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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 7
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
57,301 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 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2012 Ford F-150 Owner Comments (Page 3 of 8)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #103

May 222019

F-150

  • 142,175 miles

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

While traveling at 70 mph the vehicle stalled with the engine shutting down in main lanes of an interstate. The stalled engine resulted in the loss of all power assist features including power steering and power brakes. We were able to navigate across several lanes before coming to a complete stop in a traffic lane but not safely off the interstate. After calling for a tow and requested service. It was determined that a fuse powering the electric fuel pump had "burned" out and had to be replaced. Should have been a simple solution, upon further investigation it was determined the fuse panel had been damaged and would no longer accept a fuse and has to be modified with the fuse location moved to a new location and upgraded to a more robust fuse and fuse placement slot. Ford has been aware of this problem and has only elected to fix those vehicles that exhibit failure and at the cost of the consumer if not within the warranty period. This vehicle has been returned to Ford dealers multiple times with no mention of this problem or repair. Ford has issued a technical service bulletin (tsb 15-0137) and has created a specific replacement kit, which includes instructions and all necessary parts to perform the relocation (motorcraft # el3Z-14293-a). This should be a recall as it impacts the safety of Ford's F150 owners, their passengers and those that share the road with them. Failure of all power assist functions while traveling at highway speeds is scary and creates a dangerous situation for those in the vehicle and those around it. It also creates an even more dangerous situation if the vehicle was being used to cross a busy intersection, stalled and then stopped in the center of the intersection. Included are pictures of the fuse and the fuse block damaged during the failure and honestly, a fire could have easily started as a result of this failure.

- Anahuac, TX, USA

problem #102

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 #101

Jan 032019

F-150

  • 91,000 miles
Rear passager door ajar come on when off causing intreral light to stay on.the timer can be turned off and still stay on pass 30 sec longest time stortest 10 sec.

- Jennings, LA, USA

problem #100

Jan 012019

F-150

  • 84,000 miles

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

Transmission - output speed sensor is faulty. Had a recall, said the transmission module needed reprogramming, however this did not fix issue of downshifting to 1st gear and unable to shift out of. Also happens to 3rd and 5th. Other 2012's have lead frame assembly replacement which takes care of faulty output speed sensor, my recall of re-programming has all the symptoms of the lead frame recall but is just outside the manufacture date and not included

- League City, TX, USA

problem #99

Mar 032019

F-150 8-cyl

  • 73,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While the vehicle was idling at a traffic light, it stalled and failed to restart. The contact stated that the fuel pump fuse was replaced and the vehicle restarted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer and dealer were not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 73,000.. the consumer stated had to purchase a rewire kit from Ford to prevent the problem.

- Brenham, TX, USA

problem #98

Feb 252019

F-150

  • 89,854 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the fuse overheated and prevented the vehicle from starting. The failure occurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to iron city Ford (9924 parkway E, birmingham, al 35215) where they stated that they would replace the wiring and fuses. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was currently at the dealer awaiting repairs. The failure mileage was 89,854.

- Center Point, AL, USA

problem #97

Feb 242019

F-150

  • 58,000 miles

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

Feb 24, 2019 was pulling out of church parking lot when Ford truck suddenly died while merging into traffic. Luckily I had enough space to maneuveur to the side. I turned vehicle off and tried to restart. Ford truck would only crank..(no start) I had truck towed home. After reading on internet I looked at fuel fuse F27 20 amp. Sure enough it was burned. I replaced and vehicle started up. I asked dealer about warranty under the federal emission warranty and they said nothing exsist. I have read enough to know this is a dangerous issue that Ford knows about and should repair.

- Schererville, IN, USA

problem #96

Feb 132018

F-150 6-cyl

  • 129,986 miles
While traveling at 48 mph on 2 lane county rd I was in 4 wheel high when truck slammed into 1st gear causing truck to loose traction and ended up going into ditch. The truck never stalled out all gauges stopped working and tech light came on. I proceeded to be pulled from ditch. Then turned truck off.checked truck over it has body damage nothing visible under truck so I started it gauges where working tech light was off radio stopped working but could be loose connection I proceeded to limp it home at about 20 mph was shifting hard at higher RPM I had it towed to body shop while at hospital.recall came on news I went to dealership they said bring it in they'll reprogram it. I'm wondering about damages caused by defect who will be paying for that? this defect is a danger and I can't believe it took Ford 7 years from first report on here to address issue. And they claim only 5 cases of a crash which I have found 7 people who have had accidents because of it 4 of them where single vehicle 3 involved being rear ended because the sudden stop very disappointed in Ford.

- Bemidji, MN, USA

problem #95

Jan 302019

F-150

  • 110,000 miles
While the rear defroster is activated the glass shattered due to what seemed to be a problem with the electrical for the defroster. Vehicle was stationary and running at the time of the incident.

