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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
10 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
8 / 0
Average Mileage:
75,062 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 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2012 Ford F-150 Owner Comments (Page 13 of 29)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #340

Feb 072019

F-150

  • miles

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

Transmission downshifts on its own at any given time.

- Franklin Furnace, OH, USA

problem #339

Feb 082019

F-150

  • 107,000 miles
I was driving my truck going to work, I was going about 70mph it was foggy and the roads were wet. Out of nowhere my F-150 slams into 1st gear and locks the rear wheels, making skid straight off the highway into the ditch. My instrument gauges went scrazy, my needle for my speedometer went to 0-mph as soon as it dropped to 1st gear. When the truck finally came to a stop, I noticed that the wrench light and check engine were on. I shut the truck off and stepped outside and did a walk around of it and noticed that the drivers rear bed fender was pushed in. I started the truck up and notice the wrench light was off but check engine light was still. I put the truck in drive and notice on the dash that the numbers for gears weren't on so I put it in manual and it was on gear 3. so I was able to drive the truck back home in 3rd gear. I do some searching for this same 2012 F-150 FX2 ecoboost and seen Ford has a recall for this same model and pay for a wrecker to take it to Ford. Now the dealer tells me that my truck is not cover under the recall.

- Bartlett, TX, USA

problem #338

Feb 072019

F-150

  • 98,000 miles
While driving on a city road transmission downshifted into 1st gear and was stuck in gear. I turned off vehicle and it went back to normal. Few weeks later it did it again. And then couple days later it began shifting from 1st to 5th every time this happened I would shut off and it would stop. Other day it got stuck in 1st gear again and a 'wrench' appeared on instrument gauge. I looked on internet and it appears this is a common problem with this truck and that there is a recall when I called Ford I wanna told that mine doesn't fall under recall. How can the same problem with the same model and same year truck be covered for some but not all trucks. This is obviously a know problem that Ford is refusing to cover. This is dangerous and could cause someone injury or worse.

- Corona, CA, USA

problem #337

Jan 312019

F-150

  • 38,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving 60 mph, the vehicle downshifted from sixth to first gear and then back to fifth gear. The vehicle then went into limp mode. The vehicle was taken to honolulu Ford (located at 1370 N king St, honolulu, hi 96817, (808) 824-3981) where it was diagnosed that the molded lead frame needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 16V248000 (power train). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 38,000.

- Kapolei, HI, USA

problem #336

Jan 252019

F-150

  • 94,000 miles
Ford has a recall, which is 16N02, for molded lead frame. I am being told my vehicle is not covered because the VIN doesn't pull up, but I am having the exact problem that is covered by that recall. I have confirmed that my vehicle was built at the factory and during the time period covered by the recall. How do I get my vehicle covered under this recall? I have called Ford customer service and was told to contact NHTSA.

- Garland, TX, USA

problem #335

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 #334

Jan 262019

F-150

  • 133,000 miles

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

While driving at approximately 45 mph on a city street the vehicle unexpectedly down shifted into 1st gear. Based on my research since the incident on Saturday January 26th, 2019, it is the same as described by others and I feel it should be part of this NHTSA investigation. I took my vehicle into 360 automotive located in kennewick, wa on Monday the 28th and upon inspection they documented that no code showed up pertaining to the issue and nothing was done at this time in regards to the inspection. There was a diagnostic charge that I feel is not my responsibility.

- Pasco, WA, USA

problem #333

Jul 012018

F-150

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving 50 mph, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle started to vibrate while shifting into low gears. The contact mentioned that the maintenance wrench warning symbol also illuminated. The vehicle was taken to woody anderson of madison (1638 hughes rd, madison, al 35758, (256) 217-8440) where the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in a recall and the vehicle needed diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.

- Madison, AL, USA

problem #332

Nov 192018

F-150

  • 99,000 miles
I have experienced four incidents where my vehicle downshifted from 6th to 1st gear. Twice on a highway while traveling 60-65, twice traveling 50 on a county road. This caused my back tires to skid and once on an icy road where I went into the ditch with no apparent damage to my truck. I have also experienced three incidents where the truck would not shift out of 1st gear when leaving a traffic light.

- Bayview Gardens, IL, USA

problem #331

Jan 072019

F-150

  • 193,000 miles
Frame lead recall which already has a recall but Ford is saying mine is not covered. Truck slammed into 1st from fifth while traveling on the road. Restarted the truck and the transmission was stuck in first. It then slammed into 3rd and is now stuck in 3rd. The recall states that my truck is covered but when I run my VIN it does not show up. Ford is refusing to cover the safety recall.

- Horse Cave, KY, USA

problem #330

May 282018

F-150

  • 40,000 miles

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

In tow mode while going down hill at approximately 50 mph while pulling a 4800 lb camper. I tapped the brakes to slow down when the the vehicle shifted to 2nd gear. The rpms jumped up and the vehicle would not shift to a higher gear without feathering the gas pedal. This occurred one other time while pulling my aluminum bass boat. Advised dpatrick Ford of the problem. Was told that my VIN was not under the recall. The build date of June 2012 falls in the time frame of the recall. This vehicle has 41,100 miles on it.

