1997 Ford F-250 Recalls, Complaints & Specs

10 safety recalls list the 1997 Ford F-250, and owners have filed 304 complaints with NHTSA. Check your own VIN below.

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10 safety recalls for the 1997 Ford F-250

Most recent first. Recall repairs are free at any authorised dealer. Click a recall for the full defect, consequence and remedy text.

1. Mounting (fuel system)

   NHTSA 11V385000 Reported July 29, 2011 1,100,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Ford is recalling certain 1997 through 2003 model year ford f-150, 2004 model year ford f-150 heritage, 1997 through 1999 model year f-250 less than 8,500 lbs. Gross vehicle weight rating (gvwr), and 2002 and 2003 lincoln blackwood vehicles manufactured from june 20, 1995, through august 4, 2004, originally sold, or currently registered…

   Remedy: Ford will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicles to a ford or lincoln dealer to have the fuel tank straps replaced with straps that have increased corrosion protection. Early in this campaign, if…

2. Vehicle speed control

   NHTSA 06V286000 Reported August 1, 2006 1,200,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   On certain trucks equipped with speed control, gasoline or natural gas engines, the speed control deactivation switch may overheat.

   Remedy: Dealers will install a fused wiring harness into the speed control system free of charge. The recall began on august 7, 2006. Owners may contact ford at 1-866-436-7332. (note: also see recalls 05v017 and 05v388)

3. Vehicle speed control

   NHTSA 05V388000 Reported September 7, 2005 4,500,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   On certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles equipped with speed control, the speed control deactivation switch may overheat, smoke, or burn.

   Remedy: By letter dated september 12, 2005, owners were instructed to return their vehicles to their dealers to have the speed control deactivation switch disconnected. Owners who have had their speed control deactivated are…

4. Shaft sector (steering)

   NHTSA 03V196000 Reported May 27, 2003 171,446 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   On certain pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, if the intermediate shaft yoke separates from the steering gear input shaft, the steering system becomes disconnected.

   Remedy: Dealers will inspect the steering intermediate shaft yoke to determine if the yoke is fully seated on the steering gear input shaft. If the yoke is fully seated no service is required. If the yoke is not fully seated…

5. Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings (fuel system)

   NHTSA 00V231000 Reported August 17, 2000 670,509 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks manufactured at the kansas city or norfolk assembly plants. The front fuel line assembly could have a hole rubbed through in one of two locations. The first location is below the fuel rail connection where the flexible hose is crimped to the steel tube. The bracket that attaches the front…

   Remedy: Dealers will inspect these lines and replace the front fuel line assembly if necessary. Owner notification began october 27, 2000. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date…

6. Lugs/nuts/bolts/studs (wheels)

   NHTSA 98V095000 Reported May 13, 1998 1,520,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Vehicle description: multi-purpose vehicles and light duty pickup trucks. The lug nuts on these vehicles may not create sufficient clamp load allowing wheel movement in relation to the hub/rotor mounting surface.

   Remedy: Owners of these vehicles will be receiving two notifications. The first notification, which began in may 1998, will provide an interim repair procedure until parts become available. This interim procedure can be…

7. Bead (tires)

   NHTSA 97V187000 Reported October 29, 1997 31,600 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks and chassis. The tires on these vehicles were damaged during mounting onto the wheels. Only trucks produced at the cuautitlan, mexico plant between september 1, 1996, and july 17, 1997, were affected by the defect.

   Remedy: Due to the age of the vehicles and this recall affecting original equipment tires only, ford will no longer accept claims for this campaign.

8. Gear position indication (prndl) (power train)

   NHTSA 97V171000 Reported October 7, 1997 866,000 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   Vehicle description: light duty pickup trucks and multi-purpose passenger vehicles. If the automatic transmission shift cable assembly was not fully attached to the steering column bracket, the shift cable assembly can come out of the bracket. The vehicle operator would then not be able to shift the transmission from one of the drive…

   Remedy: Dealers will make the proper attachment of the transmission shift control cable to the steering column bracket and add a tie strap to that connection.

9. Master cylinder (service brakes)

   NHTSA 96V184000 Reported September 25, 1996 1,200 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

   The retainer clip that holds the master cylinder push rod to the brake pedal arm is missing.

   Remedy: Dealers will inspect to verify that the retainer clips are installed and if clips are missing will install clips.

10. Labels (equipment)

    NHTSA 96V161000 Reported August 29, 1996 134,770 vehicles potentially affected FORD MOTOR COMPANY

    The certification labels on the involved vehicles has incorrect rear tire inflation pressure designations. This does not comply with FMVSS no. 120, "tire selection and rims for motor vehicles other than passenger cars."

    Remedy: Owners will be provided with correct certification labels and instructions for installing these labels. Dealers can install this label if the owner so desires.

304 owner complaints filed with NHTSA

Owners of the 1997 Ford F-250 have filed 304 complaints with NHTSA; 20 describe a crash and 19 describe a fire. Reports cite 12 injuries and 0 deaths. The average mileage at failure in those reports is 122,594 miles. Complaints peaked in 2000 with 56 filed that year.

Most-reported components

• Tires24
• Power train: automatic transmission19
• Tires: tread/belt18
• Fuel system, gasoline14
• Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip12
• Suspension: front12
• Vehicle speed control12
• Unknown or other10

What owners are reporting

“The contact owns a 1997 Ford F-250. The contact stated that the fuel strap failed and there was a hole in the fuel tank. The contact stated that there was fuel leaking from the vehicle. There were no”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, August 26, 2024 · Fuel system, gasoline

“Tire blow out on freeway california i-5 at 210 interchange bfgoodrich lt235/85 r16 ltr m+s 1655 miles on the tires installed 05-20-2019 of last year”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, March 8, 2020 · Wheels

Fuel economy and specs

EPA ratings for the 1997 Ford F250 (F250 Pickup 2WD, F250 Pickup 4WD). Ranges cover every tested configuration.

Compare Ford F-250 model years

Recall and complaint counts for every Ford F-250 model year in NHTSA's database.

Checking a specific 1997 Ford F-250

Other Ford models

• F-15037,961 complaints
• Explorer34,566 complaints
• Escape27,430 complaints
• Fusion22,405 complaints
• Focus22,096 complaints
• Taurus18,159 complaints
• Windstar14,158 complaints
• Edge14,065 complaints

Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.