2008 Ford F-150

Showing the 2008 F-150 Styleside. We haven't verified this trim's engine; the numbers below cover every version of this model year. Every version

Owner complaints, recalls, fuel economy and safety ratings from public NHTSA and EPA data, updated Oct 18, 2026.

Fuel economy: 14–16 mpgcombined; city 13–14, highway 17–20; every version of this model year
Five years of fuel: $20,300–$23,200U.S. average; Ohio $18,140–$20,730 at local prices; every version of this model year; fuel only, not other costs of owning it; 15,000 miles a year, at EIA fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026
NHTSA overall safety rating: Not ratedlowest across the versions NHTSA tested
Recall campaigns: 1over its history; check a VIN for open ones
Owner complaints: 369filed with NHTSA; not adjusted for sales

Trims

NHTSA's VIN data lists these trims for the 2008 F-150. A trim's engine and numbers are shown as its own only where EPA names versions after the trim and no other version could be it; "seen with" means a source shows that engine on the trim, not that it was the only one. Recalls and complaints cover the whole model year: whether a recall applies to a car depends on its VIN, on NHTSA's recall lookup.

Problems owners report

Owners have filed 369 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 F-150. These are unverified owner reports, counted by the part of the car they name; one complaint can name several parts. Counts aren't adjusted for how many were sold, so they don't show how reliable a car is.

Complaints by part of the car
Part	Complaints	Crashes	Fires	Injuries
Engine	53	0	1	0
Steering	53	0	0	1
Power train	50	3	1	3
Vehicle speed control	41	11	0	5
Air bags	29	20	0	31
Electrical system	29	0	5	0
Structure	23	1	0	2
Engine and engine cooling	22	2	4	1
Fuel/propulsion system	21	0	1	0
Service brakes	21	3	0	0
Service brakes, hydraulic	17	3	0	1
Unknown or other	17	1	1	1

16 more parts

Seat belts	11	3	0	8
Suspension	11	0	0	1
Tires	9	0	0	0
Visibility	8	0	0	0
Wheels	7	0	0	0
Equipment	6	0	0	0
Exterior lighting	5	0	0	0
Fuel system, gasoline	5	0	0	0
Visibility/wiper	4	0	0	0
Latches/locks/linkages	3	0	0	1
Seats	2	1	0	0
Electronic stability control (ESC)	1	0	0	0
Forward collision avoidance	1	0	0	0
Fuel system, diesel	1	0	1	0
Interior lighting	1	0	0	0
Service brakes, electric	1	0	0	0

What the columns count

Complaints: complaints that name that part. One complaint can name several parts, so the rows overlap and don't add up to the total.
Crashes and Fires: complaints that report one. Two owners can file about the same event, and NHTSA doesn't link them, so these count reports, not events.
Injuries: the number of people the complaints say were injured.
None of these columns shows that a part caused a crash, fire or injury: they're what owners reported, unverified.

Complaints by model year

Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, and counts aren't adjusted for sales, so a shorter bar doesn't mean a more reliable year.

2006585
2007488
2008369
2009324
2010843
20112,191
20121,783
20132,989
20141,537
20151,732
20162,078
20171,450
20182,318
20191,338
2020736
20211,291
2022812
2023509
2024230
2025127
202618

Every F-150 year side by side

Recalls

NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for the 2008 F-150 over its history. Campaigns are matched by model and year, so each one may apply to a given car, and its repair may already be done: check a VIN on NHTSA's recall lookup for the open recalls on that exact car.

Engine and engine cooling

NHTSA campaign 08V523000 · reported Oct 8, 2008 · 213 vehicles potentially affected across the whole campaign

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE AIRBOX LID WITH A NEW ONE THAT INCLUDES THE HYDRO-CARBON PAPER WHICH HAS BEEN AFFIXED USING AN ADHESIVE PROMOTER AND GREATER PRESSURE AS RECOMMENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 21, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT ROUSH AT 1-866-307-6788.

