Reliable Auto DB

2015 Ford Flex reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 108 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Ford Flex over 12 years — 7 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Flex years here — over the median of the other years, which is 4. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Camera, Rear, and Fuel pump.

2011 Ford Flex Limited
Photo by IFCAR, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons Public domain
Complaints

108

Per year

7

Recalls

4

Years on the road

12

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Back-over prevention (27 of 108), then Steering (19) and Fuel and propulsion system (18). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 54,623 miles, and the middle half falls between 22,988 and 88,500 miles. Those filings include 2 that report a fire and 1 that reports an injury.

Next to 2014 and 2016

The 2014 Flex has 249 complaints, 10 per year, and the 2016 has 98 complaints, 3 per year. The 2015 has fewer complaints per year than the 2014. The 2015 has more complaints per year than the 2016.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2015 Ford Flex. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (4)

Recall back-over prevention, sensing system, camera 2025-10-13 · NHTSA campaign 25V695000
Summary 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.
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.
Vehicles affected 1,448,655
Recall suspension, rear 2020-02-10 · NHTSA campaign 20V072000
Summary 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.
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.
Vehicles affected 211,207
Recall Fuel pump 2016-08-25 · NHTSA campaign 16V621000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI Ecoboost engines and 2013-2015 Ford Taurus Police Interceptor vehicles. A component within the fuel pump electric module (PEM) may overheat causing a loss of electrical power to the fuel pump.
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the fuel PEM part number and replace the fuel PEM, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 1, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S31.
Vehicles affected 77,502
Recall Parking brake 2015-07-24 · NHTSA campaign 15V464000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2015 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, and Lincoln MKS vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to May 23, 2015, Lincoln MKT vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to May 21, 2015, and 2015-2016 Ford Explorer vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to May 23, 2015. The affected vehicles have a parking brake that may not fully engage when applied. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."
Remedy Ford will notify owners, and dealers will test the operation of the parking brake system, and if necessary, replace the parking brake control assembly, free of charge. The recall began on September 4, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15C07.
Vehicles affected 7,165

NHTSA's count is every vehicle in that campaign. A campaign can cover other model years and other models.

Complaints by component (108 total)

Back-over prevention
27
Steering
19
Fuel and propulsion system
18
Electrical system
13
Engine
11
Powertrain
11
Suspension
7
Speed control
2
Visibility and wipers
2
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
Seat belts
1
Seats
1
Structure
1
Show 5 more Show less
Crash-flagged

0

Fire-flagged

2

Injury reports

1

Death reports

0

Of the 68 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 54,623 miles. The middle half fall between 22,988 and 88,500 miles.

Complaints filed per year

12015112016102017820188201910202092021420223202332024182025232026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The contact owns a 2015 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in reverse, the rear-view camera displayed a blank screen with the message “Camera Unavailable” displayed. The contact received…"
    Back-over prevention · filed 2026-09-18
  • "The contact owns a 2015 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while reversing, the message “See Dealer Soon” was displayed, the rear-view camera independently turned off, and the screen was blank. The dealer was made aware…"
    Back-over prevention · filed 2026-09-16
  • "The contact owns a 2015 Ford Flex. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that…"
    Back-over prevention · filed 2026-09-14
  • "The contact owns a 2015 Ford Flex. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V695000 (Back Over Prevention). The contact stated that while in reverse(R) on several occasions, the rear-view camera…"
    Back-over prevention · filed 2026-08-26
  • "UNKNOWN The rear camera (when available) is UPSIDE DOWN! At night, the image also has wide lines running through it. Sometime, the camera just shows a message that it is unavailable. So FRUSTRATING!"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-08-25

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2015 Ford Flex SUV AWD Not rated Not rated Not rated 4 stars
2015 Ford Flex SUV FWD Not rated Not rated Not rated 4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Flex all-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (6-speed) All-wheel drive 17 23 19 MPG $3400
Flex all-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (6-speed) All-wheel drive 16 22 18 MPG $3600
Flex front-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 18 25 20 MPG $3250

Specs and fitment

1st generation, 2009–2019
Body styles SUV
Oil 5W-20 (3.5L V6); 5W-30 (3.5L V6 EcoBoost) , 6 qt capacity
Tire size 235/60R17 (SE) to 255/45R20 (Limited EcoBoost)
Towing capacity 4,500 lbs

Known issues for this generation

2011-2013 Flex crossovers built between September 2010 and February 2012 are covered by Ford's 2015 recall of the electric power-assist steering (EPAS) system (NHTSA campaign 15V-340, Ford reference 15S18); for the 2011 and 2012 model years only vehicles with the 3.5L GTDI engine are affected. An intermittent electrical connection inside the steering gear motor, caused by conformal coat contamination and ribbon cable pin misalignment, can cause loss of the motor position sensor signal and loss of power steering assist. The mechanical linkage between the steering wheel and the road is maintained at all times and the system defaults to manual steering, but steering effort rises, especially at lower speeds; drivers are alerted by an audible chime and a power steering assist fault message in the instrument cluster. Ford's no-charge remedy checked the Power Steering Control Module for diagnostic trouble codes, updating the module software if none were present and replacing the steering gear if they were.

Compare

Previous year 2014 Ford Flex Next year 2016 Ford Flex See every Ford Flex model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2015 Ford Flex reliable?

Owners have filed 108 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Ford Flex over 12 years — 7 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Flex years here — over the median of the other years, which is 4. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Camera, Rear, and Fuel pump.

What are common problems with a 2015 Ford Flex?

The complaints owners file most often name Back-over prevention (27 of 108), then Steering (19) and Fuel and propulsion system (18). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 54,623 miles, and the middle half falls between 22,988 and 88,500 miles. Those filings include 2 that report a fire and 1 that reports an injury.

Is the 2015 Ford Flex more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2014 Flex has 249 complaints, 10 per year, and the 2016 has 98 complaints, 3 per year. The 2015 has fewer complaints per year than the 2014. The 2015 has more complaints per year than the 2016.

Has the 2015 Ford Flex been recalled?

The 2015 Ford Flex has 4 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2015 Ford Flex?

Owners have filed 108 complaints about the 2015 Ford Flex with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2015 Ford Flex get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2015 Ford Flex is 19 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the 2016 Ford Flex?

1st generation (2009-2019); the Flex was never redesigned into a 2nd generation.

How much can a Ford Flex tow?

Up to 4,500 lbs with the factory Class III Trailer Tow Package per Ford's official towing guide, on both the base 3.5L V6 and the 3.5L EcoBoost engine.