In-car Electronics
CD or DVD players, radio, speakers, GPS, communication system (e.g., OnStar), display screen freezes or goes blank, phone pairing (e.g. Bluetooth), voice control commands, steering wheel controls, portable music device interface (e.g., iPod/MP3 player), backup or other camera/sensors.
What Owners Say
"The back-up guidelines in the back-up display ALWAYS disappear after placing truck in reverse a few times. This makes me have to RE-SET the guidelines daily. This takes 3-4 minutes each time and often I have to do it in traffic"
Michael M., CA (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5-L V6 turbo)"Camera does not work"
K T., NJ (2011 Ford F-150 Platinum 3.5-L V6 turbo)"Won't show on screen"
Anonymous, (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat Unsure)"Works intermittently for last 12 months or so. Most likely bad connection with wires."
Anonymous, NC (2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.2-L V8)"Stopped working"
Anonymous, IL (2011 Ford F-150 FX4 3.5-L V6 turbo)"The CD player continues to have issues loading and playing CD's."
Gregory R., AZ (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 5.0-L V8)"Error reading. Will not play. Will not eject."
Anonymous, VA (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5-L V6 turbo)"This is just part of the whole system that failed. There was no problem with it individually"
James M., CA (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5-L V6 turbo)"Sometimes it will not release the cd. Has been replaced twice."
Anonymous, (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 5.0-L V8)"The CD/radio interface with the speakers quit. It started intermittently then totally went out. Could not listen to any music. They replaced the unit with a remanufactured one. Was kind of expensive due to the whole unit was replaced. But the vehicle is fairly old and I couldnt drive without tunes."
Anonymous, (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0-L V8)"Some of the mileage features were not working properly some of it was not knowing how to sort through the system"
Anonymous, CA (2011 Ford F-150 FX4 3.7-L V6)"lost the use of the clock which I need when traveling"
Anonymous, FL (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.7-L V6)"Screen does not stay on curent setting. Jumps to another setting"
Anonymous, KY (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5-L V6 turbo)"Will not interface with some IPODs (via USB)."
Dean F., NC (2011 Ford F-150 Platinum 5.0-L V8)"not uble to use flash drive to play music"
Robert M., UT (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5-L V6 turbo)"Will not interface with my older Apple IPod. Does not recognize when it is hooked up via USB."
Anonymous, (2011 Ford F-150 Platinum 5.0-L V8)"Sync system doesn't always start up correctly which prevents connecting the phone to the entertainment system. It usually resolves itself after a few minutes or when the pickup is turned off and on."
Anonymous, WA (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5-L V6 turbo)"The Sony radio/disc player quit last August (2019). I took it to a Ford Dealership for repair and was told it was a module in the radio. Replacement cost $700. In February 2020 the radio/disc player went out again. I was told this time that it was the entire radio (same Ford Dealership). I haven't come up with the estimated cost of repair of $8-900. I am considering after market or just get rid of the F-150. Lesson learned =Fix.Or.Repair.Daily."
Anonymous, (2011 Ford F-150 FX4 3.5-L V6 turbo)"My new iPhone 8 would not be recognized and would not connect to Sync beginning in June 2018. Dealer updated the software and it will play in the Aux mode, but it does not integrate into the Sync controls as it should. I have not taken it back to the dealer for additional diagnosis and repair due to possible costs."
Anonymous, (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5-L V6 turbo)"GPS gets lost and indicates current position hundreds of miles from actual location. Sometimes finds itself and sometimes stays lost for days."
Dean F., NC (2011 Ford F-150 Platinum 5.0-L V8)"difficult to clear previous owners information"
Anonymous, TX (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5-L V6 turbo)"GPS gets lost and indicates location from distant locations, sometimes by multiple states. Occurred a few years ago, multiple attempts by dealership to fix failed. Last time they charged me a diagnostic fee to check it, then requested I sign a waiver stating I requested them to replace GPS for $1100 but understood that it might not fix problem. I declined that "repair" and purchased a portable Garmin GPS unit."
Anonymous, (2011 Ford F-150 Platinum 5.0-L V8)"Says no gps, on wrong road, works 10% of the time"
Anonymous, IL (2011 Ford F-150 FX4 3.5-L V6 turbo)"replaced the first system under extended warranty. replacement system is now showing the same errors as the first. error message is no GPS and location on map is off by 20-30 miles. Not fixing this $1000 part again. I can live without it as I have a map on my phone."
Anonymous, MA (2011 Ford F-150 King Ranch 3.5-L V6 turbo)"very difficult to navigate, and randomly changes status"
Anonymous, ID (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 5.0-L V8)"Phone does not pair on occasion resulting in the need to hold the phone if you need to respond, but there is no place to pull off."
Bruce H., MI (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.7-L V6)"80% of the time Sync doesn't automatically pair my phone when I get into the pickup. Has to me manually paired each time."
Anonymous, VA (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5-L V6 turbo)"It is very hard to make the phone work properly . Hard to understand how to set it up . Still haven't solved how to get it to recognize voice commands for phone numbers on the system . Won't recognize a name if it starts with a capital letter . Will recognize if all letters are put in as capital letters ( example RCMP ) and you ask by saying each letter"
James S., AB (2011 Ford F-150 FX4 5.0-L V8)"Sudden difficulty pairing of phone"
Anonymous, UT (2011 Ford F-150 FX4 5.0-L V8)"Often, the voice activated "SYNC" forgets my smartphone address book (or relays unintelligible phone numbers that I am to select from), and then not functions as a "Hands-Free" device, as I must pull over and stop, then manually make the call"
Michael M., CA (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5-L V6 turbo)"With newer phones, the pairing became less stable. Connections were not automatically recognizing phones. Ultimately, no longer use Bluetooth, and use cable connection."