ROUSH IS RECALLING 213 MY 2007-2008 FORD F-150 TRUCKS ALTERED TO OPERATE USING LIQUID PROPANE INJECTION. THE HYDRO-CARBON PAPER AFFIXED TO THE INSIDE OF THE AIRBOX LID WITH ADHESIVE MAY BECOME DISLODGED DURING OPERATION.

Risk: THIS FAILURE MAY RESULT IN A LOSS OF PERFORMANCE, ILLUMINATION OF THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) AND, IN EXTREME CASES, A STALLING OF THE VEHICLE DURING OPERATION WITHOUT NOTICE, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.

NHTSA's record and documents

Service bulletins and investigations

Carmakers sent NHTSA 39 service bulletins and notices that cover the 2008 F-150, the latest on Feb 24, 2026. They tell dealers how to fix known issues.

The parts they mention most: power train (11), equipment (8), engine and engine cooling (7), structure (7), electrical system (5).

NHTSA defect investigations

Opening an investigation isn't a finding of a defect. Outcomes are as NHTSA's summary states them. A recall is shown as an investigation's outcome only where NHTSA's summary names it; other recalls NHTSA's file lists with it are marked as listed, not caused.

Investigation	Part	Opened	Status
Preliminary evaluation PE08060 TIRE VALVE CRACKING · covers 3 makes	Tires	Oct 14, 2008	Closed Apr 9, 2009 NHTSA's summary names recall 08T018000, 08T028000 NHTSA's record and documents

Maintenance

Oil

The owner's manual gives the oil and how often to change it. We show oil facts only once we've checked them against the manual, and we haven't yet for the 2008 F-150.

Oil change near you: Jiffy Lube · Take 5

Used ones for sale

See used 2008 Ford F-150s for sale on: Autotrader · CarMax

These are searches on those sites; we don't copy or check their listings. Your ZIP is used for these links and never kept.

Specs

EPA class: standard pickup trucks. Each version EPA tested:

Version	Engine	Transmission	Fuel	City / hwy / comb
F150 Rear-Wheel Drive	4.2 L, 6 cyl	Automatic 4-spd	Regular Gasoline	14 / 19 / 16
F150 Rear-Wheel Drive	4.2 L, 6 cyl	Manual 5-spd	Regular Gasoline	14 / 20 / 16
F150 Rear-Wheel Drive	4.6 L, 8 cyl	Automatic 4-spd	Regular Gasoline	14 / 19 / 16
F150 Rear-Wheel Drive	5.4 L, 8 cyl	Automatic 4-spd	Regular Gasoline or E85	13 / 18 / 15
F150 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive	5.4 L, 8 cyl	Automatic 4-spd	Regular Gasoline or E85	13 / 17 / 15
F150 Rear-Wheel Drive	5.4 L, 8 cyl	Automatic 4-spd	Regular Gasoline	13 / 17 / 14
F150 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive	4.6 L, 8 cyl	Automatic 4-spd	Regular Gasoline	13 / 17 / 14
F150 4-Wheel or All-Wheel Drive	5.4 L, 8 cyl	Automatic 4-spd	Regular Gasoline	13 / 17 / 14
F150 STX SE Rear-Wheel Drive	5.4 L, 8 cyl	Automatic 4-spd	Regular Gasoline	14 / 19 / 15
F150 STX SE Rear-Wheel Drive	5.4 L, 8 cyl	Automatic 4-spd	Regular Gasoline or E85	14 / 19 / 15

Sources and dates

U.S. EPA fuel economy data, file of Sep 29, 2026
NHTSA owner complaints, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA recalls, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA manufacturer communications, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA defect investigations, file of Oct 17, 2026
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings, file of Aug 7, 2026
U.S. Energy Information Administration, file of Oct 12, 2026

Fuel cost: EPA mpg with fuel prices for the week of Oct 12, 2026 and electricity prices for Jul 2026. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Oct 2026). Complaints are unverified reports owners filed with NHTSA. About the data