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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
7 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
54,133 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.

2011 Ford F-150 engine problems

engine problem

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2011 Ford F-150 Owner Comments (Page 6 of 24)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #367

Jan 232018

F-150

  • 74,000 miles

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

The truck is making a severe rattling noise upon start up, which caused check engine light to come one. Codes are saying its timing chain related. Truck will loose power while driving, you can't push accelerator down without it stalling out or without it missing real bad and jerking. Had truck worked on previously by Ford dealer for the missing and acceleration issues. Dealer said it was a coil pack and changed it out and plugs and wires. Here I am within 10,000 miles later and its worst than ever. There is something seriously wrong with these ecoboost engines and timing chain issues. Absolutely no reason that a $40,000+ vehicle can't make it past 70,000 miles without having timing chain issues! extremely disappointed in Ford and the way they are handling this issue. Zero assistance or help. Next step after this official complaint will be a law suit.

- Paducah, KY, USA

problem #366

Jan 052018

F-150

  • 55,000 miles
I was driving home from the store when the check engine light came on so I connected a code reader and pulled a P0016. Crankshaft/camshaft correlation sensor. I took the truck to a mechanic to find out what can cause this code. After checking out the engine they found that the primary timing chain is stretched causing the play in the engine. This play causes the crankshaft and camshaft timing to be off enough to cause this engine code. This truck has 55000 miles on it and in no way should be having timing chain issues this soon. Clearly Ford has a problem with this timing chain and I should not have to spend $3,500 to have this fixed. This is a growing problem for folks who have these trucks and needs to offer a solution before someone gets hurt.

- Big Bend, WI, USA

problem #365

Jan 012018

F-150

  • 120,000 miles
Misfire at high speeds. Causing engine shake and unable to accelerate. Due to this problem it is a huge risk of being rear ended because of speed drop. Huge safety concern. Spark plug and coil change only helps for a month at a time. This is in the ecoboost model

- Bellevue, NE, USA

problem #364

Dec 262017

F-150

  • 88,000 miles

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

While trying to accelerate at higher speeds the vehicle shakes and appears to misfire. When this happens the vehicle struggles to accelerate and black smoke appears from the exhaust. This occurs mostly while trying to pass another vehicle. The check engine light appeared in the beginning and the code referenced a problem with one of the ignition coils which was subsequently changed but the problem still existed without any codes appearing.

- Houma, LA, USA

problem #363

Apr 012017

F-150

  • 68,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. While stationary, the vehicle would not start when prompted on several occasions. Palm coast Ford in palm coast, Florida was made aware of the failure and replaced the battery, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was aware of the failure and stated that there were no recalls. The failure mileage was 68,000.

- Palm Coast, FL, USA

problem #362

Dec 112017

F-150

  • 116,000 miles
Going around 70mph on route 95, truck suddenly shifts from 6th gear down to 1st on it's own, rear wheels locked up and I skidded nearly off the road. Luckily I had my seat belt on or I would have been thrown into the windshield it was so jolting. Came to a stop, no dash lights or engine indicators came on. Turned the truck off, waited about 5 minutes, turned the truck back on, no check engine light, everything seemed ok, slowly drove the next 2 miles to my office. Checking Ford's website, there appears to be a safety recall for this issue. The molded lead frame is the issue, causing random downshifts.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

problem #361

Aug 152015

F-150

  • 135,000 miles

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

My vehicle downshifts into 1st gear at all times but specifically when traveling about 70 mph, it has caused me to almost get ran into on the highway and almost seems you lose control for a bit, its been doing this for 2 1/2 years and is getting worse, I saw Ford had a recall on this type of thing but they said it wasn't in my batch of trucks, I think my batch should also be investigated because my truck is doing exactly that

