2016 Ford FLEX - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2016 Ford Flex SUV AWD has not been rated for overall safety by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, it received a 4-star rating for rollover protection. The vehicle is equipped with standard electronic stability control and optional forward collision warning, providing additional safety features for drivers. Unfortunately, it does not have lane departure warning system.

In terms of incidents, there have been 39 complaints reported for this model, which suggests that there may be some issues to be aware of. Additionally, there have been 2 recalls on this vehicle. These recalls are important to address as they indicate potential safety concerns that the manufacturer has identified. It is recommended that owners of the 2016 Ford Flex SUV AWD pay attention to these recalls and address them promptly to ensure the safety of the vehicle and its occupants.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

39

Recall Count

2

Investigation Count

0

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2016 Ford Flex SUV AWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2016 Ford Flex SUV AWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

Optional
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2016 Ford Flex SUV AWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2016 Ford Flex SUV AWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2009 Score 2016 Score 2019 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 Not Rated Not Rated
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 Not Rated Not Rated

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2009 Score 2016 Score 2019 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 Not Rated Not Rated
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 Not Rated Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2009 Score 2016 Score 2019 Score
Rollover Rating 4 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated

Complaints for the 2016 Ford FLEX

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"the power transfer unit otherwise referred to as a transfer case exploded from the inside with under 50k miles on the flex resulting in the transmission cracking and breaking as well. aaa inspected and replaced both transmission and transfer case. they say they see a lot of them for these models and is a common issue. we kept old transfer case as proof. car is not used for towing as it has no hitch and as stated before had under 50000 miles when it destroyed itself with myself and kids in the car driving 45 mph."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2025-02-05

Complaint:
"i noticed one day when i drove to work and got out of my vehicle it smelled like transmission fluid burning took it to the dealer and they said it is a common problem with the ford flex that the trans fluid and coolant were getting mixed together because of the design of the a/c condensor etc.... if it is a common problem why hasnt it been recalled? on top of that it cost me $900+ to fix and i took it back because it still smelled like trans fluid was burning and was told it was probably still just burning off from what had leaked. 5 almost 6 months later it still smells?"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2021-06-10

Complaint:
"on the 4th of july my vehicle was stopped in my driveway with the transmission in park. i had exited the vehicle leaving the driver's door open while i walked up my driveway to clear an obstruction in the garage door safety eyes. when i got to the garage door i turned back and say my flex reversing up the driveway quickly. i had previously backed in and was driving out of the driveway when i noticed the garage door would not close. the flex continued to reverse up the driveway (uphill) with the driver's door open. at the top of the driveway the open driver's door contacted a basketball post with such force that it bent the concrete filled post and folded the driver's door into the left fender before i was able to slow and stop the vehicle. when i originally exited the flex the transmission was in the park position and the rear back-up camera had no dash display. there was no warning on the instrument panel to indicate the transmission was not in park. the vehicle was otherwise unattended at the time. i am concerned that the vehicle was able the shift into reverse and then reverse uphill at a brisk rate of speed while unattended. at this time the flex is secured in my garage and has not been driven or inspected in anticipation of repair or appraisal. i have the opportunity to have the pcm and acm imaged however have been instructed that data may be erased if the vehicle is run in an attempt to image potential data. please advise asap your wishes as i require the vehicle for my business."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2019-04-07

Complaint:
"my 2016 ford flex i just bought less then 6mths ago! and i have 30,000 miles on it! i was hearing lots of noise from the front end and also i would hear it when my car was in gear and also when i went from drive to reverse and especially when you were turning your steering wheel!! took it in to the dealership and they stated it was my driver and passenger half shaft! i get it back and now i am hearing noises again!!"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2019-07-01

Complaint:
"front wheels lock as the vehicle is reversing. loud rattle noise from under vehicle transmission."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2020-06-03

Complaint:
"car lost power without warning while driving on highway. warning light with wrench and "check manual" appeared. dealer indicated recall 16b32 and replaced throttle body. i was never notified of recall. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2017-09-12

Recalls for the 2016 Ford FLEX

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 ford taurus, 2016-2017 ford flex, lincoln mkt, 2017 ford explorer and ford explorer police interceptor utility vehicles equipped with 3.5l gtdi engines. improperly brazed turbocharger oil supply tubes may leak oil on engine components."
Consequence:
An oil leak, in the presence of an ignition source, increases the risk of a fire.
Remedy:

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the turbocharger oil supply tubes, free of charge. The recall began on January 31, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S46.

Component(s) Involved: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING > ENGINE > GASOLINE > TURBO/SUPERCHARGER
Date of incident: 2016-12-22

FORD Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

FORD ranks 1 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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