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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
44,312 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

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2012 Ford F-150 Owner Comments (Page 3 of 10)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #152

Jan 172019

F-150 6-cyl

  • miles

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

Driving down the road and heard an unfamiliar noise as I started to slow down I heard a loud pop and it felt as if the wheels locked up. After almost wrecking I got out to find that the ring and pinion was damaged.

- Trenton, GA, USA

problem #151

Jan 212020

F-150

  • 118,000 miles
After experiencing a speed sensor failure in my Ford F-150, I took it to a local dealer to have the recalled part replaced (speed sensor/lead frame). They did not replace the part, instead flashed the sensor with new software. The next day, encountered a related issue, after taking it back, the service rep stated that it seems to be the lead frame and would be covered by Ford but did not off an additional appointment, advised to call back if the problem persists. I have continued having these issues. Issue: Vehicle stops shifting, locks into the gear that it is in, speedometer stops working, all data goes blank and transmission acts like it slips. Then, stop the vehicle, turn it off, restart, then runs fine until next occurrence. After much much research and agreed discussion with the service rep at 2 different dealerships, it displays the exact symptoms of the lead frame which is mentioned in the recall issued related to this issue. 2 different dealerships have now refused to replace the part because the error code is not present when I get the vehicle there and that is because I have to get the issue to clear so I can continue driving it. I have also contacted Ford Motor Co. Customer service and have had the issue escalated 3 times, each time they come back with a response "there are no current programs available to assist" even though there is a Ford issued recall issued in Feb. 2019. I have also waited for a week for a call back from the service manager but no response. The issue persists with no action from Ford. I am stuck driving my truck everyday in fear of being stranded and causing an accident. I have also sent an email to the general manager of peoria Ford in phoenix AZ and have yet to receive a response.

- Glendale, AZ, USA

problem #150

Jan 032020

F-150

  • miles
Engine accelerates by itself when I turn it on or if I'm at a red light or as soon as I put it in drive

- San Juan, TX, USA

problem #149

May 182018

F-150 6-cyl

  • 45,000 miles

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

Very little to no brakes at all. Of course the same issue everyone else is having. Vacuum pump/ brake booster! definitely a safety issue and how they haven't fixed this issue yet is beyond me. No actually I do know since I'm a Ford employee myself, but I'll save that for a representative. Remember 'quality is job one!' [xxx] from louisville Kentucky. Email: [xxx]. ssn [xxx] address [xxx]phone # [xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #148

Dec 162019

F-150

  • 51,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving 75 mph in fog, the contact attempted to pass a tractor trailer. The vehicle hesitated, failed to accelerate, and decelerated to 60 mph. In addition, the check engine warning indicator illuminated, the rpms fluctuated between 2000-4000, and the gear shifted from fourth to sixth gear. The local dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 51,000.

- Hayes, LA, USA

problem #147

Sep 032019

F-150

  • 230,000 miles
My transmission sticks in one gear, shifts very hard, and down shifts unexpectedly. There is a recall for this, but Ford has not started to fix this problem. It is causing additional damage to my vehicle the more I drive it. The recall was started in febuary of 2019.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #146

Oct 022019

F-150

  • 75,000 miles

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

I was driving along rt. 837 highway on my way to work, going about 45 mph, when all of a sudden all of the gauges on my dash went blank and my speedometer went to zero. Then a big orange wrench appeared on my dash. The truck dropped into first gear and I had very little power. I was able to turn my hazard lights on and pull over to the side of the road without being rear ended. I ended up making it to work, which was about 3 minutes away, in first gear. After shutting off the ignition and restarting the engine all of the gauges were working again. I made it home fine that day and an advanced auto scan of the vehicle brought up no codes. Two days later I had the same problem occur on rt. 30 highway and I had a scan tool I had bought with me. I got 2 codes, (P0720, P0722) both relating to the output shaft speed sensor circuit.

- North Huntingdon, PA, USA

problem #145

Apr 252019

F-150

  • 152,000 miles
I purchased my vehicle used from a Ford dealership in 2017. I brought it in a few months after I purchased it due to rear tires locking up and a sudden downshift. Was told no codes were found wrong and they couldn't duplicate the issue. April 30, 2019 had to have it towed back in. Was informed of a recall on lead mane frame for first time. After replacing lead frame vehicle still will not preform properly and I have now been told entire transmission needs to be replaced. I haven't received any letter nor made aware at time of purchase of any recall. Ford continues to refuse any remedies to justify this problem. I'm a single mother of 3 and am outraged by the companies failure to notify me of this safety recall. The company refuses to help because my mileage is 152,000 miles. 2,000 over the extended warranty for recall. If I would have been notified in a timely manner of this faulty transmission and possibly deadly recall I would have immediately tended to it. My children are my world and Ford cares less about their safety and mine and it is wrong. Please help me and my babies.

- Lake Charles, LA, USA

problem #144

Apr 012019

F-150

  • 102,000 miles
My vehicle was serviced for recall 19S07 regarding unexpected downshifting in to first gear while driving. After my vehicle was serviced, my truck began downshifting in to first gear while driving. A new recall 19S19 was issued for improper/insufficient repair of original recall 19S07, however my vehicle's VIN is not yet showing up under this new recall, but my vehicle is still downshifting in to first gear while driving

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #143

May 242019

F-150

  • 90,000 miles
Takata recall- I just got my 2012 F150 and I really like the truck but everytime I drive it and im slowing down it all suddently shifts down real hard, I try to avoid it to shift down so hard but nothing works. It really doesnt feel safe at all driving it and this happens everytime I drive it.I just want to get that recall problem fixed as soon as possible

- Smyrna, GA, USA

problem #142

Apr 222019

F-150

  • 150,000 miles

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

Vehicle in forward motion at low and highway speeds. Transmission shifts unexpectedly! low gear-high gear-4WD-park!!! especially dangerous on highway. Need to have repaired to ba able to drive safely.