- West, TX, USA

problem #360

Oct 202017

F-150

  • 123,000 miles
I have had problems with my transmission. It will slip from 1st to 5th when starting out. It would only work if I put it in manual mode. While in manual modeeverything on my dash went blank and quit working. I had nothing to go by not even my speedometer. Also it slipped from 5th to 1st while driving down the highway causing it to lock up and my wife hit me from behind. I took it to world of Ford in pensacola. They told me about 2 recalls. 16S19,16N02, NHTSA recall 16V248. My truck has been there for over 10days and they said there is no timeframe on when it will be fixed. I have a pregnant wife and a job and now I'm out of my vehicles. The manager at world of Ford frank told me to drive it away from his shop that they weren't going to fix it. I can't drive the truck by it's dangerous. I do have his conversation recorded by he was telling me to drive the truck away after it locked up on me. Now I'm trying other sources to see what I need to do. Anything would help. I can't afford 40$ a day for a rental. Especially since I feel like it's a Ford issue not anything I did. ## VIN passed ## Ford F-150 2011 ##

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #359

Oct 312017

F-150

  • 85,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle stalled and failed to reset. The contact stated that an unknown red warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to hagen Ford (3980 euclid ave, bay city, mi 48706 (989) 684-4600) where it was diagnosed that valves within the engine came in contact with the engine heads and the engine needed replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under warranty for the timing chain. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was out of the 24 month coverage because it began at 28 months. The manufacturer referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was 85,000.

- Bay City, MI, USA

problem #358

Oct 112017

F-150

  • 74,000 miles
My V-6 ecoboost engine shudders upon accelerating, loses power, check engine light flashing on & off. This has occurred several times especially when the weather is damp. My truck only has a little over 75K

- La Plata, MD, USA

problem #357

Oct 152017

F-150

  • 43,000 miles

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

Loss of power towing boat up a hill on highway. Forced dangerous low speed on mountain highway with curves and limited visibility. Dealer inspected and spark plugs cracked at only 43K miles.

- Broomfield, CO, USA

problem #356

Sep 222017

F-150

  • 90,500 miles
While driving the transmission would down shift from 5th to 1st and the speedometer would stop working. After doing research I found Ford issued the following recall safety recall 16S19 the intermittent output speed sensor (oss) failure may result in an unintended downshift into first gear. However after contacting Ford they said my truck was not covered under that recall. I brought my truck to the dealership and they fix the exact problem that was on the recall.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

problem #355

Sep 012017

F-150 4WD 6-cyl

  • 60 miles
My name is [xxx], I own a 2011 F150 ecoboost. Over the past 4 years I have encountered and same issue with the engine misfiring due to moisture getting in the intake. Everyone dealership personal I've spoken with has confirmed that it's a known issue with that year and model and there is no permanent fix. However when the engine continuously misfires it calls for service on the truck and replacement of certain parts. I am filling this complaint because I do not believe this right that Ford should be allowed to ignore a known issue that has almost gotten myself and family into a serious accident on the highway. As well cost me money out of pocket to correct. I would like to see someone hold Ford accountable before this issue gets someone killed. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Prairie Village, KS, USA

problem #354

Sep 042017

F-150

  • 94,873 miles
Driving on the freeway no warning just heard a pot and I pulled over noticed oil coming out. Took it to the shop and the block had 2 holes blown out of it. Oil and everything was fine the rods just blew thru at 94,000 miles.

- Irvine, CA, USA

problem #353

Aug 092016

F-150

  • miles
Ecoboost 3.5 L timing chain stretch. On start up after sitting overnight, timing chain slapps the side of the crank case. Common problem on ecoboost engine. Dealer tells me I need new engine.

