The Lemon Index
Ford's 3.5 L twin-turbo V6 in the F-150, model years 2011–2025 (from NHTSA VIN decoding of owner complaints), and in the Ford GT, 2017–2022.
A safer bet: YouTube owner tone 57/100, #19 of 165 engines with a YouTube study (in the top third); no engine-related recall on record, 1 known issue listed below.
In the Ford F-150
The same 3.5 EcoBoost family powers the F-150 (2nd generation from 2017). Owners filed 9,708 complaints about F-150s with it (matched by VIN):
| F-150 engine | Model years | Complaints | Name the engine | Top areas | Recalls naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 EcoBoost gen 1 | 2011–16 | 6,252 | 26% | transmission & drivetrain, engine, brakes | 3 |
| 3.5 EcoBoost gen 2 | 2017–25 | 3,456 | 25% | transmission & drivetrain, engine, electrical | 5 |
- 3.5 EcoBoost gen 1: intercooler condensation (misfire or stumble under load), 97 of 6,252 complaints (1.6%) against a 0.1% median for the other F-150 engines.
- 3.5 EcoBoost gen 1: timing chain stretch, 137 of 6,252 complaints (2.2%) against a 0.3% median for the other F-150 engines.
- 3.5 EcoBoost gen 1: misfires, 166 of 6,252 complaints (2.7%) against a 0.4% median for the other F-150 engines.
- 3.5 EcoBoost gen 2: cam phaser rattle at cold start, 526 of 3,456 complaints (15%) against a 0.6% median for the other F-150 engines.
- 3.5 EcoBoost gen 2: the timing chain, 61 of 3,456 complaints (1.8%) against a 0.3% median for the other F-150 engines.
F-150 recalls that name it (6)
25V198000 Mar 2025 Engine And Engine Cooling
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2024-2025 F-150, Expedition, and 2024 Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI engines. The engine may have a misaligned engine cup plug, which can result in a rapid oil leak.
Fix. Dealers will inspect the engine cup plug alignment, and replace the plug if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 22, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S30.
24V851000 Dec 2024 Engine And Engine Cooling
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2024-2025 F-150, 2024 Expedition and 2024 Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine. The engines may have a misaligned engine cup plug, which can result in a rapid oil leak.
Fix. Dealers will inspect the engine cup plug alignment, and replace the plug if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 23, 2024. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24S70.
22V150000 Mar 2022 Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, and 2016-2018 F-150 vehicles equipped with 3.5L Ecoboost engines. The brake master cylinder may allow brake fluid to leak from the front wheel circuit into the brake booster.
Fix. Dealers will replace the brake master cylinder. If the master cylinder is leaking, the brake booster will also be replaced. Repairs will be performed free of charge. An interim owner notification letter notifying customers of the safety defect were mailed on April 29, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed April 29, 2022. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall number 20V-332. Owne
20V332000 Jun 2020 Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2017 F-150 pickup trucks equipped with 3.5L Ecoboost engines. The brake master cylinder may leak brake fluid into the brake booster.
Fix. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake master cylinder and inspect the brake booster, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. Ford issued owners an interim notification on June 30, 2020. The recall began on October 28, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S31.
20V098000 Feb 2020 Engine
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2016 F-150 pick-up trucks equipped with 3.5L GTDI engines and block immersion heaters that were potentially relocated from their originally installed location. The incorrect location could put the heater too close to hot engine components, possibly resulting in a damaged cable.
Fix. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the block heater's location and its cable, replacing components as necessary, free of charge. If the replacement parts are not available, dealers will disable the existing block heater cable from being used until parts become available. The recall began April 9, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for
18V392000 Jun 2018 Fuel System, Gasoline
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford Expedition, F-150, and Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI V6 engines. These vehicles have high pressure fuel pump assemblies with welds that can fracture, which may cause an oil or fuel leak.
Fix. Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the high pressure fuel pump and associated components, free of charge. The recall began July 17, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S17.
Engine from each complaint's VIN (NHTSA vPIC). Shares of that engine's own complaints, not failure rates: Ford doesn't report sales by engine. 2.7 vs 3.5 vs 5.0 in the F-150 · F-150 by year
The rest of this page covers the Ford GT versions only.
