Ford Edge: Years to Avoid and Best Years to Buy
Ford Edge: 14 model years scored from 9,716 NHTSA owner complaints and 62 recall campaigns. Worst year 2017, best year 2023.
Ford Edge: which years to avoid
Across 13 scored model years the Ford Edge ranges from 35/100 in 2017 to 90/100 in 2023 — a 55-point spread, so which year you buy matters more than whether you buy an Edge at all. The weakest year’s complaints concentrate in Engine (658 of them).
Avoid: 2013, 2017 — scored below 45 on the complaint and recall record.
Safest years: 2014, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 — scored 70 or better.
Scored from NHTSA complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. How the score works · every car’s years to avoid.
Editor's note
Avoid the 2013 Edge, which scores 42 on 2,442 owner complaints, and the 2017, which scores 35 on 1,314, the lowest of the fourteen years on record. Buy a 2014, which scores 85 on 381 complaints, or a 2020 to 2024, which score between 82 and 90 with no year above 312 complaints. The first generation's problem is Electrical System and Service Brakes, at 852 and 634 on the 2013 and 686 and 309 on the 2011, with no recall campaign behind either category. The second generation, from 2015, swaps that for Engine, which leads at 188, 310, 658 and 431 through 2018, with Engine And Engine Cooling alongside it at 259 on the 2017; the campaigns on those years are for brake hoses (20V469000, 25V544000) and torque converter welds on 2.0-litre cars (17V427000, 18V390000). The 2019 facelift shifts the load to Power Train at 448, covered by 20V550000, and the 2021 onward scores rest on counts of 128 or fewer.
Read the guide
Used Ford Edge: the years to avoid and the years to buy — written and signed by Adir Trabelsi, 2026-09-16.
How the Edge changed, run by run
The federal record falls into 3 stretches of years that behave alike. A redesign shows up here as a step in the complaint rate that then holds.
2014–2016
Mean score 68/100, about 62 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Engine more than anything else (543 complaints). 11 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2017–2019
Mean score 50/100, about 118 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Engine more than anything else (1,242 complaints). The record falls 18 points against the years before it. 7 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
2020–2024
Mean score 86/100, about 27 complaints per year on the road. Owners of these years complain about Power Train more than anything else (266 complaints). The record improves by 36 points against the years before it. 1 recall campaign(s) in this run touch fire, crash or stall risk.
Year-by-year data table
Best year in our data: 2023 (score 90). Worst: 2017 (score 35, AVOID).
| Year | Score | Verdict | Running cost / yr | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 89 | BUY | $4,019 | 42 | 2 |
| 2023 | 90 | BUY | $3,599 | 22 | 4 |
| 2022 | 85 | BUY | $4,208 | 128 | 5 |
| 2021 | 82 | BUY | $4,146 | 107 | 7 |
| 2020 | 83 | BUY | $4,868 | 312 | 4 |
| 2019 | 60 | CAUTION | $6,358 | 751 | 3 |
| 2018 | 55 | CAUTION | $6,055 | 798 | 7 |
| 2017 | 35 | AVOID | $7,074 | 1,314 | 8 |
| 2016 | 55 | CAUTION | $6,594 | 897 | 7 |
| 2015 | 65 | CAUTION | $5,825 | 721 | 7 |
| 2014 | 85 | BUY | $5,923 | 381 | 3 |
| 2013 | 42 | AVOID | $8,879 | 2,442 | 2 |
| 2012 | — | DATA PENDING | $5,600 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | 54 | CAUTION | $7,870 | 1,801 | 3 |
Running cost is fuel or energy plus the maintenance band midpoint for that car at its age today, re-priced to your country. Purchase price, insurance and depreciation are not included.
Photographs and every generation of the Edge, through the years →
What goes wrong on the Ford Edge
Across every Edge model year in our index, owners report these component groups most often. The cost beside each one is the representative repair for that group at a US independent shop, re-priced to your country.
- Engine2,201 complaints across all Edge years · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair$1,040–$2,220
- Electrical System1,787 complaints across all Edge years · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement$540–$1,310
- Service Brakes1,606 complaints across all Edge years · typical job: Pads, rotors and caliper service, both axles$580–$1,140
- Power Train1,196 complaints across all Edge years · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair$1,290–$4,040
- Unknown Or Other1,165 complaints across all Edge years · typical job: Diagnosis and mixed repair$360–$940
- Structure576 complaints across all Edge years · typical job: Body, subframe or corrosion repair$1,070–$2,920
Flat-rate labour hours x local shop rate plus a parts band. An estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote. Formula.
FAQ
Which Ford Edge years should I avoid?
On the NHTSA record the years to avoid are 2013, 2017 — each scores below 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. The 2017 is the weakest at 35/100, with its complaints concentrated in Engine.
What are the best Ford Edge years to buy?
2014, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 all score 70 or better. The strongest is the 2023 at 90/100, on 22 complaints and 4 recall campaigns.
What is the most common Ford Edge problem?
2,201 of the complaints filed against the Edge across all its model years sit in the Engine group — more than any other component.
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Sources: NHTSA, EPA · Methodology · Updated 2026-10-04