Reliable Auto DB

2018 Ford Flex reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 66 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Ford Flex over 9 years — 4 per year. The other Flex years sit at about the same rate: their median is 4 complaints per year. NHTSA has 3 recalls on file, including Structure, body, Camera, and Rear.

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

66

Per year

4

Recalls

3

Years on the road

9

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Structure (18 of 66), then Back-over prevention (14) and Electrical system (12). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 58,500 miles, and the middle half falls between 36,398 and 75,797 miles. Those filings include 7 that report a crash and 1 that reports an injury.

Next to 2017 and 2019

The 2017 Flex has 42 complaints, 1 per year, and the 2019 has 248 complaints, 2 per year. The 2018 has more complaints per year than the 2017. The 2018 has more complaints per year than the 2019.

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 2018 Ford Flex. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (3)

Recall structure, body 2025-10-24 · NHTSA campaign 25V732000
Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Flex vehicles. The driver and front passenger B-Pillar door trim may detach while driving.
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.
Vehicles affected 92,347
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

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

Complaints by component (66 total)

Structure
18
Back-over prevention
14
Electrical system
12
Suspension
9
Air bags
2
Fuel and propulsion system
2
Lane departure
2
Powertrain
2
Service brakes
2
Steering
2
Wheels
2
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
Engine
1
Show 5 more Show less
Crash-flagged

7

Fire-flagged

0

Injury reports

1

Death reports

0

Of the 30 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 58,500 miles. The middle half fall between 36,398 and 75,797 miles.

Complaints filed per year

42018220197202032021320221202342024182025242026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "I own a 2018 Ford Flex, VIN 2FMGK5D8XJBA07166, 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…"
    Electrical system, Unknown or other · filed 2026-09-18
  • "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…"
    Back-over prevention · filed 2026-09-04
  • "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…"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-09-04
  • "Rear passenger door fails to latch properly. The door falls open on left turn.Warnings are unclear or non-existant"
    Unknown or other · filed 2026-09-01
  • "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…"
    Structure, Back-over prevention · filed 2026-08-27

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2018 Ford Flex SUV AWD Not rated Not rated Not rated 4 stars
2018 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 16 22 18 MPG $3600
Flex all-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (6-speed) All-wheel drive 15 21 17 MPG $3800
Flex front-wheel drive 3.5L, 6-cyl Automatic (6-speed) Front-wheel drive 16 23 19 MPG $3400

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 2017 Ford Flex Next year 2019 Ford Flex See every Ford Flex model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2018 Ford Flex reliable?

Owners have filed 66 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Ford Flex over 9 years — 4 per year. The other Flex years sit at about the same rate: their median is 4 complaints per year. NHTSA has 3 recalls on file, including Structure, body, Camera, and Rear.

What are common problems with a 2018 Ford Flex?

The complaints owners file most often name Structure (18 of 66), then Back-over prevention (14) and Electrical system (12). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 58,500 miles, and the middle half falls between 36,398 and 75,797 miles. Those filings include 7 that report a crash and 1 that reports an injury.

Is the 2018 Ford Flex more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2017 Flex has 42 complaints, 1 per year, and the 2019 has 248 complaints, 2 per year. The 2018 has more complaints per year than the 2017. The 2018 has more complaints per year than the 2019.

Has the 2018 Ford Flex been recalled?

The 2018 Ford Flex has 3 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 2018 Ford Flex?

Owners have filed 66 complaints about the 2018 Ford Flex with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2018 Ford Flex get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2018 Ford Flex is 18 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.