Print this page

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
36,416 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Ford F-150 engine problems

engine problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2012 Ford F-150:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2012 Ford F-150 Owner Comments (Page 9 of 23)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #293

Sep 122015

F-150

  • 40,550 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I went to pass another vehicle and when I went to accelerate the truck started to miss and wouldn't accelerate. It started to lose speed and caused a back up of cars behind me. After a few minutes it cleared up and didn't do it again. I believe the build up of water in the intercooler to be the problem with this vehicle. It's a poor design by Ford and they won't do anything about it.

- Etters, PA, USA

problem #292

Aug 202015

F-150

  • 2,200 miles
Brakes applied to stop, pedal went to floor, vehicle increased, brakes couldn't work had to turn key of to stop engine.

- Lynn, MA, USA

problem #291

Jun 272015

F-150

  • 17,000 miles
Vehicle is a Ford F150 2012 ecoboost V6 3.5L. Vehicle was driven in rain with cruise control on for a time period of around 3 hours without spooling the turbo chargers. Upon trying to pass another vehicle the gas pedal was pressed to accelerate. Vehicle began to shake violently, and began to lose power. This action nearly caused a head on collision. Vehicle was able to drive at current speed but would shake violently when gas was pressed to pick up speed. This happened twice in the same trip causing the check engine light to illuminate. This issue was consistent with the issue of condensation/water in the charge air cooler causing the cylinders to misfire and vehicle going into limp mode. There was no issue when atmospheric conditions were optimal. Again, this issue nearly caused a head on collision as I tried to pass another vehicle in an area which allowed passing in my lane. Ford re-flashed the the ECU and added a deflector shield to the top of the charge air cooler and it did not fix the problem.

- Beacon, NY, USA

problem #290

Jul 202015

F-150

  • 18,950 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Vehicle is a Ford F150 2012 ecoboost V6 3.5L. Vehicle was driven in high humidity and fog with cruise control on for a time period of around 4 hours without spooling the turbo chargers. Upon trying to pass another vehicle the gas pedal was pressed to accelerate. Vehicle began to shake violently, and began to lose power. Vehicle was able to drive at current speed but would shake violently when gas was pressed to pick up speed. The check engine light did illuminate. This issue was consistent with the issue of condensation/water in the charge air cooler causing the cylinders to misfire and vehicle going into limp mode. There was no issue when atmospheric conditions were optimal. This happened after the Ford dealership made the recommended Ford bulletin repairs. This issue has the potential of causing a fatality.

- Beacon, NY, USA

problem #289

Mar 012013

F-150

  • 20,000 miles
2012 ecoboast engine unexpectedly shuts down when I begin to accellerate M I begin to accellerate into my lane or across oncoming traffic --- or no traffic.. my speed rapidly decreases during this 2 to 5 second "delay" and has resulted in many near misses when in heavy traffic. Especially dangerous is when stuck in heavy stop & go traffic, when I must quickly adjust between the gas and brake to prevent a crash. In this heavy traffic scenerio, the engine will begin to " backfire" and brings me to a stop in this traffic --- and then suddenly "catches on" and brings me to a panic braking option. I've taken this issue to my Ford dealers over the past 7 months, and they have no solution --- although all are aware of similar complaints such as mine --- they even have a name for it --- "limb mode and or turbo lag." NHTSA has many similar scenerios in its curretn "complaint" log but no info regarding the status of the complaints. This condition is extremely dangerous and could result in injuries or deaths.

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

problem #288

Jul 062015

F-150 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 70,000 miles
July 6 lost power to truck engine at 60 mph when going to pass in hard acceleration situation. Truck engine shuttered for over 3 mins until I could get it stabilized around 2000 rpms in a lower gear/speed. This was the first of two similar situation on the same day with the truck and throughout the remainder of the day any acceleration over 3500 rpms caused a loss of power. We limped the vehicle home that day. Next day check engine light came on and off until we could get truck into our local Ford dealer for service on 7-13. This issue has been researched via info on this site to no conclusion. I can say if you drove this vehicle and simulated this issue you would see the major issue this causes and potential risk of accident at highway speeds with acceleration. Specifically heavy traffic situations. The issue caused spark plug damage, catalytic converter damage and the dealer performed the tsb (4th issued by Ford) to attempt to fix the issue. This is a known issue, causes safety issues and should be recalled to permanently fix not try to patch with four different tsb. Fix this correctly before accidents occur that cause deaths. Updated 9/25/15 updated 3/23/2016 updated 11/27/2017

- Overland Park, KS, USA

problem #287

Jun 272015

F-150

  • 53,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Engine failed to accelerate when attempting to merge into traffic on interstate, almost causing an accident. Engine started shaking and check engine light came on. It had been raining and was very wet. After pulling off turned of engine for approx 15 minutes. Started driving again and did not experience any other problems.

