The Lemon Index

All cars · Ford Flex · 2009

2009 Ford Flex. Advanced data.

The raw numbers: engines, recall campaign numbers, failure mileage and manufacturer communications.

Lemon Index129100 = average car
Complaints55NHTSA, first 3 years
Sold53,174U.S. model year
Per 100K sold103complaints
Complaint rank#8 of 10among the 10 scored Ford Flex model years (2009–2019); #1 = fewest complaints per car sold, not the YouTube rank

Failure mileage by system

Half of owners who gave a mileage reported the problem between 6,600 and 33,000 miles. Median 20,000, from 51 complaints with a mileage.

Mileage owners typed into their NHTSA complaint, all complaints for this model year. People report some problems late, so read it as a range.

Complaints by system

SystemShare of complaints
Brakes27%
Electrical27%
Engine22%
Transmission & drivetrain11%
Body structure9%

One complaint can name more than one system, so shares can add to more than 100%.

Severity, all complaints

TotalCrashesFiresInjuriesDeathsTows
5521100

As reported by owners to NHTSA. Not verified.

Recall campaigns 1

  • 16V247000 Apr 2016 Air Bags / Frontal

    Defect. Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 Ford Flex, 2008 and 2010-2012 Ford Taurus, 2008-2009 Ford Taurus X, 2008 Mercury Sable, 2009 and 2011 Lincoln MKS vehicles. The driver frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

    Risk. An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

    Remedy. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the driver's frontal air bag module, as necessary, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on June 13, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16C06.

Manufacturer communications 24

Ford filed 24 service communications for this car with NHTSA.

  • Ford/lincoln: on some vehicles, transmission 5th gear start at stop, speed control drops or…
  • Some 2009-2017 Expedition/Navigator, 2009-2014 F-150/Mustang, 2008-2009 Sable, 2008-2019…
  • For 2000-2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, swapping a module from a vehicle for diagnosis…

Safety equipment

Electronic stabilityForward collision warningLane departure warning
StandardNoNo

Engines and drivetrains 2

EngineTransmissionDriveCity / hwy / combinedFuelFuel cost/yr
3.5L 6-cylAuto 6-spdFWD17 / 24 / 19Regular$3,300
3.5L 6-cylAuto 6-spd4Wheel or AWD16 / 22 / 18Regular$3,450

EPA test versions for this model year. Fuel cost is the EPA's current estimate, not the price in that year.

Nearby model years

YearLemon IndexComplaintsSoldTop system
20091295553,174Brakes
2010813834,227Brakes
2011893227,608Engine
2012541728,224Electrical

Sources: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communications; EPA fuel economy data; YouTube video titles. Complaints are owner reports, not proof of a defect.

Updated · Free to use with credit: Source: The Lemon Index (lemonindex.com). Get the data

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