- Forney, TX, USA

problem #141

Apr 052019

F-150

  • 80,000 miles
For over 2 years now an issue with the driver tran module has been causing my truck to go from any gear into first, locking tires up and causing issues while driving at any speed. ** safety recall was made on driver tran module **. however, my truck is now in worse condition without a fix to the issue, but my truck is now shutting the entire computer module down and I have further transmission issues.

- Fairport, NY, USA

problem #140

Apr 072019

F-150

  • 163,000 miles
Truck currently has a recall on it due to it going into first gear unexpectedly. Took truck to closest dealership two weeks ago and had the recall service completed. Was told to expect my check engine light to be on for three or four days. When it stayed on a week I called them back to discuss the light still being on. Rescheduled a follow up appointment for April 12. On April 5 and April 7 the truck had the same problem that the recall was supposed to fix. Going approx 50mph when the truck went into first gear with wheel hop and some fish tailing. When this problem occurs the instrument panel will basically go to all zero's and it takes the truck being turned off for the computer to reset and allow truck to drive normally. Just wanted to document here since truck goes back to dealership tomorrow.

- Englewood, TN, USA

problem #139

Apr 052019

F-150

  • 132,000 miles
Driving vehicle at approx 65mph, engine lost power, engine wrench light, illuminated, oil pressure light illuminated, engine shifted to 'limp mode'. no acceleration. Pulled over to the side of the highway. Waited 2 minutes and restarted the engine. Was able to get home. Took to certified Ford dealership for repair. Issue occurred twice more while driving to the dealership for repair. Needed to replace the throttle body.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #138

Mar 192019

F-150

  • 58,000 miles
On hwy 65mph accelerating speedometer reading went to zero, transmission auto downshift. Had to pull over restart and then both the speedometer and transmission worked. After this several starts the speedometer doesn't work and transmission won't shift out of 1st gear

- Baytown, TX, USA

problem #137

Mar 052019

F-150

  • 129,972 miles
Had recall preformed it still is dropping into 1st gear while driving complaint number: 11181584

- Bemidji, MN, USA

problem #136

Feb 072019

F-150

  • 55,712 miles
While driving on busy expressway in rush hour traffic, my truck suddenly shifted into neutral and I lost all information on dash (speedometer, miles until empty, etc). Luckily I was able to pull over and no one was hurt. Had to have vehicle towed. I was told that my trasmission has code P0722, apparently a common issue with the molded lead frame. I was also told that my VIN was not covered under a recall and that I would have to pay out of pocket. Very disappointed with Ford's quality of product and customer service for a known issue. This truck has less than 56,000 miles on it and I am still making monthly payments.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #135

Feb 202019

F-150

  • 65,000 miles
On the evening of 2/14/19 while returning home from the car wash, my 2012 Ford F-150 suddenly downshifted into 1st gear from 6th gear while the vehicle was in motion. There was no loss of control as the road was dry and my speed was 40 mph. The next morning I called the service department at jack demmer Ford in wayne mi to speak with my service rep. He did not pick up and did not return my call despite my leaving a detailed message and calling again later in the day. On the morning of 2/19/19 while on the freeway at approximately 70 mph, the vehicle went into what I assume is "limp mode". it dropped from 6th to 5th gear and a wrench logo appeared in the message screen. There was no description of the problem, just a logo. When I got off the freeway, I realized that I no longer had 1st, 2nd, or 6th gear. I arrived at work and called the dealer immediately. They gave me a runaround about how an official fix was not available yet and asked me if I had tried turning the car off and back on again. After insisting repeatedly that something be done, I was told I could bring the truck in the have the power train module "reprogrammed". this was done at no cost but I was told this was all they could do for me at this time. The next day in the evening, the truck downshifted to second gear while I was on the freeway doing 55 miles an hour. The road was wet and starting to freeze. I nearly lost control of the vehicle but was able to regain control. The truck returned to normal after this. As of 2/20/19, no further contact has been made with Ford regarding the issue. I will be calling tomorrow to customer care about this issue and demanding a rental car until the vehicle is safe to drive. It is my understanding that this is related to recall 19S07. The transmission output speed sensor is reported to be losing communication with the powertrain control module, causing a downshift.

- Allen Park, MI, USA

problem #134

Aug 262016

F-150

  • 90,000 miles
Hello, I have a 2012 Ford pickup truck with automatic transmission, multiple times as I was driving on the road the truck would downshift and lose power, the dashboard would read that I'm driving in 5th gear but the truck was only going about 5miles per hour. I would pull over and turn vehicle off for a few minutes and restart again, sometimes it would work, I took it to a Ford dealership for repairs and they informed me that a recall for the same symptoms were done to other trucks like mine, but the VIN # was not coming up as being one of the infected ones, the repairs were very expensive and I kept the receipt just incase it comes up later, so far no luck according to Ford.the dealership said they would reimburse me if it does, but to let someone know they did change the exact parts on the recall. Well its been awhile since this took place. The truck has 135,000 miles on it and still runs good after the repair at alot less miles at the time. I can send the receipt if you need it or the dealership can help if you need more information, miller motors in burlington wi.

- Trevor, WI, USA

problem #133

Dec 242018

F-150

  • 137,000 miles
Immediately following an oil change, my truck began making insanely loud grinding noises. I attempted to drive from knoxville to chattanooga and barely made it to cleveland. My truck stalled, started back up and I coasted into a parking lot. It would not go over 50. I then found a massive puddle of oil underneath where I parked. The truck was taken to jiffy lube.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

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