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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 1
Average Mileage:
47,701 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 engine problems

engine problem

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2013 Ford F-150 Owner Comments (Page 8 of 13)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #110

Jun 012018

F-150

  • 100,000 miles

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

Around 100K miles. Truck all of a sudden started to hard shift. Eventually would throw orange wrench light and speedometer would quit working and would have trouble getting the speed up as if it werent shifting. Air bag light will come and stay on. A reboot would take these problems away temporarily. I've read same owners have experienced same issues online on the F150 forum.

- Woodward, OK, USA

problem #109

Jan 072019

F-150

  • 72,450 miles
The frightening issue I experienced on January 7, 2019 is identical to the reports I have since read regarding this vehicle and the frequent issues that led to the recall for 2010-2012 Ford F-150's for unexpected transmission downshifts [NHTSA recall no. / mfr recall no. : 16V-248 / 16S19]. while driving 65-70 mph on the interstate, speedometer suddenly and rapidly fluctuated between 40 and 70, then transmission abruptly dropped from 6th/5th gear to 1st gear. As a result, my wheels locked and caused the vehicle to skid into the lane to my right, forcing other cars to swerve out of my way to avoid a high speed collision. It happened so fast, and without warning, that it was difficult to understand what was actually occurring. Once stopped (in the middle of the interstate), I drove to the median, turned the engine off, sat for a few minutes to gather my thoughts, restarted the vehicle and drove it slowly to my Ford dealership (not on the highway). After inspecting my truck, the Ford dealership verified the issue and stated the following (written report attached): Ran koec got code P0720 oss sensor circuit fault, ran pinpoint tests, found open in oss sensor which is part of the molded lead frame attached to the valve body, removed the valve body, dissasembled, cleaned and inspected the value body, all valves and bores are ok, reassembled valve body with new molded lead frame assembly and new revised separator plate gasket, installed new clutch feed tube seals and seal between valve body and fluid pump, installed new fluid filter and pan gasket, filled transmission with new fluid reprogrammed PCM and cleared dtcs, verified repairs. Despite parallels to the previous recall issue, Ford informed me it is not covered (there is nothing I could have done to prevent it) and the total cost to me was $1,418.83. Please expand the recall - it will save lives.

- Franklin, TN, USA

problem #108

Dec 092018

F-150

  • 99,675 miles
While driving the vehicle it will downshift from higher gears and then no longer shifts or registers speed - wrench light will illuminate on dash. The speedometer will also drop down to zero and no longer register any speed even though the truck is moving. The digital display will display dashes and the air bag light indicator will stay lite. When you unbuckle the seat belt the indicator light will not illuminate. Took it in to have battery tested and had 100% charge but reading indicated a bad battery so had it replaced but issue still presented itself an hour later. Issue occurs intermittently and without warning. Took it to mechanic and they had it for two days and unable to replicate situation. Also took it to dealer and was told they couldn't do anything if the issue never presented itself while they had the truck. Asked if issue was ever presented at that facility or any known issues and was told no. Issue has occurred on four separate occasions over the last 20 days.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #107

Nov 212018

F-150

  • 71,000 miles

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

My 2013 Ford F-150 XLT with 71,000 miles is having transmission issues and problems with shifting and completely losing power while driving. This issue has started intermittantly about a month ago. While I'm driving, a giant wrench appears on the dashboard which is then followed by loss of power and acceleration. The vehicle is then stuck into a single gear and the speedometer and mileage computer go blank so I no longer know how fast I'm travelling. My vehicle issue seems very similar to the 2011-2012 Ford F-150 transmission downshifting recall from below. 'federal safety regulators are investigating whether to reopen and expand a previous Ford recall by more than a million vehicles for unexpected downshifting. The initial 2016 recall affected more than 153,000 Ford F-150, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator and Ford mustang vehicles from the 2011-12 model years. A second recall would increase that number to an estimated 1,375,577 vehicles affected, and expand into the 2013 model year."

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

problem #106

Dec 182018

F-150

  • 103,000 miles
Put the Ford F150 into gear, would not shift up from 1st gear. Same issue we have been having and have taken to the dealership and they cannot find any problems with the transmission. Had to turn off truck and restart

- Galena, OH, USA

problem #105

Dec 132018

F-150

  • 60,000 miles
My 2013 Ford F-150 ecoboost gets stuck in 1st gear sometimes while trying to move from a stop. It has also skipped 1st and 2nd gear and gotten stuck in 3rd gear and barely able to move more than 5 mph. It has happened from a dead stop as well as while driving 40 plus miles per hour. Typically pulling over and turning the truck off and back on fixes it. I am afraid it will happen again and cause an accident.

- Buford, GA, USA

problem #104

Dec 132018

F-150

  • 89,900 miles

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

Truck suddenly drops from 6th gear to 1 St gear and barks the rear tires while traveling at 60mph also the instrument panel goes completely out except for the RPM gauge it also down shifts from 6th to 5th and then will not upshift and only down shifts to 3rd gear also it has stuck in 1st gear when taking iff from a red light. It has done everything while traveling down the highway except for the 1st gear issue that happened from a stoped position when I started to take off. Problem does happen all the time and when you pull over and place the vehicle in park and turn the engine off and restart the engine the problem goes away and then it starts it again took the truck to local dealership and was told it would cost $985 to fix this problem when it is the same problem that was recalled on the previous years truck same problem on the 2011 and 2012 also have read the problem is still accouring on the 2014 models as well

- Concord, NC, USA

problem #103

Oct 232018

F-150

  • 80,000 miles
Driving down interstate and truck suddenly shifted to 3rd gear locking up my tires. Thank god I didn't lose control and drove off the road to a stop. Turned off truck and back on. Drove ok for a bit. Will keep dropping gears or randomly shifting up and down. From a start it could sometime try to go into 5th. At times all the dash indicators flash and go to dashes.