- Hoover, AL, USA

problem #352

Sep 112017

F-150

  • 112,500 miles
2011 Ford F-150 XLT supercrew 4X2. I was operating the vehicle in normal conditions earlier this week and noticed that the vehicle was not accelerating after pushing on the gas pedal. I had noticed this very intermittently over the past several months, but this issue was constant. There were no warning indicators, but when attempting to accelerate the pu seemed to be operating at about 30-40% of the expected performance level. I took into the Ford service dealer, northside Ford, and they mentioned it might be the PCM but they needed to start by replacing the O2 downstream sensor. They replaced the O2 downstream sensor and re-tested and it them indicated that the PCM needed to be replaced. The vehicle only has 112,500 miles so it seems odd that there was a recall (12V190000) but my vehicle was not included and it seems to be exhibiting similar problems. I would like to see if someone can look into the issue as I believe it has a similarities to the previous recalls.

- Spring Branch, TX, USA

problem #351

Aug 182017

F-150

  • 130,000 miles
2011 F-150 super cab 4X4 with an 8ft bed 3.5 ecoboost engine, driving down the high way 60 miles an hour engine threw a rod, it blew through the entire block causing an extremely dangerous situation, started checking around have found many complaints of the same thing in the 3.5 ecoboost engines, something about Ford using cheaper powdered rods, I'm not sure all I know is I had a perfectly good truck one minute and the next it's basically a loss, I just thank for no one was hurt.

- Hainesport, NJ, USA

problem #350

Aug 032017

F-150

  • 62,000 miles
When accelerating onto the highway the power shut down and the engine shaked violently and the engine light came on. Afterword I could not speed up pass 50mph. I pulled over let it rest for 30min and the engine light stayed on and I was not able to do any aggressive accelerations and could barely make it up hills.

- Ellisville, MO, USA

problem #349

May 162017

F-150

  • 65,000 miles
Driving 2011 Ford F150 ecoboost on the highway on a 8 hr trip to reno from las vegas. Went to pass a large truck and experienced shaking and studdering. Had to back off as oncoming traffic was approaching. Had to back off and almost caused an accident in rainy conditions because another vehicle was behind me attempting to pass along with me. This caused swerving and hard braking by many vehicles behind that vehicle. Check engine light flashed but did not remain on. I later replicated this by doing a hard acceleration on a clear stretch of road same studdering and flashing light. Drove conservatively the rest of the way. In reno, I had the truck scanned at an auto parts store. No codes showed. Have not had an issue since. This could have killed people. The internet says this is a known issue to Ford on the early ecoboost engines having to do with faulty intercooler design which gathers moisture then blows it into the cylinders when accelerating. I live in the desert and so have not had this problem until that trip. They (Ford) have never notified me that this is a potential problem. There is a tsb for it but that won't help the large bill for the fix or the safety hazard this condition creates. This needs attention. At the least, Ford should notify owners that the problem exists, that it is a safety hazard and fix at no cost.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #348

Apr 192017

F-150

  • 86,000 miles
Recognized pattern failure. Excessive timing chain stretch on 2011 Ford F-150 XLT with 3.5L ecoboost motor. Tapping and rattling noise from the top front of the engine when first started, lasting for approximately 3 seconds. Vehicle well maintained and driven in normal fashion on paved highways. Odomoter ~86K miles. The owner contends timing chains in properly-maintained and normally-driven vehicles should typically last the lifetime of the vehicle (or thereabouts) unless a defect exists. The customer has discovered (unverified) that Ford Motor Company has revised the specifications for the timing chain mechanism on this motor in more recent model years, with redesigned chain and guides and updated part numbers. There is a risk of catastrophic engine failure at highway speeds leading to a substantial safety hazard with the vehicle no longer drivable. Ford has acknowledged the problem three times with tsb 14-0194, tsb 15-0131, and tsb 16-0027, but has failed to initiate a voluntary remedy outside of warranty coverage. Premature timing chain wear appears to be an increasing and ongoing problem on later model gasoline turbocharged direct injection (gtdi) engines. The customer raised the issue with both a local Ford dealership and with Ford Motor Company headquarters to no avail. Repair cost $2634.44 at Ford dealership. This apparent defect yields continuing and substantial profits for the manufacturer.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

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