Best Ford Years to Buy by Model
The best Ford years to buy: the 2009 F-150, 2009 Explorer, 2025 Escape, 2015 Expedition, 2025 Mustang, 2024 Edge and 2009 Fusion lead the list — the cleanest federal complaint records for each model. Years to skip include the 2016 Explorer and 2018 F-150. Based on 34,981 NHTSA owner complaints across 9 Ford models, rated model year by model year.
Source: NHTSA owner complaints, recall campaigns & service bulletins · Updated 2026-11-07 · By CarWhere Research · How we rate model years
Best Ford years, model by model
| Model | Best years | Years to skip | Years on record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford F-150 | 200820092010 | 2011201320162018202120222023 | 18 (2008–2025) |
| Ford Explorer | 200820092010 | 2011201320142015201620172020 | 18 (2008–2025) |
| Ford Escape | 20152025 | 201720202021 | 12 (2015–2026) |
| Ford Expedition | 20152024 | 201820202022 | 12 (2015–2026) |
| Ford Mustang | 20232025 | 201820192020 | 12 (2015–2026) |
| Ford Edge | 20232024 | 201520162019 | 12 (2013–2024) |
| Ford Fusion | 20092012 | 201320142017 | 12 (2009–2020) |
| Ford Focus | 20072009 | 201320162017 | 12 (2007–2018) |
| Ford Ranger | 20152018 | 201920202021 | 12 (2015–2026) |
Verdicts are each model’s own, rated against that model’s history; counts behind them are raw federal filings, not adjusted for sales volume.
The cleanest year for each Ford model
2009 Ford F-150: 324 NHTSA owner complaints on record · all best-rated years: 2008, 2009 and 2010 · Best F-150 years →
2009 Ford Explorer: 33 NHTSA owner complaints on record · all best-rated years: 2008, 2009 and 2010 · Best Explorer years →
2025 Ford Escape: 0 NHTSA owner complaints on record · all best-rated years: 2015 and 2025 · Best Escape years →
2015 Ford Expedition: 0 NHTSA owner complaints on record · all best-rated years: 2015 and 2024 · Best Expedition years →
2025 Ford Mustang: 0 NHTSA owner complaints on record · all best-rated years: 2023 and 2025 · Best Mustang years →
2024 Ford Edge: 0 NHTSA owner complaints on record · all best-rated years: 2023 and 2024 · Best Edge years →
2009 Ford Fusion: 0 NHTSA owner complaints on record · all best-rated years: 2009 and 2012 · Best Fusion years →
2009 Ford Focus: 0 NHTSA owner complaints on record · all best-rated years: 2007 and 2009 · Best Focus years →
2018 Ford Ranger: 0 NHTSA owner complaints on record · all best-rated years: 2015 and 2018 · Best Ranger years →
Years to skip, in detail
Frequently asked questions
What are the best Ford years to buy?
By model: F-150 2008, 2009 and 2010; Explorer 2008, 2009 and 2010; Escape 2015 and 2025; Expedition 2015 and 2024; Mustang 2023 and 2025; Edge 2023 and 2024; Fusion 2009 and 2012; Focus 2007 and 2009; Ranger 2015 and 2018. Each matches that model's own best-years page, built from NHTSA owner-complaint and recall records.
Which Ford years should I skip?
By model: F-150 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023; Explorer 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2020; Escape 2017, 2020 and 2021; Expedition 2018, 2020 and 2022; Mustang 2018, 2019 and 2020; Edge 2015, 2016 and 2019; Fusion 2013, 2014 and 2017; Focus 2013, 2016 and 2017; Ranger 2019, 2020 and 2021. The full breakdown is on the Ford years-to-avoid page.
How are the best Ford years chosen?
Each model year's NHTSA owner complaints are weighted for severity, converted to a rate per year on the road and compared with the rest of that model's own history; the lowest rates among years with enough road time earn "best". Models not yet scored that way are ranked by combined NHTSA complaint and manufacturer service-bulletin volume. Full method at /research/years-to-avoid/methodology.