Everyday cars with this engine Tap a year for that car's full report.
Model years from NHTSA VIN decoding of owner complaints. Only years we have a car page for.
Reliability by year
Not enough complaints to chart. We found no government complaints we can tie to this engine's cars. Supercars sell in small numbers, so we show YouTube, recalls and the automaker's repair notes instead.
YouTube videos are most positive about the 2019 (61) and least about the 2018 (51); neighboring years share many of the same videos, so small gaps mean little.
How we count: owner complaints only where the car's name and year leave no doubt; YouTube tone from videos that name this engine or its cars. How we count
Owner complaints (NHTSA) are filed by model and year, not engine. We count one for this engine only when the model name and year had no other engine (e.g. "488 GTB", "GT-R"), or when the owner's own words name a version that had only this engine that year (Z06, ZR1, Hellcat, GT500 ...). They cover the whole car (wheels, air bags, electrics ...), not only the engine, and none of them is a failure rate. We chart them only for engines with 30 or more, over 3 or more years. YouTube tone = how positive the videos are, 0–100, from titles and transcripts (praise vs trouble words, the title counts 3 times), weighted by views; a year needs at least 3 videos' worth. A video counts for this engine when its title names the engine or a car that only had this engine in the years it names; a video whose title names no model year counts toward every year of that car, so neighboring years share most of their videos.
All the numbers, year by year
| Year | Cars | Owner complaints | YouTube says | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | GT | 0 | 56 (18 videos) | 2 |
| 2018 | GT | 0 | 51 (11 videos) | 1 |
| 2019 | GT | 0 | 61 (14 videos) | 0 |
| 2020 | GT | 0 | 58 (16 videos) | 0 |
| 2021 | GT | 0 | not enough videos yet | 0 |
| 2022 | GT | 0 | not enough videos yet | 0 |
Recalls on cars with this engine 2
None of them is about the engine itself.
25V443000 Structure · Ford GT 2017
The rear wing valve block may leak hydraulic fluid.
18V707000 Structure · Ford GT 2017–18
The rear wing valve block may leak hydraulic fluid.
NHTSA recalls by model and year. A recall counts here when every confirmed version of that model-year had this engine, or the recall names it. Check a car's VIN for its own open recalls.
Engine problems Ford told dealers about
Ford sent dealers 5 repair notes about the engine on these cars, including:
- Some 2017-2022 Ford GT vehicles may exhibit a runs rough or hard start with or without an illuminated MIL…
- During service and repair requiring removal and replacement of a crankshaft bolt and/or crankshaft damper,…
- Certain 2020 Model Year Mustang GT500/GT350 Equipped with a 5.2L Engine Secondary Timing Chain Tensioner In…
NHTSA manufacturer communications (technical service bulletins), matched by model name and year like the complaints, engine-related ones only. A repair note is not a recall: ask a seller whether it was done.
Known issues on record
- About 200 2017-2018 Ford GTs were recalled for a possible hydraulic leak and fire risk. Source
Every US version with this engine
| Car and versions | Years |
|---|---|
| Ford GT GT | 2017–22 |
Engine code: D35 (second-generation 3.5 EcoBoost). Power: 647–660 hp, factory figures. Versions and years: EPA (fueleconomy.gov). Sources: Ford EcoBoost engine · Ford GT.
Quick answers
What cars have the Ford 3.5 EcoBoost (D35) engine?
In the US: the Ford GT, model years 2017–2022. See the version table for each one.
Is the Ford 3.5 EcoBoost (D35) reliable?
Mostly yes. YouTube owner tone 57/100, #19 of 165 engines with a YouTube study (in the top third); no engine-related recall on record, 1 known issue listed below. Not enough owner complaints to judge it per car: supercars sell in small numbers. Its cars had 2 recalls (0 about the engine, fuel or powertrain). Have any used car inspected.
How much horsepower does the Ford 3.5 EcoBoost (D35) make?
647–660 hp in factory figures, depending on the car.