AutoUtility currently tracks 22 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2018 Ford Transit Connect. Brakes & Traction Control issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 6 complaints (27.3% of submitted records). Zero crashes, fires, injury reports, or fatality reports are cited across these complaint records.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 22 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Brakes & Traction Control (6 reports • 27.3% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Steering System (5), Visibility, Wipers & Glass (3)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 0 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2018 Ford Transit Connect
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Brakes & Traction Control
Steering System
Visibility, Wipers & Glass
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #24V294000 VISIBILITY:FIXED PANARAMIC ROOF/SKY LIGHT ASSEMBLY
Powertrain & Transmission
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #21V376000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)
- Campaign #22V413000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)
Electrical System
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2018 Ford Transit Connect
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"Component Affected: Service Brakes / ABS Module / Hydraulic Braking System Description of Safety Defect: There is an active, intermittent, catastrophic failure in the front braking system/ABS module causing the front brakes to completely lock up mid-transit while operating at high speeds (60+ MPH)...."
"One tire locks up gradually and then completely preventing the vehicle from being driven and causing damage to the other tires. The inability to drive the vehicle on the open road is very dangerous. There are no warning lamps. The vehicle may seem sluggish to accelerate. After towing to a service..."
"The contact owns a 2018 Ford Transit Connect. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V294000 (Visibility); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair...."
"Power steering failed without warning. Rack and pinion had to be replaced. You now have 5 complaints on this but still no investigation open. This is clearly a manufacturer defect. $2,700 to fix. Vehicle only had 65,000 miles on it when it failed."
"ABS brakes are locked up and only release after a few seconds. I have replaced the driver front caliper and now the passenger front is locking. After a quick search online, I have found several cases of the ABS module malfunctioning on this vehicle requiring a new module and programming. The first..."
Complaint History for Ford Transit Connect
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2023)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Ford Transit Connect | 66 | 3 | 10 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Ford Transit Connect | 104 | 1 | 10 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Ford Transit Connect | 28 | 1 | 6 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Ford Transit Connect Current Page | 22 | 0 | 6 | Current |
| 2019 Ford Transit Connect | 51 | 2 | 8 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 2020 Ford Transit Connect | 31 | 2 | 8 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Ford Transit Connect | 8 | 0 | 4 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Ford Transit Connect | 5 | 0 | 1 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Ford Transit Connect | 1 | 1 | 0 | View 2023 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2018 Ford Transit Connect
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 17 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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.