AutoUtility currently tracks 214 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Ford Expedition. Brakes & Traction Control issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 48 complaints (22.4% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 8 filings cite a crash, 8 cite a fire, 4 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 214 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Brakes & Traction Control (48 reports • 22.4% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (40), Powertrain & Transmission (36)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 8 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 8 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 4 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
214
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
8
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
8
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
4
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2016 Ford Expedition

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 22.4% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

48 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#2 Problem Area 18.7% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

40 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 1 crash report
#3 Problem Area 16.8% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

36 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#4 Problem Area 15.4% of complaints

Electrical System

33 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
🔥 3 fire reports
#5 Problem Area 14.5% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

31 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report 🔥 2 fire reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Ford Expedition

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Powertrain & Transmission 8.9% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

19 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Ford Expedition

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11759701
Filed: 08/26/2026

"My 2016 Expedition has the same 6R80 transmission as the Ford F150, for which there is a recall for the Lead Frame. My wife was driving the vehicle on the highway and the check engine light came on and the vehicle went into "limp mode" causing the vehicle to decelerate to approximately 35 mph...."

Incident Date: 08/07/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11753086
Filed: 07/27/2026

"The contact owns a 2016 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that the blower motor functioned intermittently, turning on and off unexpectedly. The contact stated that the A/C functioned as intended during the cooler months but was intermittently inoperable in the warmer months, requiring that the..."

Incident Date: 01/27/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11751659
Filed: 07/20/2026

"The contact owns a 2016 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a blank screen. The message “Camera Unavailable” was displayed. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V572000 (Back Over Prevention). The vehicle was taken..."

Incident Date: 07/15/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION
Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11749454
Crash Cited Filed: 07/10/2026

"The safety incident occured on April 20, 2026, when my 2016 Expedition EL failed to stay in park on a flat level parking lot causing significant safety concerns for my vehicle and all other vehicles with the same components. My car was parked for 4-5 minutes in front of the school my son attends..."

Incident Date: 04/20/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11743060
Filed: 06/09/2026

"I am filing this complaint regarding an unresolved and potentially dangerous safety defect involving the rearview camera system on my Ford vehicle, which was presented to Wade Ford Auto Dealership and Service in Smyrna, Georgia for a rear camera recall repair. I brought my vehicle, a 2016 Ford..."

Incident Date: 06/01/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Ford Expedition

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Ford Expedition 164 8 3 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Ford Expedition Current Page 214 8 3 Current
2017 Ford Expedition 356 21 4 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Ford Expedition 372 8 14 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Ford Expedition 480 7 11 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Ford Expedition 387 5 18 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Ford Expedition 228 3 12 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Ford Expedition 111 4 12 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Ford Expedition 64 5 8 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Ford Expedition 71 6 7 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Ford Expedition 30 4 5 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Ford Expedition 0 0 1 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Ford Expedition

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 47 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 29 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 23 4 0 1 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 16 0 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 15 0 1 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 0 1 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 12 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 11 1 2 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 8 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY 7 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 6 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 5 0 0 0 0
Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT 5 0 2 1 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 5 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4 0 1 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,SERVICE BRAKES 4 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 3 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE 2 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 2 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 2 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 1 0 2 0
AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 1 0 1 0
CHEST CLIP, BUCKLE, HARNESS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 0 0 0 0
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
TRAILER HITCHES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (214). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.