Anonymous, (2011 Ford F-150 Platinum 6.2-L V8)"Radio is the standard unit supplied. It ceased to operate and Ford wants $550.00 to replace it."
Glenn M., LA (2011 Ford F-150 XL 3.7-L V6)"Started to make an occasional loud popping noise in the speaker .finally made one loud pop and quit working .I had to replace the radio mod unit ."
Gary M., MI (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5-L V6 turbo)"I have had to replace the radio twice"
Hal C., MI (2011 Ford F-150 FX4 3.7-L V6)"No radio at all. Can't listen to NPR"
Anonymous, FL (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.7-L V6)"The radiocd player became unreliable and dealer advised it is a recurring problem which can only be repaired by replacing the unit at a cost of $700"
Stirling Y., YT (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5-L V6 turbo)"The speaker volume to one channel drops out at low output levels. It happens at random times with no consistancy."
Steven H., MI (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0-L V8)"Was driving listening to the radio, smelt like something was burning then smoke came out of the radio"
Anonymous, AB (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0-L V8)"The system wouldn't turn on. It clicked rebooted multiple times then wouldn't turn on"
James M., CA (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5-L V6 turbo)"Radio shorted out and became inoperable"
Anonymous, IN (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0-L V8)"Radio stopped working and started flashing the incorrect time. I have read how to reset the radio online and still have not been able to fix it. Will be taking to a professional soon."
Anonymous, TX (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0-L V8)"The radio completely failed. It would not turn on. Because the radio failed the entire sync system would not operate. The radio was removed and sent to Florida for repair. It took two weeks for repair and reinstallation. It cost $189."
Anonymous, SC (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5-L V6 turbo)"Same as previously described with CD player."
Anonymous, (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0-L V8)"This was a factory recall to reprogram computer so it would not downshift and over rev engine ."
Gary M., MI (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5-L V6 turbo)"The speaker system would go in and out so that you could not hear the radio. It was not covered in an extended warranty and was expensive to repair. It required 2 trips to the dealer and cost approx $1000"
Anonymous, OH (2011 Ford F-150 FX2 5.0-L V8)"My truck is equipped with numerous speakers, 98% of the time 1 speaker works. The Ford mechanics replaced a speaker but couldn't fix the problem. It is kind of funny that i have this massive amplifier bolted down in my floor to run this one speaker. On the plus side one speaker reminds me of the old days."
Anonymous, MA (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5-L V6 turbo)"Passenger side speakers cut in and out. Drives one crazy. No rhyme or reason. Dealership said they couldn't reproduce problem but they are just lazy and didn't want warranty work,"
Anonymous, AB (2011 Ford F-150 XL 5.0-L V8)"The sound cuts in and out on 3 of 4 of the speakers. This could also be the fault of the radio"
Anonymous, MI (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.7-L V6)"Front speakers on both sides would cut out. This was an issue when I first bought the truck and was a warranty fix under a service bulletin. The service bulletin was for the wires in the door boots becoming broken from being bent when the door shuts. The warranty fix lasted about 3 years"
James H., MI (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0-L V8)"left drivers speaker cuts in and out... dealer wants to replace at my expense rather than check out wiring problem.. just living with it"
Anonymous, NC (2011 Ford F-150 XL 5.0-L V8)"The speakers are intermittent in the passenger side front door. Always have been. I believe it is a problem with the wiring harness, same thing happen in the driver side rear door, I had to replace the wiring harness to fix the problem"
Anonymous, AB (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0-L V8)"Drivers door speaker goes out, then comes back on. Now passenger door speaker doing the same thing. Frustrating"
Curtis T., WI (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.7-L V6)""Blown" speaker--crackling noise when playing music with pronounced bass"
Bradley T., SK (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 5.0-L V8)"Speakers cut in and out for no reasons"
Anonymous, OH (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5-L V6 turbo)"Intermittent speaker outages on both left and right channels. Dealer service department advised replacement of both speakers"
Robert B., FL (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.7-L V6)"When the engine is started it states trailer connected I push ok the it states trailer disconnected. This stared the day I bought the truck. This problem has never happened have taken it in to the dealer. No fault code."
Roy T., MD (2011 Ford F-150 FX4 3.5-L V6 turbo)"I cannot tell if this is connected to the Sync system or not. But, when pressing the Channel change buttons to pick a new channel on the XM Sirius radio, the channel is changed to the wrong direction. In addition, the sound system is off with some speakers failing to work at odd times"
Anonymous, KY (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0-L V8)"Voice commands inoperable, period. This has the most safety impact in that the phone is no longer hands free for dialing or answering the phone."
Bruce H., MI (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.7-L V6)"doesn't understand voice commands from smart phone"
Robert M., UT (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5-L V6 turbo)"Voice recognition has deteriorated to the extent that it is not useable. This deterioration occurred gradually over about 3 years"
Anonymous, MI (2011 Ford F-150 XLT 3.7-L V6)"very frustrating--can not use sometimess, works others--makes me not want want to purchase another Ford 150 (I've had 5)"
Anonymous, ID (2011 Ford F-150 FX4 3.5-L V6 turbo)
"Camera went bad for some reason."
Anonymous, VA (2011 Ford F-150 Lariat 3.5-L V6 turbo)