These help you judge whether this one is worth its price.
Costly problem zones ahead at your miles come with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans
Loading the EPA's yearly fuel cost
What about the price? Check the asking price on two listing sites. Buying from a dealer? Run its offer through the offer X ray.
Education, not financial or mechanical advice. Have any used car checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy.
The full record
Tap to open
What owners complain about
Loading owner complaints
Seller kit
Questions for the seller, test drive checks and price points
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
Walk up to the seller ready
Questions to ask the seller of a 2009 Ford F-150, built from this year's owner complaints and recalls. What to feel, hear and look at on the test drive, with boxes to tick at the car. Honest points to raise on price, from the records and never from guesses. Copy the questions to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Write your offer
A ready to send offer for the seller, by text or email
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
Send the seller a fair offer
Type the asking price and your own offer for the 2009 Ford F-150, tick what you found, and get a polite message ready to text or email. Its reasons come from this year's owner complaints, recalls and crash ratings, and never from made up repair prices.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
When problems show up
Loading mileage at failure
Will it outlast the loan?
The month of your loan each problem zone lands in
Loading the problem zones
Recalls
2 recalls on file
Loading recalls
Crash ratings
NHTSA's stars out of five, for each version it tested. Front crash stars only compare cars of about the same size and weight. The tests changed for 2011 models, so these stars do not line up with newer ones.
Loading crash ratings
Fuel economy
The EPA's estimates for each engine and transmission, and its own yearly fuel cost. Yours depends on how you drive and the shape the car is in.
Loading fuel economy
True cost to own
The loan, fuel, insurance and upkeep, a month and over 5 years
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
What it really costs to own
What the 2009 Ford F-150 costs a month and over 5 years: the loan and its interest, fuel worked out from the EPA's figures for the version you pick, and your own insurance, registration and upkeep. A cost a mile, a link that reopens your numbers, and the breakdown copied to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Every year of the F-150
Owner complaints for each model year, this one outlined. Tap a year to open it. The newest 2 are not judged yet. Bars are totals, so older years stand taller; the verdict compares every year at the same age.
Loading every year of this model
Before you buy this one
Built from this year's numbers. Whatever the data says, the car in front of you is the one that counts.
A history report such as Carfax or AutoCheck pulls in more of the car’s past than these checks can:
Crashes and damage reported by police, insurers or shops, even when it was fixed.
Service visits that shops reported, with the miles each time.
How many owners, for how long, and the states it was registered in.
Whether it was a rental, fleet or lease car, when that was reported.
It only knows what was reported to it. A clean report is not proof of a clean car. Ask the seller first: many dealers hand one over for free.
Red flags in a history
Salvage title
Usually an insurer called it a total loss. In most states it cannot be driven on the road until it is rebuilt and inspected.
Rebuilt title
A salvage car that was fixed and passed a state check. It can be fine, but it is worth less, can be harder to insure, and needs a careful inspection.
Flood damage
Water can ruin wiring and sensors months later. Be wary of a flood brand that vanished after a move to another state.
Lemon or maker buyback
The maker bought it back over a defect it could not fix. Ask what the defect was and how it was fixed.
Odometer rollback
A mileage reading lower than an earlier one, or a title marked not actual miles.
Many owners, fast
Three owners in two years can mean a problem each one passed along.
Gaps in the records
Years with no service or registration. Ask why: it may have sat, been off the road, or been rebuilt.
Title words and rules differ by state. Not legal advice.
Before you pay
Pre purchase inspection
Have a mechanic you choose, not the seller, put it on a lift and look it over before you pay.
Insurance quote
Get a quote on this exact car before you sign. Ask your own insurer and one or two others.
Not every car needs every fix. Run the VIN at NHTSA to see which are still open. Repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand; ask before any work.
Body and frame
Feb 1, 2011 · Recall 11V049000
Ford is recalling certain model year 2009 and 2010 f-150 vehicles manufactured from january 18, 2008, through november 30, 2009. The interior door handle housing embossment retaining the interior door handle spring may fracture during normal usage resulting in insufficient spring force to return the handle to the fully stowed position.
What can happen
In the event of a side impact crash, the door handle spring can fail causing the door latch to open.
The fix
Owners will be initially notified and instructed to take their vehicles to a Ford or lincoln/mercury dealer if any interior door handle is loose or fails to return to the stowed position after activation for replacement of the affect module. Once parts become available, owners will be renotified and instructed to take their vehicles to a Ford or lincoln/mercury dealer for inspection of each interior door handle. Depending on the results of the inspection, the dealer will either add a spring embossment reinforcement or replace the interior door handle module free of charge. The safety recall began on february 10, 2011. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332.
Lights
May 5, 2009 · Recall 09V150000
Ford is recalling 8,735 my 2009 f-150 trucks for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment." the brake stop lamp switch may be improperly adjusted. This may result in a delay in brake stop lamp illumination when the brake pedal is depressed. In situations of very mild brake application, the brake stop lamps may not illuminate.
What can happen
Delay or loss of brake stop lamp function may increase the risk of an accident.
The fix
Dealers will inspect and have the brake stop lamp switch removed and reinstalled which will provide proper adjustment. The remedy will be performed free of charge. The recall began on may 13, 2009. Owners may contact Ford motor company customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332 or through the internet at www.ownerconnection.com.
324 complaints; the part named most is the cruise and speed control
Unverified reports, not adjusted for sales. One complaint can name several parts, so shares add up past 100%. Filed Jan 23, 2009 to Jul 8, 2026. 35% name a part that is usually costly to fix.
Owners reported 28 crashes, 8 fires and 21 injuries in these complaints.
Cruise and speed control54 · 17%
Engine51 · 16%Usually costly to fix
Electrical46 · 14%
What one owner wrote about the cruise and speed control
The gas pedal got stuck while I was driving. I couldn't stop it and lost control. It caused a horrific car accident. 10 people were involved and I'm currently fighting the case in court to prove I was not reckless. It has been inspected by my insurance but unfortunately it was only for damages and not for mechanical issues regarding the gas pedal.
Every part owners name for the 2009 Ford F-150, with their own words about what went wrong. Usually costly to fix among them: Transmission and drivetrain, Body and frame.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
5 checks, with a close look at the cruise and speed control
The bar holds the middle half of the complaints that gave a mileage; the dark mark is the middle one. 116 complaints of 324 gave one. Owners file when something fails, so this shows when problems were reported, not how long the cars last.
EngineCostly60,000 to 125,000 mi
Half of these 22 complaints came between about 60,000 and 125,000 miles, the middle one around 80,000.
050K100K150K200K250K
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
Mileage for 3 more parts
The mileage band for every part owners name, and your car's miles laid across them.
Run the VIN at NHTSA to confirm every recall was fixed.
This year has 2 recalls on file. Recall repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand. Ask the dealer to confirm before any work is done. Look up a VIN at NHTSA.
Ask the seller for the service records.
Look closely for any work on the cruise and speed control. It is the part owners complain about most for this year.
Have a mechanic you trust inspect it before you pay.
Ask them to look at the cruise and speed control first.
Look at a vehicle history report.
It can show reported crashes, flood or salvage titles, and mileage that does not add up.
On the test drive, pay attention to the cruise and speed control.
Try the cruise control, and feel for surging or a throttle that hangs.