- North Kingstown, RI, USA

problem #94

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 #93

Jan 032019

F-150

  • 107,000 miles

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

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 #92

Dec 012015

F-150

  • 37,000 miles
Rear window defroster not working

- Eastchester, NY, USA

problem #91

Jan 022018

F-150

  • 85,000 miles
Rear window defogger quite working

- Howard City, MI, USA

problem #90

Dec 152018

F-150

  • 150,000 miles
I bought the truck in April or May. When my truck is stationary and turned off with the keys out of the ignition, my dash lights do not shut off. I didn't notice this the first time because, at night, my lights stay on for about 20-30 seconds and then shut off. The first time I noticed this, I got home for the night, put my truck in park, shut it off, and took out the keys. I used my remote to lock the truck. Got in it the next day and it was completely dead. I had to put it on the battery charger for about 30 minutes and finally got it started but I noticed while charging it (with the keys out of the ignition) that my dash lights were still on. Its almost like my truck does not know that it is in park and it thinks it is still in gear which keeps my dash lights on. A few days before I started experiencing this issue, my remote starter would not work all of the time. It was very hit or miss. I'm not sure what to do about this.

- Charleston, IL, USA

problem #89

Nov 222018

F-150

  • miles
Big yellow wrench appeared on ip cluster while driving, speedometer dropped to "0", tachometer now won't drop to "0" reads high all the time. Took it to the Ford dealer, was charged for a "lead frame" replacement; tachometer still doesn't work; now I find out there is/was a recall on the lead frame.

- Canfield, OH, USA

problem #88

Nov 082018

F-150

  • 119,218 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving approximately 50 mph, the transmission downshifted into first gear without warning. The contact temporarily lost control of the vehicle and it spun out of the right lane into a grassy area. The contact stated that all four tires seized and the vehicle was immediately placed into neutral. The contact was able to stop the vehicle. During the failure, the speedometer and instrument panel became inoperative. The speedometer gauge increased and decreased and the instrument panel lost power completely. The contact was able to restart the vehicle, but the failure recurred. The contact stated that the vehicle downshifted and upshifted randomly. Grieco Ford of delray beach (3000 South federal highway, delray beach, Florida 33483, (561) 278-278-0303) and autonation Ford margate (5401 West copans road, margate, Florida 33063, (954) 644-4976) were made aware of the failures and stated that there was no recall on the vehicle. In addition, the dealers requested a diagnostic assessment. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The contact attached a diagnostic code reader to the vehicle and referenced diagnostic trouble code: Oss sensor (P0720). The failure mileage was 119,218.

- Boca Raton, FL, USA

problem #87

Aug 152018

F-150

  • 45,000 miles
Vehicle has less than 45000 miles. Has erratic loss of power while accelerating. Evidence of water in the air intake. Research is showing that the ecoboost engine is collecting more water in the intercooler than the engine can consume. Problems increases in southern humid states. This is problem caused by faulty engineering in the 3.5L ecoboost engine and could cause accidents due to unpredictable loss in power. Loss of power is felt while driving on city and highway driving.

- Fort Sam Houston, TX, USA

problem #86

Jul 242018

F-150

  • 119,000 miles
Takata recall my truck keeps downshifting and locking up my back wheels on the highway. I just almost had a wreck and this is getting ridiculous.

- Douglasville, GA, USA

problem #85

Mar 072018

F-150

  • 137,983 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. In addition, while driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to coast to the side of the road. When the contact powered off and restarted the engine, he was able to drive normally. The contact stated that the failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to crossroad Ford of wake forest, Inc. (10101 capital blvd, wake forest, nc 27587, (877) 331-8117), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and filed a case. The approximate failure mileage was 137,983.

- Wake Forest, NC, USA

problem #84

May 122018

F-150

  • 142,300 miles
The vehicle would downshift into 1st gear without warning, has occurred when vehicle was traveling approximately 35 mph. The vehicle would also remain in 1st gear after these incidents and intermittently when leaving from a stop, at an intersection. Vehicle has done this several times, in which case the dashboard displayed an illuminated malfunction indicator light and gone into limp mode, with only 5th gear available, while in an intersection. This problem would also cause the odometer to read '-------.--' and the speedometer to read '0 mph', even when the vehicle is in motion, travelling at any speed. Vehicle is in otherwise perfect operating conditions. Diagnostic trouble code P0720 was displayed during these incidents. The manufacturer has customer satisfaction program 16N02 for 'certain' vehicles, in which the dealers are replace the molded lead frame within the transmission. In the case of my vehicle, this program did not apply to my vehicle, while at the same time, the molded lead frame within the transmission was determined to be the source of the issue and subsequently replaced. With my vehicle not applying for the noted customer satisfaction program, with the same faulty part as noted within the specific customer satisfaction program, it is my opinion that the affected vehicles with deficient molded lead frames is far greater than what was initially thought and therefore, the recall program should be extended to all F-150S and similar vehicles within the specified build dates, as noted within the customer satisfaction program. The molded lead frame failure should be considered a manufacturing defect and causes serious safety concerns for the drivers of those vehicles and to the travelling public.

- N Chesterfield, VA, USA

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