drive trucks with the solid front axle, and it applies regardless of which engine is under the hood. The VIN encodes your engine and which campaigns apply — paste it and we'll tell you which row is yours.
Decode my VIN — freeEvery year, rated
Each verdict links to the full report: known issues with real repair costs, open recalls, and the print-and-go inspection checklist.
The last old-generation year — a known quantity if the diesel and front end check out.
285 complaints · 4 recalls
Full report →The aluminum-redesign launch year — the most recall-heavy Super Duty, and a check-everything buy.
380 complaints · 15 recalls
Full report →Second year of the aluminum generation — steadier than 2017, same diesel and front-end homework.
382 complaints · 10 recalls
Full report →The loudest Super Duty year — and death wobble is why. Inspect the front end hardest here.
1,151 complaints · 12 recalls
Full report →The 7.3 Godzilla arrives — a strong gas year, but the diesel's recall sheet is the longest yet.
253 complaints · 15 recalls
Full report →A quieter, more-sorted year of the aluminum generation — verify the diesel and steering recalls.
158 complaints · 13 recalls
Full report →The lowest-complaint Super Duty year — the final, most-sorted year of the aluminum generation.
116 complaints · 17 recalls
Full report →The new-generation refresh — impressive on paper, but a first-year truck with early-build recalls.
43 complaints · 15 recalls
Full report →Have you spent $10,000 recently? If so, chances are you own a Ford 6.7 Power Stroke with a CP4 high-pressure fuel pump.
Shopping F-250 Super Duty years? We’ll watch them for you.
New recalls, federal investigations, and quiet warranty-extension programs land months after you buy. Tell the canary which years you’re considering — it sings when something changes.
Watch my years — free