Ford Flex: which model years to avoid
Complaint and recall totals for every Ford Flex model year we track, ranked by severity.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Crashes | Fires | Severity | Most-reported system |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 64 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 84.4 Medium | STEERING |
| 2013 | 578 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 26.6 Low | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 2014 | 249 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 54.6 Medium | STEERING |
| 2015 | 100 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 20.0 Low | BACK OVER PREVENTION |
| 2016 | 93 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 43.0 Medium | BACK OVER PREVENTION |
| 2017 | 40 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 60.0 Medium | UNKNOWN OR OTHER |
| 2018 | 61 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 59.0 Medium | STRUCTURE |
| 2019 | 227 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 17.6 Low | BACK OVER PREVENTION |
Across 8 model years, the 2012 Ford Flex carries the highest severity index (84.4, driven by steering), while the 2019 is the cleanest at 17.6.
Source. NHTSA public complaint and recall APIs. Complaint counts are not normalised by units sold; a high-volume seller will attract more filings than a rare trim.