- Gainesville, VA, USA

problem #286

Mar 172014

F-150

  • 24,991 miles
24,991mi: Misfire when accelerating while driving. No check engine light. Dealer reported no problem found, no codes & made no repairs. 29,440mi: Misfire when accelerating & going up & down hills specifically when in 4,5, 6 gear during both flat & inclined highway driving. This was while pulling an 8000lb trailer. No check engine light. Dealer found misfire in #1 & 4 and replaced coils & plugs in #1 & #4 only. Test drive still showed misfire, then replaced turbo boost pressure sensor. I was told that moisture had damaged the plugs & sensor. 35,214mi: Misfire when taking off from a stop, during normal acceleration and going up hills.no check engine light. Dealer replaced the drivers side exhaust manifold because it was warped. 37,164mi: Misfire when taking off from a stop, during normal acceleration & going up hills. I saw this in acceleration conditions from 10-60mph without towing a trailer. No check engine light. Dealer reported no problem found, no codes & made no repairs. 38,577mi: Repeated severe misfires while going up moderate inclines. Check engine light came on (first time this ever happened) & I had a reduction in power, could not get out of 3rd gear & my speed dropped from 65mph to 50mph. After repair had moderate misfires during major inclines while towing a trailer but no check engine light. 39,000mi: While towing a trailer, experienced series of moderate to severe misfires in waves be ok for an hour & then go into a series of misfires for 3-10 minutes. Some were on hills, some were on flat highway driving. I had 5 occurrences where the check engine light came on during this drive. 3 of these were during a hill climb where I had a power reduction & lost speed. Vehicle stayed in 3rd gear. When I would get a series of severe misfires, misfires were so severe (without the check engine light on), that I could hear & feel the turbo kick off & on..

- Fort Collins, CO, USA

problem #285

Dec 222012

F-150

  • 200 miles
I purchased this vehicle for my son in December 2012. We took a trip to Alabama on the Saturday following the purchase. The truck had problems stalling, misfiriing, and not braking immediately. We have taken the truck to the Ford dealership for repairs approximately 15 to 20 times. It is in the shop again today for the misfiring/stalling. The service writer told my son that his vehicle has only been the shop twice for the same problem. We still have all the service paperwork to dispel that remark, this vehicle has approximately 24,000 miles on it. The factory warranty expires in December and has still not been fixed. It does not just stall in rainy or very humid conditions as stated by Ford in their response to the NHTSA investigation. They have replaced spark plugs twice, updated software, put a heat shield in front of the inter-cooler. None of these things have worked. The shield in front of the inter-cooler defeats the purpose of the inter-cooler by not allowing it to cool as intended. It raises the temperature in the intercooler in an attempt to produce less condensation. My son believes the inter-cooler has a design flaw. He thinks that the air return from the inter-cooler to the engine being on the bottom allows more condensation to be sucked back into the engine. If it were on the top, more of the condensation would stay in the bottom and not returned back to the engine. There is an after market fix for this problem but it is expensive and I believe Ford Motor Company does not want to spend the kind of money that it will take to fix this problem correctly. This vehicle should be able to operate efficiently under any conditions. If it does not, it is flawed. I will probably have to purchase the replacement inter-cooler out of my own pocket. I've included all this information in the event that it helps others with the same problem.

- Kempner, TX, USA

problem #284

Jun 052015

F-150

  • 54,398 miles
When attempting to accelerate from a complete stop the truck will only move forward when the pedal is fully depressed. When this is happening the truck barely moves then it will catch and lunge forward at break-neck speed. This same thing happens at approximately 30 mph, will be accelerating normally when all the sudden the RPM and speed gauges completely drop the engine losses all power and if the pedal is continued to be pressed the truck will lunge forward, again at break-neck speed. In a 10 mile trip it can happen 3 or 4 times. Today we had a new experience where when decelerating to come to a complete stop the motor began revving to redline all while only the brake was depressed. On green light the acceleration again was limited to full petal and a limp till burst mode. These events all scare the family to the point of not riding in the vehicle.

- Kent, OH, USA

problem #283

Jun 172014

F-150

  • 26,354 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I purchased this 2012 Ford F-150 brand new!!! I am a die hard Ford fan, and have never bought something new, so after many old preowned Ford trucks, I bought a new F-150. Under both the 36,000 miles and 3 year bumper to bumper warranty, it would rattle, shake, and tick a lot, a whole lot! it would also make a loud rattling noise during a cold start, or between 1800-2000 RPM. After doing my homework, this 3.5 liter engine (ecoboost) has timing chain issues and the timing chain has been known for pre-mature stretch. I found 4 other testimonials of the same exact issue with the timing chain. It gets better, the other people were also told the same thing after bringing it to their Ford dealer for repair. They said "Ford is aware of the issue, but it would not affect long term operation of the vehicle, and Ford deems it acceptable; no repair necessary".........wow!!!!!! after spending almost 40K on my first new truck. I then went to call Ford cooperate where I climbed up the ladder of 3 different managers, each of higher ranking, and the wrote the highest customer service official a letter, only to be told no, nothing could be done.

- Glenolden, PA, USA

problem #282

May 212015

F-150

  • 33,000 miles
2012 F150, 5.0 V8 3 years off lot when July 4th gets here in 2015. 33000 miles and 4 of the spark plugs are shot, Ford tech said gaps are off. From factory. O2 sensor also shot. Working on it now, better be covered under bumper to bumper, because $1100 dollars is a lot to put into practically a brand new truck.

