Lemberg Law is investigating complaints that the 2022 Ford F-150 has a major issue with the sound system. Numerous F-150 owners report that deafening pops and booms emanate from the audio system together with excessively loud crackling static sounds. Some complain about severe earache as a result.
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The volume of complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), forums, and social media platforms including Reddit, indicate that deafening audio problems with the Ford F-150 are not isolated incidents. Owner descriptions of what happens are incredibly similar, and many say it is a recurring, ongoing problem. Some complaints give more detail than others.
Between September 5 and October 4, 2022, there have been 10 complaints about deafening audio sounds and loud static to the NHTSA alone. These cover incidents that happened in various states between July 25 and October 4. They are listed under Electrical System, Equipment, and Unknown or Other categories on the NHTSA website.
There are many, many more complaints on other platforms.
Ford F-150 owners are experiencing loud, sometimes explosive sounds emerging from their sound systems. Those that specify a particular system mention B&O Unleashed. Some have had it happen more than once.
Many complaints talk about popping sounds while others say there is a big boom followed by crackling sounds. Either way, they say it sounds like an explosion, and the crackles are clearly static.
A typical comment on a forum from an owner in Colorado states: “This is a serious safety issue! (It) does sound exactly like an explosion followed by static, then off. (The) screen is black.”
Another comment from an owner in Canada says: “Almost like the sound cannons police have for crowd control. I had to disconnect the battery. Nothing else would make it stop. Had this happened while driving it very well could have been a disaster.”
There are also people who are reporting injuries. Another forum member states: “My ears rang for 3 days after this happened and I don’t want to go through it again! I’ve owned so many Ford vehicles and this is such a disappointing experience!”
An owner who has experienced these issues 3 times in 8 months is also frustrated. “Unfortunately a lawyer will probably be the only way to get their attention. Shocking because this is a safety issue.” He adds: “The problem is Ford is not taking any action with this. You won’t believe the run around you’re going to get. They don’t view it as a safety issue and are of no help (in) resolving this issue. Tried calling Ford customer service, wow, what a joke.”
Here are a few examples of complaints from 2022 Ford F-150 owners who have experienced deafening audio issues.
The first complaint was made in September 2022 by a Ford F-150 in Maryland.
“After starting the vehicle, I heard a loud pop and then loud static that couldn’t be turned off. The sound is very deafening and hazardous to babies with developing ears. Has happened twice already in the past week.”
An owner from Texas reports an injury. He describes “a sonic boom explosion of noise from the radio/speakers followed by very loud static. I would estimate the dB level to be 150 plus. Left my ears ringing for hours followed by aching and there has to be some permanent damage.”
The most recent NHTSA complaint, filed on October 4, is from a retired licensed professional engineer with more than 50 years of engineering and safety experience.
“I was stopped at a red light when an extremely loud pop and deafening noise ‘exploded’ in the truck cabin. If I had been driving at the time, the sudden and extreme noise could have caused me to react in a way to lose control of the vehicle.”
He goes on to say that “Two hours after the incident my ears are still ringing, and I have a severe headache.”
It’s essentially the same complaint over and over again. And Ford doesn’t seem to be able to solve the problem.
An owner from Minnesota, whose experience is much the same as everyone else’s says: “It was physically painful to both me and my passenger, and left our ears ringing for days. The dealership does not acknowledge that anything is wrong.”
Additionally, “Ford has not acknowledged its existence, but this is a safety hazard as it can cause serious hearing damage.”
There are numerous discussions and complaints on both the F150Gen4 Forum and the FordRaptor Forum. Here are examples of just two of many.
he earliest forum thread we have tracked down is on the F150Gen4 forum. It dates back to March 5, 2022, long before the first NHTSA complaints, and contains comments through September. Titled Dangerous B&O sound system issue, it comprises 8 pages of comments.
It starts with a description of how the CarPlay system “went crazy and started blaring a horrible sound at full volume.” When the noise didn’t respond to the controls, the driver, Brad-C, pulled over and shut off the truck. That didn’t help, so he drove home with “ears plugged and steering with my knee as much as possible.” After disconnecting the battery, the noise stopped. But as he left the driveway, it started again.
“I can’t tell you how loud it was – like military crowd control loud.”
Considering it a “serious safety issue,” he took the F-150 to his Ford dealer. He was told that if it happened again, “to just pull the amp fuse and not disconnect the battery so they might be able to diagnose it.”
Subsequently, Ford told him not to disconnect the battery if it happened again “because it resets everything and they couldn’t do any meaningful diagnostics on it. They said to pull the fuse for the amplifier, presuming that the problem is with something driving the amp and not the amp itself. That way it would be drivable but technically still exhibiting the issue.”
Brad-C reported back to the forum on April 11 saying that Ford eventually extended the factory warranty “as a courtesy.”
He went on to offer others with the same issue as much advice as possible. “This is going to cause a wreck for someone if the problem persists,” he says.
Another thread on the F150Gen4 forum, launched in late March, is titled Extremely loud electrical sound POP followed by loud static. First, there was a loud POP through the speakers, which was followed by loud static. “The initial pop was loud enough that I thought somehow (the) windows had shattered, and 4 hours later my left ear is still ringing.”
The driver, from Texas, hadn’t touched any controls when it happened. The static wouldn’t stop and he couldn’t play music. Switching off the truck for about 30 minutes eventually stopped the static.
He got a response in the forum from Ford Motor Company.
“Hi there! Would you send us a private message with your VIN and dealership name and location? I’d like to look into this concern on my end.”
Ford reached out to several others in this thread, but not all of them.
Another response from them is worded: “This noise concern doesn’t sound like something we want you to experience with your F-150. Could you please send us a PM with your VIN and the name and location of your Ford dealer? I’d be happy to look into how I can assist you on my end.”
It’s not clear whether Ford provided any answers. As one forum member stated on September 29, 2022: “They will gather all your information and promise to get back to you, but they never do.”
Lemberg Law is investigating the widespread as part of a class action investigation. From the discussion, it seems that only the top-of-the-line B&O Unleashed stereo sound system is causing these problems. Lemberg Law would like to know from those who have experienced issues if this is indeed the case.
Anyway, we are happy to evaluate your case free of charge to see if you qualify to join our class action investigation. All you have to do is call our Helpline at 844-928-4443 or fill in the contact form and we’ll call you.
You won’t have to pay a dime because the law says Ford must pay the legal bills for all lemon law cases.
Brian Jones spent more than 20 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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2022 F150 with B&O Unleashed, Today heard an LOUD explosive sound , sounding like a shot out a window or blown tire, very loud. Then loud uncontrolled static from all the speakers, drove directly to the dealer, the service rep heard the static with the truck sitting off. A few hours later the Tech went to the truck, and it had stopped , as many have reported it will, after it completely shuts down. Appears to be no fix?? The LOUD bang was very distracting and shocking and could have been a danger in traffic.
Same problem, 6k on my F150 Platinum Powerboost. 4 times now….. .My question is: What is Ford Doing about it? Appears Dealers are clueless on a fix.
My 2021 Ford F-150 with the BO stereo just did the same thing. Crazy loud po lol followed by static
We are definitely dealing with loud popping and machine gun noises in our 2022 F150. Has happened twice while driving. The sound emitted by the stereo is definitely deafening, painful, and dangerous. I had searched the internet and this is by far the only thing I was able to find in relation to this stereo issue.