The Most Reliable Ford Edge Years, And Some To Avoid (According To Owners)

With the United States car market being overrun by crossover SUVs, not every model is going to be a huge hit. Such was the case with the mid-size Ford Edge. Ford discontinued the Edge after the 2024 model year. While its sales weren't exactly bad after being introduced for the 2007 model year, they just couldn't compete with other models in the Ford lineup like the Explorer, one of the most successful Ford models of all time. It didn't help that Ford barely updated the vehicle in its last 10 years.

That's too bad because the Edge years include some underrated Ford models, especially late in its lifespan. That means that the Edge might still be a good option for those seeking out a mid-size crossover SUV for daily driving on the used market. Looking at the opinions of actual drivers on the vehicle's reliability, we're going to spotlight some specific model years for the Ford Edge that have shown themselves to be reliable, along with less stellar model years to steer clear of.

The Ford Edge was first produced for the 2007 model year, and things didn't get off to a good start. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that model has over 980 complaints levied against it. Over on CarComplaints.com, drivers have submitted 155 complaints, and when you consider that two years later that number dropped to just 24, that number looks much worse. Complaints registered by both the NHTSA and CarComplaints went up for the 2008 model year, which accrued 1,100 and 194 complaints respectively. The number for CarComplaints is the fourth most of any Edge model year.

Ford was able to drastically reduce the number of complaints for the 2009 model year, which was the subject of just 251 total complaints to the NHTSA – a reduction of nearly 860 complaints. We see that same pattern on CarComplaints as well, with just 24 complaints registered there — about 12% of the total from the previous year.

Drivers surveyed by J.D. Power gave the 2009 Ford Edge an average quality and reliability rating of 82 out of 100. If you're looking to save yourself some money by getting one of the oldest models of the Ford Edge on the used market, there really is no more reliable option for these early years than the 2009 Edge.

[Featured image by order_242 via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 2.0]

The 2011 Ford Edge received a number of updates, but it also saw a massive spike in the number of complaints from drivers. Drivers have submitted 1,747 complaints to the NHTSA for 2011 at the time of this writing — about 1,100 more than the previous year's model, though the 2010 Edge received more than double the number of recalls. Issues ranged from the front headlights not working and inaccurate gear shifting to warnings of open doors when they were actually closed. Only three recalls were issued for the vehicle, meaning drivers needed to solve these problems themselves. Also, two of those three recalls were about electrical shortages that could cause fires, which certainly isn't what you want to see.

CarComplaints saw a similar spike in complaints for the 2011 Edge with 461 complaints — 400 more than the previous year and the second most complaints of any Edge model year. The following year barely got any better, accumulating the third most submissions on CarComplaints.

However, the most complaints belong to the 2013 Ford Edge by a wide margin. Its 652 complaint on CarComplaints number 191 more than the already questionable 2011 model, though 381 of those are for the same door warning as the previous models. We also see a huge number of complaints made to the NHTSA. In total, there are nearly 2,300 complaints made against the vehicle, over 800 of which are electrical system complaints. Obviously, this three-year stretch should be avoided.

[Featured image by IFCAR via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | Public Domain]

The last year of the first-generation Ford Edge came in 2014, and with it, a much more reliable model than the preceding years. Looking at the timeline of complaints submitted by drivers on CarComplaints, there's a massive drop-off from 2013 — less than 11% as many to be specific. That drop is even more stark looking at the complaints received by the NHTSA, where the 2014 model accumulated 318 complaints compared to nearly 2,300 the previous year. Any automaker would be thrilled with these improvements.

The 2014 Ford Edge also earned an even better quality and reliability score from drivers surveyed by J.D. Power than the previously mentioned 2009 model, with an 84 out of 100 average score. That contributes to an overall average of 82, which places it in a tie for the third-best SUV of its class from that model year. It's always great when a generation of a vehicle is able to go out on a high note, and in 2014, the Ford Edge was able to accomplish just that.

[Featured image by Thesupermat via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 3.0]

By and large, the second generation of the Ford Edge was much more reliable than the first, but that doesn't mean every year was great. Case in point: 2017. This is an instance where the third year of a generation was actually less reliable than the first two years. In 2017, the Edge saw a big spike in the number of complaints made by drivers to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with 911, and problems with engine cooling were the number one issue.

If you go over to CarComplaints, you may be surprised that the 2017 Ford Edge would be the one to end up here, as the 2015 and 2016 models have more complaints submitted against them. However, this is actually the model year CarComplaints declares to be the worst because of the severity of the problems drivers faced and the cost to get them fixed. Like with the NHTSA, it's an engine coolant issue that's the biggest reported issue, which CarComplaints estimates to cost $5,800 to fix on average. These days, a used 2017 Edge itself costs less than twice that.

[Featured image by Vauxford via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]

By the time the 2020 Edge rolled around, Ford had really figured the car out. Drivers surveyed by J.D. Power gave the model an 85 out of 100 for its quality and reliability. On Consumer Reports, the 2020 Edge earned a 68 out of 100 reliability score, placing it among the top ranks of other SUVs of its class from that year. Drivers have made only 118 complaints to the NHTSA – about a third of the total from the previous model year. Only a dozen problems have been submitted to CarComplaints.

Ford really turned a corner with the 2020 Edge to start the vehicle's most reliable run. Then there's the 2023 Edge, which holds nearly as strong of a reliability score from Consumer Reports with a 64 out of 100. Those surveyed by J.D. Power gave it an 80 out of 100 quality and reliability score.

There are also a shockingly low number of complaints levied against the 2023 Ford Edge. The NHTSA has only received a total of nine complaints against the vehicle. The newer 2024 model — the Edge's last for North America – already has more complaints against it than the 2023 Edge. Even more impressively, there's not a single complaint made it against it by drivers on CarComplaints, the only model year to be able to claim that distinction. As it turns out, the Ford Edge ended its run quite strong.