- Lancaster, OH, USA

problem #281

Mar 032014

F-150

  • 58,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving at various speeds and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle would hesitate and jerk. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician replaced the spark plugs, but the failures continued to occur. The contact indicated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer on multiple occasions for the failure. The contact was eventually informed that there was no repair for the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 58,000.

- Grovetown, GA, USA

problem #280

May 282014

F-150

  • 47,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving at 75 mph, the engine stalled. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the engine coil and the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 47,000.

- Wausau , WI, USA

problem #279

Sep 132013

F-150

  • 30,000 miles
Stumble/misfire intermittently on acceleration from highway cruising speed during slight acceleration in warmer weather. Have had it to local dealer 2X for tsb repairs, with no luck. Called another local dealer to see if they have had any luck fixing the problem and service manager said they have not had any consistent luck in repairing the problem, either...

- Myersville, MD, USA

problem #278

Apr 272015

F-150

  • 32,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While traveling 50 mph, the contact attempted to pass another vehicle. When the contact depressed the accelerator pedal, the engine misfired and the vehicle could not accelerate. The contact stated that the failure also occurred before the vehicle shut down. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was determined that it was a maintenance issue that was not covered under the power train warranty. The dealer stated that the plugs needed to be cleaned and replaced. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer while it was still under warranty, but the dealer only cleared the codes and did not repair the vehicle. While in reverse, the service advance track light illuminated on the instrument panel and the turn signals stopped working. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that there was no failure with the vehicle. A mechanic told the contact that the failure was caused by a faulty steering nut in the steering column. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was 32,000.

- Louisa, VA, USA

problem #277

Apr 132015

F-150 4WD 6-cyl

  • 94,450 miles
While attempting to pass a slow moving vehicle on a two lane road, the engine on my truck started sputtering, then lost speed and power very rapidly. At that point the check engine light started blinking and the truck almost stalled. Fortunately I was able to pull into a parking lot and avoid other drivers. Had an oncoming car been too close, or had I not had a parking lot to pull into, there was a strong possibility I would have had an accident. I have had this happen to a lesser degree in the past, but not to the extent I experienced above, nor did the check engine light ever start blinking. At the time I passed this off as being bad gas, my tires slipping or some other issue and thought no more of it. At this point I don't want others to get put into the same situation, which could result in someone getting hurt. Because reports of this happening to trucks of the same year, make, model and engine I felt compelled to file this complaint.

- Trenton, MI, USA

problem #276

Jan 062015

F-150 4WD 6-cyl

  • 55,000 miles
When there was snow and ice on the highways I put my truck in 4 wheel drive and when turned back into 2 wheel drive I began to notice a grinding and vibration noise that occurred when turning. Then couple weeks later the noise started when backing out causing truck to shake and lose power to barely back out. This noise continued and has gotten worse. Was taken to dealership and looked over. Updates were made as well as oil change but days later noise came back. Since 2/12/15 my truck has been in the service department four times and has performed recommendations by Ford but days later noise comes back. The last time my truck was in I was told by the owner and service manager my truck is not fixable as they were informed other 2012 F150's are having same issues and an investigation is being done. Since this my truck is shaking more backing up, jerking the vehicle on the highway as if losing power than will gain power and jolt forward, I hear this grinding noise all the time when driving at different speeds from 30-60 mph, turns, and backing up. The other issue is when truck gets to 60 mph or higher it does not shift down unless I let up on pedal and then push it again. I am feeling unsafe in this vehicle as twice now I have heard a popping noise while driving with this noise. The dealership has told me there is nothing more they can do. The issue has been reported to Ford and they have done nothing for me. I want to get rid of this truck as I do not feel safe driving it like this.

- Hutchinson, MN, USA

problem #275

Apr 052014

F-150

  • 17,000 miles
Multiple occasions go to step on the gas and the truck just doesn't accelerate, feels like a misfire or almost about to stall, this usually happens when at a complete stop at a light and light turns green, has also happened when rolling in traffic or trying to get onto highway at the on ramp. Another time driving on highway, stepped on gas and truck lurched forward as if someone hit me from behind and RPM kept accelerating even though I was not stepping on the gas. Have brought this to dealer and they claim they can't find anything wrong. I believe these are particularly dangerous because I'm expecting the truck to move so I can go along with flow of traffic and it just hangs on me putting me in a bad situation or it launches forward making me momentarily jerk the wheel and lose control. Possible known issue? (www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2013/05/28/Ford-F150-ecoboost-government-probe/2367197/) thanks

- Somerville, MA, USA

problem #274

Mar 012015

F-150 6-cyl

  • 90,000 miles
March 1 at approx... 8am I was coming out of a 30mph zone on the turnpike. As I accelerated to highway speed the truck started shuttering bad and engine light came on.... and put the truck in a dead zone.... it was still running but power was not there!!! I put on my flashers and safely made it to the shoulder.. the semi directly behind me missed me by inches.

- Lawton, OK, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?