48 votes
Fords can be really picky about which alternator you use! Even if it’s a remanufactured Motorcraft, it’s worth it. Had a friend with an 11 Edge 3.5 that we put a aftermarket alternator in and it complained errors etc… for months till we finally swapped it out and it worked fine with the Ford part!
I just replaced mine with a motorcraft one from rock auto. Yeah it's pricier than reman or other brands but if it lasted 20 years and 190k, I figured that this would last just as long. Get what you pay for
I went through 3, iirc on my 2006 mustang. Wound up with a used motorcraft (OEM) that I bought off eBay.
I had to order a motorcraft alternator which hasn't given me any problems 6 months later.
I also noticed that the alternator looks like a remanufactured unit. I’ve been reading about how these PCMs really don’t like reman units that are not built perfectly to spec. It’s best practice to replace these with only motorcraft units.
Been there with a Motorcraft alt. 181K miles. She stopped charging. No batter light on the dash. I laid it to rest and paid my respects.
As far as replacements I've had good luck with Rock Auto Sticking to the better brands like Motorcraft, AC Delco, Remy, and Bosch.
The OEM motorcraft alternator in my focus lasted 14 years and its replacement, a Remy, lasted 6. If the difference in price between OEM and aftermarket isn't too big, and you plan on keeping the car for more than 5 more yrs, I'd go with the OEM.
Go with an OEM unit by Motorcraft even if it's more expensive. Not somethin you want to do twice, learned this lesson with my Explorer. Threw on an aftermarket unit and it doesn't communicate with Ford's smart charging system correctly so it doesn't provide correct voltages as needed, therefore throwing a charging system warning constantly.
RockAuto does offer Motorcraft alternators and back in 2021, I purchased one for my 2016 5.0 Lariat.
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The brand is registered in USA. Official website: https://parts.ford.com/.
In March 2026, PartReview users have a positive opinion of Motorcraft alternator.
PR Score — 81 out of 100, based on 15 reviews and 48 votes. 11 positive reviews, 3 neutral reviews, 1 negative review. Average rating — 4.2 (out of 5). Vote balance: 39 up, 9 down.
In the ranking of the best alternator this part is at position 7, behind OEM Honda and AC DELCO , but ahead of OEM Nissan and OEM Volvo.
Users also evaluated the qualities of Motorcraft alternator:
See which car brands and models owners choose Motorcraft alternator for. Below are car-specific ratings where this part is in the Top-3:
There are 17 comparisons of Motorcraft alternator with other manufacturers on PartReview.
In particular, see which alternator are better: Motorcraft or Mitsuboshi, OEM KIA or Motorcraft, Motorcraft or GENERAL MOTORS, Motorcraft or OEM BMW, Motorcraft or OEM Mazda .
