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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 11
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
52,260 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.

2013 Ford F-150 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2013 Ford F-150 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 14)

problem #268

Jan 092025

F-150

  • miles

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

Due to an unresolved issue that Ford motor company is aware of with the Transmission -??Molded Lead Frame-?? the truck will drop down into 1st gear from highway speeds and causes a huge safety concern if there should be someone traveling behind me. The speedometer will stop working as well as the mileage will disappear off the screen/all other information will go blank. I will have to stop the truck, turn it off and back on again and it will drive normal. When I bring to dealer; they state ford should be covering this issue: when I contact ford I am offered no assistance or remedies. They referred me to bring this safety issue to your attention. It is very concerning and I cannot afford another car at the moment.

- Beacon Falls, CT, USA

problem #267

Dec 092024

F-150

  • miles
Vehicle would not start and left me stranded. There seems to be a known problem with the fuse opening on the ignition system that is contributed to poor engineering on Fords part. There is a bulletin within Ford on repair. This is a tremendous safety problem.

- Willard, OH, USA

problem #266

Oct 302024

F-150

  • miles
Driving on the highway and suddenly lost total power. RPMs dropped to zero, speedometer dropped to zero. Truck attempted to downshift immediately and caused the truck to jerk aggressively. All dashboard readings disappeared, mileage, etc. Wrench displayed on screen and airbag sensor lit up. Sudden downshifting of the vehicle and jerking could have caused a wreck or loss of control of the vehicle. Potential injury to passengers/children in vehicle. Pulled on side of road and turned off the vehicle. Restarted it with no lights on dash and gauges back to normal. "Limped" truck to the Ford dealership for inspection and it was confirmed to be the Lead Frame Sensor by stored code reading.

- Blair, NE, USA

problem #265

Oct 242024

F-150

  • miles

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

I lost my speedometer, mileage reading go out along with losing 1st 2nd and 6th gear. I got home turned it off and turned it back on and everything started working again. From what I read this is the same problem that ford had and did a recall on 1.2 million of the same year of truck. But my truck doesn-??t show it was recalled

- Wichita, KS, USA

problem #264

Oct 112024

F-150

  • miles
Vehicle have been parked for 5days and no power when returned to open door or start vehicle.No power on dash.Installed new battery, had it programmed to vehicle and started.1 month later and same issue again.No power, remote won't work either.

- Douglasville, GA, USA

problem #263

Apr 292024

F-150

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH, the infotainment system display disappeared, the icons on the instrument panel became darkened, the vehicle stalled, the transmission shifted unintentionally, and the transmission sensor was inoperable. Several unstated warning lights were intermittently illuminated. The failure reoccurred on several occasions. The contact was notified that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V433000 (Power Train). The vehicle was taken to a dealer to get a diagnosis; the dealer informed the contact that the cause of the failure was unidentifiable. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer on several different occasions and the contact was informed once again that the failure cause was unidentifiable. The vehicle was not repaired; however, the failure still occurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the lead frame needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The manufacturer was notified and confirmed that the VIN was no longer associated to the recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

- Fulshear, TX, USA

problem #262

Sep 252024

F-150

  • miles

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

I took my 2013 Ford F150 in on Feb. 15, 2019 due to a recall. They reprogrammed the software, only took a few minutes. This is recall #19S07. It was due to the truck possibly shifting from any gear into first gear suddenly. Very dangerous. I did not have that problem before or since the recall until one week ago. Pulling onto the highway, RPM's went very high (3500-4000) even though I was only going est. 25 MPH. My speedometer showed "0". This problem comes and goes and now I feel completely unsafe driving my truck. I contacted Ford customer service and I do not think they will fix this unless I cover the tab. I feel that this is unfair. I have taken it in and left it all day but they did not get to it, my local Ford dealer is out until mid November for service. My truck now gets stuck in first gear or downshifts into first gear and the instrument display goes wacky, no speedometer, etc. I noticed a green wrench icon light up yesterday when this happened. Over 1.2 million F-150's had this problem. Over 100,000 trucks did not receive the proper PCU reprogram and need new reprogramming. I believe my truck is one of these as I am now having the exact issues that the recall was supposed to solve. Fortunately, I have not been travelling at high speeds when this happens but this problem can cause the transmission to shift from any gear at any speed into first gear, which could be life threatening. According to Ford, it is the powertrain control module software that causes this problem. Trucks built at Dearborn Assembly Plant, 4/28, 2010 to 10/28, 2013 and Kansas City Assembly Plant, 5/18, 2010 to 11/18, 2013 have this problem. My truck's manufacture date is March 2013 so it falls into both of these timeframes. I feel that this is a severe safety issue and could result in serious injury or even death. I think that because the 2019 service recall did not solve the issue, since my truck has these exact things going on with it, Ford is responsible. Thnx

- Prineville, OR, USA

problem #261

Sep 262024

F-150

  • 163,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the front driver's side door lock master switch was inoperable. The contact replaced the door lock fuse, and the switch became functional; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 163,000.

