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2 critical safety recalls on file — the kind NHTSA opens when crashes, fires, or injuries are documented. 491 owner complaints alongside. Read those first.
Below average for the segment. Multiple systems have recurring complaints.
The data says walk unless this exact vehicle has documented proof the engine was repaired or replaced.
Our read of the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record for this exact year and model — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection. How we score.
The 2007 F-150 is the year everybody figured out the 5.4L Triton 3-valve was a problem, not a feature. Two specific issues define this truck: the spark plugs and the cam phasers.
Ford specified a two-piece spark plug design on the 5.4 Triton 3V (and the 6.8 V10, and the 4.6 3V) where the upper electrode body screws into the head and the lower extension reaches down to the combustion chamber. Carbon builds up around the lower extension over miles. When you go to remove the plug, the lower extension stays seized in the head while the upper unscrews and snaps off in your hand.
Now you have a spark plug fragment broken off in a cylinder head. Removal requires a Lisle 65600 plug extractor kit or a similar specialty tool, with the engine cold, careful broaching of the seized portion, and sometimes pulling the head when it goes wrong. A shop ticket for plug replacement on a 2007 5.4 runs $400-800 per side when nothing breaks. When plugs break off (which is most of the time past 60k miles), add $150-300 per stuck plug, more if it goes badly.
There’s a Ford TSB on the procedure (07-21-2 and follow-ons) but no recall. Owners learned to soak the plugs with penetrating oil for days before attempting removal.
The 3-valve heads use variable cam timing on the intake side via cam phasers. The phasers run off oil pressure through small actuator solenoids. As oil age and contamination accumulate, the phasers tick at idle on cold start — that’s the “Triton tick” you’ll hear in any parking lot full of these trucks. Untreated, the phasers stretch the timing chain guides, eventually jump timing, and you’re into a $3,000-4,500 timing job (chains, phasers, guides, tensioners — the whole front end).
The fix is preventive: change oil on time (5,000 miles, not 10,000), use the correct viscosity, and replace the phasers + chain set as a unit when the tick gets pronounced. Don’t wait for the truck to drop a chain on the highway.
The 4R75E or 6R80 (depending on the configuration in 2007) is fine. The chassis is fine. Frames don’t rot the way the older trucks did. Interior aged OK. The rest of the truck would go 300,000 miles if it weren’t for the engine.
Buy a 2007 F-150 only with documented plug service and cam phaser work — meaning either it’s been done already (with paperwork) or the price reflects that you’ll need to do it. Walk on a truck with 100k+ miles, original plugs, and a tick at idle. You’re walking into a several-thousand-dollar repair.
If the work has been done: the rest of the truck is durable. If you’re already in: run the warranty math — the 5.4 Triton 3V is the canonical case where the math leans hard toward coverage if the engine work hasn’t been completed.
The fram is eat up on my truck and Ford wont fix it at alli call and they keep giving me the run around I think that the truck will break into and cause a serious wreck because of it
Pickup would not stop at stop sign with the brake on. The rear wheels were spinning with the brakes on firmly. This has now happened twice and both times I threw the transmission into neutral to stop the malfunction.. *tr
Engine was replaced in 2011 under warranty at 51,864 miles. Now at 105,662 this engine is doing the same thing. There is defiantly a problem with the engines. Ford needs to recognize and acknowledge and fix this issue with their product. If your engine does not work correctly,…
Started to accelerate out of a parking lot and heard a loud thumping so I pulled over got out looked at the driveshaft seen it had slid back. A bit out of the transmission also out of the carrier bearing. *tr
Drag to your current mileage. Numbers are derived from this vehicle's complaint history.
The purpose of this standard is to reduce traffic crashes and deaths and injuries by providing adequate illumination of the roadway.
The purpose of this standard is to reduce traffic crashes and deaths and injuries by providing adequate illumination of the roadway.
If the trailer lights are not working properly, a vehicle crash can occur.
It's got known weak points. With a reliability score of 5.2 out of 10 based on 491 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2007 Ford F-150 has a higher-than-average rate of reported issues. The areas to watch are listed above. Whether it's worth owning depends on price, condition, and how much repair exposure you can absorb.
On the NHTSA data, the 2007 Ford F-150 is one to avoid unless a specific vehicle proves otherwise. The data says walk unless this exact vehicle has documented proof the engine was repaired or replaced. The record behind that call: 5 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the engine; Powertrain: 52 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 32,000–120,000 mi; Reliability score 5.2/10 — around the segment average; 5 recall campaigns on file. This is our read of the federal complaint and recall data — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection.
Based on NHTSA records, the most-reported issue is engine, with 120 complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 94,232 miles. Average repair cost runs about $3,100 at an independent shop.
The engine is one of the costlier repair items. Average repair cost runs about $3,100 at an independent shop. Typical failure occurs around 94,232 miles. Catching early warning signs can sometimes extend life by 20–30,000 miles.
Paste your VIN into the decoder at the top of this page. We pull live from NHTSA, so you'll see exactly which campaigns apply to your vehicle and whether the dealer has logged the fix. Recall repairs are always free regardless of mileage or warranty status.
Math is straightforward: a quality service contract runs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years. With 491 complaints on file and the costliest repair averaging $3,100, one major failure more than pays for it. The catch is reading the contract — many providers exclude wear items and require pre-authorization, so cheaper plans are not always better value.