- Evansville, IN, USA

problem #329

Jan 102019

F-150

  • 86,000 miles
There is a customer satisfaction program 16N02 with safety recall 16S-19 on 2012 Ford F-150 for a intermittent problem where a wrench symbol appears on the dashboard and the speedometer and odometer quit working and the airbag light comes on and the vehicle goes into a limp mode, there is also instances where the vehicle will shift back into 1st gear on its own which is what my 2012 F-150 is doing and Ford is denying that my vehicle is covered under this recall even though it states exactly what my truck is doing.

- Crown Point, IN, USA

problem #328

Jan 042019

F-150

  • 115,094 miles
This truck is spontaneously shifting down to 1st gear. It is also getting stuck in different gears and not shifting properly, Ford supposedly has a customer satisfaction program extending the warranty to 150,000 miles for the lead frame, however I took it to my local Ford dealership and they do not want to honor the customer satisfaction program. I called Ford corporate and the same thing. Not only when this problem happens does the transmission mess up but so does the instrument cluster, to the point where the speedometer doesn't work and the airbag light comes on.

- Myrtle Beach, SC, USA

problem #327

Jan 062019

F-150

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle downshifted to fifth gear. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. After waiting approximately two minutes to restart the vehicle, it operated normally. The failure occurred approximately fifteen times within two months. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but no failure code was located. The vehicle was taken to joe machens Ford (1911 w worley street, columbia, mo 65203), but was not diagnosed. The dealer stated that the VIN was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 16V248000 (power train). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

- Harrisburg, MO, USA

problem #326

Jan 032019

F-150

  • 50,000 miles
Transmission revs high even after acceleration has stopped. Buckling, rough downshifting. Occurs while vehicle is in motion. Even when not attempting to accelerate (even when going at a steady pace). Problem seems analogous to 16S19 recall, but that supposedly does not apply to my vehicle. 6R80 transmission.

- Riverside, CA, USA

problem #325

Dec 032018

F-150

  • 85,000 miles
While in motion my truck has slammed into first gear while at dangerous speeds. In addition, I have had instances where the truck has started in a high gear and would not exit 5th gear. At the same time the speedometer didn't work and the odometer displayed all dashes (I have pictures of this). My research indicates that both issues are due to a documented failure in the molded leadframe (part of the automatic transmission). The first issue appears to exactly match recall "16N02". the second issue exactly matches tsb 13-6-8. the fix for both is a replacement of the molded leadframe. Ford is saying that my truck is not eligible for the recall (with no explanation) even though my truck is exhibiting the exact symptom specified in the recall and matches both the date and location of manufacture as well as the model of transmission. I had the downshifting issue happen years ago as well and that was serviced under warranty. However, I believe the dealer only replaced the output sensor and not the entire molded leadframe as specified and the problem has reoccured now - though luckily it is not happening often like it did before. This is the link to the recall: Https://media.Ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2016/04/27/Ford-motor-company-issues-three-safety-recalls-and-two-safety-co.html

- Littleton, CO, USA

problem #324

Jan 032019

F-150

  • 107,000 miles
Transmission shifts erratically, jumping from lower to higher gears. While up to speed, immediately shifts to 1st causing redlining of rpms. Speedometer jumps erratically. Happened initially while accelerating from a stop. Caused loss of power and feeling of misfiring, then sudden surge forward. After getting up to approx. 40 mph, transmission shifts to 1st and stays there. Could have easily caused a crash if this happened while cruising at highway speeds.

- Hernando, MS, USA

problem #323

Dec 302018

F-150

  • 154,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle made a loud abnormal banging noise and the gear shifted from fifth to first gear without warning. The contact stated that the rear tires seized and the speed decreased to almost 0 mph. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and the gear became stuck in first gear. The contact had to manually shift gears. The failure occurred twice. Fieldhouse Ford (1400 S hallock St, de motte, in 46310) stated that the contact needed to bring the vehicle in for them to make a diagnosis; however, the contact did not feel safe driving the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 154,000.

- Danville,, IL, USA

problem #322

Dec 202018

F-150 8-cyl

  • 75,941 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving various speeds, the vehicle suddenly lost power and failed to accelerate properly. The vehicle was taken to bj maurer Ford (327 alwine rd, boswell, pa) where it was diagnosed that the power train control module was faulty and needed to be reprogrammed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 16V248000 (power train). The contact stated that the vehicle experienced the same failure listed in the recall. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist. The failure mileage was 75,000. Consumer stated Ford says the problem will be cured when the first problem is repaired. Consumer states symptons still the same and transmission needs to be replaced.

- Hooversville, PA, USA

problem #321

Dec 262018

F-150

  • 117,900 miles
My vehicle has code P0722 for the output speed sensor. The problem description matches safety recall 16S19 but my VIN does not show up for this recall. It appears the recall needs to be expanded.

- Troy, OH, USA

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