- Cordova, TN, USA

problem #260

Sep 162024

F-150

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 60-65 MPH, the vehicle stalled inadvertently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was unable to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the residence. The contact stated that the vehicle later restarted; however, the failure recurred while driving. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after 30 minutes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that a fuse box where the sensors were attached to had melted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #259

Aug 132024

F-150

  • 167,559 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact state while driving 60 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted from sixth gear to third gear. The contact stated that due to the rear-wheel drive feature, the rear tires skidded. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and there was no electrical power to the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission speed sensor failure. The contact was informed that the transmission speed sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 167,559.

- Fayetteville, GA, USA

problem #258

Aug 052024

F-150

  • miles

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

My 2013 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor experienced the failure condition described in TSB 15-0137 causing sudden and complete loss of power, with no previous warnings, due to the fuel pump relay fuse holder melting and the fuel pump abruptly shutting off. This occurred while my son was driving the vehicle and while he did an admirable job of getting the truck off to the shoulder with no power, he was nevertheless on a freeway onramp around a blind turn with a merge where drivers were attempting to accelerate to highway speed, thus placing him in a dangerous situation for the hour or so it took to get a tow to the Ford dealer for repair. This failure mode (and subsequent repair) has had a TSB for 9 years and clearly has the ability to cause a safety concern, as it did in this case. Had I known about this TSB, I would have implemented it proactively given the severity of the potential failure and the high likelihood for it causing a safety issue. There are already dozens of complaints on this exact topic in NHTSA's database. Please consider elevating this safety-related defect to a full recall.

- Woodside, CA, USA

problem #257

Jul 272024

F-150

  • 107,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while parking the vehicle, the "Electrical Fault" message was displayed, and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the windows failed to roll up or down. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that fuse 27 and the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.

- Columbus, IN, USA

problem #256

Jun 282024

F-150

  • miles
I was going 45 MPH several times and have had the truck shift to first, the last time was the last and it only has 3 gears when in limp mode

- Mountain Home, AR, USA

problem #255

Jun 042024

F-150

  • miles
An intermittent failure of the output speed sensor (oss) in the transmission may result in an unintended downshift to first gear.

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

problem #254

May 062024

F-150

  • miles
Engine shifted down one gear in the middle of the road while during normally. Almost caused me to loose control of vehicle. This had happen 3 or 4 times. Engine also gets -??stuck-?? in 1st gear until electronic error message comes on dash. Then dash goes blank and then it runs fine. Requires me to restart the engine to fix the issue, however it happens 9/10 times while driving.

- Colorado City, AZ, USA

problem #253

Jun 092024

F-150

  • 93,775 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the speedometer and mileage gauge failed to operate. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to an unknown Customer Satisfaction Program Number. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was out of the 10-year Customer Satisfaction Program Warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 93,775.

- Davenport, IA, USA

problem #252

May 012024

F-150

  • 19,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the instrument panel and all the electrical functions became inoperable. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repair. The local dealer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was made aware of failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.

- Robinson, IL, USA

problem #251

Feb 022023

F-150

  • miles
This has now happened countless times. The truck will be in a gear, as I naturally speed up, the transmission will jerk and the truck will get stuck in the following gear. The truck will then be stuck in that gear and will not downshift. A big wrench light comes on, then turns off about 10 seconds later. In addition, the odometer lists dashes (---,---), no mileage measures. The speedometer stays at 0 mph even when driving in the stuck gear. Another light stays on, I think it is the airbag image. Everything stays as is until I turn off the truck. Once I turn off and turn back on, everything goes back to normal. I've taken the truck to Ford, but because there are no "check engine" lights and there are no codes, Ford will not cover. My mechanic has confirmed (without any codes) that the recall is TSB16-0008, which was issued in March 2019. Since my truck is showing no codes, and my truck is over 10 years old, Ford says they will not cover. This is extremely concerning. If the truck downshifts on the highway, or refuses to downshift when needed, I could be in a serious accident. As mentioned, this has now occurred countless times.

- New Braunfels, TX, USA

problem #250

Dec 022023

F-150

  • miles
I had no problems untill I went to vanderhyde Ford for a oil change and had them perforn tranmission downshifting recall. Well now it is doing exactly what the recall was to made to not let it do do. It will down shift abruptly and show a wrench light coms on and turn snigal will not cancell and odometer stops working. They said they had a problem preforming the recall do to a remote starter system on my truck. I am a certified tech with ase and a past parts and service manager and have never heard such problems foir any reprogramming recall. My truck has over 194,000 and never had any ntrans problems before recall. I can clear codes and let it sit and drives normal with no problems and they tell mi it will take $2000 dollars to fix the problem they created. Several other reports of this on internet

- Cedar Springs, MI, USA

problem #249

Feb 242024

F-150

  • miles
The dash panel is periodically going blank and I noticed that this is a recall on the Fords in 2023. Is this the same issue on older models Fords F150 as well.

- Dallas, TX, USA

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