- Papillion, NE, USA

problem #102

Oct 252018

F-150

  • 101,000 miles
We took our Ford F150 in for erratic downshifting, were able to provide photographic evidence of the problem, but because no error codes are popping up and they can't replicate the problem they are returning out vehicle to us. My issue is Ford knows this is an issue and knows the fix is to update the software then look for error codes, but they are acting as they have no idea this is a known problem amongst the 2011-2013 models and they are sending the unfixed car back home to be a safety hazard not only to my family but the families on the road around us.

- Galena, OH, USA

problem #101

Oct 052018

F-150

  • 165,000 miles
Transmission - molded leadframe malfunction on 5.0 motor. The 2011-2012 recall for the molded leadframe malfunction also affects 2013 vehicles such as ours leading to the truck loosing power, stalling out, shifting on it's own from 5th to 1st and the other way leaving the truck a wreck waiting to happen at any time during driving. This risks the lives of the driver, passengers and everyone else on the road. When this happens you must bring the vehicle to a complete stop, shut it off, wait for computer to cycle, then restart. Ford should be expanding the recall to replace this deadly malfunctioning part at their cost. This has happened at least 10 times within 30 days of owning the vehicle which was bought from maxwell Ford in austin Texas. The last time this happened it was in a parking lot after just starting the truck and backing out of a stall.

- Chetek, WI, USA

problem #100

Oct 072018

F-150

  • 86,000 miles

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

When the truck was in cruise control, the engine started randomly downshifting all the way to 1st gard.

- Mooreseville, NC, USA

problem #99

Sep 282018

F-150

  • 70,000 miles
Speed sensor lead frame problem. Vehicle would periodically get stuck in a gear, digital speedometer would go to all dashes, and air bag light would pop up. Other times, in highest gear, the vehicle would drop a gear unannounced. Would take off in 5th gear at times. Would shift hard at times.

- Bridgeport, TX, USA

problem #98

Sep 012018

F-150

  • 109,000 miles
Under certain conditions, the transmission controls could force a temporary downshift into first gear when the vehicle is in motion.

- Pearland, TX, USA

problem #97

Sep 172018

F-150

  • 147,000 miles
Recently experienced speedometer, odometer, cruise control, blinker control, and transmission shifting quits working. If I shut off and start again problems goes away. I had researched the issue and it is the speed sensor. They have a tsb but my vehicle is not included even though it has the exact same issues. A Ford dealer said to replace the lead frame, again the exact same issue of the tsb. Today, while traveling at 70mph on the highway it suddenly downshifted causing the tires to lock up and squeal and dropping my speed rapidly. Thank goodness no one was riding my tail. Very scary incident, afraid to drive vehicle now. Very disappointed with Ford as I have seen many people have this same issue and it has not been addressed. It's unsafe for us that have these vehicles and for others on the road with us. Maybe we need to file a class action lawsuit.

- Springboro, OH, USA

problem #96

Aug 312018

F-150

  • 47,500 miles
Getting off the highway the truck would no slow down. It would not shift to 2nd or 1st gear. Hard uncontrolled stop. When tried to start moving again truck lunged forward and started from 5th gear. Drove directly to the Ford dealer as this was a safety concern. It switched gears randomly the entire way to the Ford dealer from the highway. 2013 47K miles

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #95

Jul 212018

F-150

  • 102,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle was shifted into third gear and decelerated on its own. The contact stated that the tachometer and speedometer ceased to display and the instrument panel went blank. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failures. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 102,000.

- Grafton, OH, USA

problem #94

Jul 232018

F-150

  • 65,000 miles
Speedometer, odometer, cruise control, blinker control, and transmission shifting quits working. Believe it's the transmission lead frame causing the problem like in the 2011 and 2012 F150's.

- Rolla, ND, USA

problem #93

Jul 142018

F-150

  • 122,000 miles
While in motion on a main road the truck spontaneously downshifted from 5th gear to third gear and if not for the seatbelt would have thrown me through the windshield. The check engine light revealed a P0720 code after this happened and the truck is not shifting properly.

- Columbia, MD, USA

problem #92

Jul 062018

F-150

  • 87,000 miles
Sporadic shifting. Transmission and/or oil pressure causes the truck to completly shut down on me when driving down the highway.

- Corona, CA, USA

problem #91

Jun 022018

F-150

  • 66,000 miles
Truck was having issues with randomly disengaging from cruise control, loss of power from a stop, and erratic downshifting. On the highway the cruise control would disengage, speedometer would go to 0 then back to its actual speed. From a stop sign/stop light, when the light would turn green the truck would spit and sputter, shifting erratically, RPM would go up but no power. When cruising around 45mph truck downshifted for no reason causing a loud clunking sound, this happened twice consecutively. Took is to simmons rockwell to get it diagnosed, after I had already researched the issue and knew what it was, and they replaced the molded lead frame in the transmission. This was exactly the issue they had that caused the recall on the 2011/2012 models. The repair cost was @ $500. I was just reading an article which stated that the NHTSA may order another recall which would include the 2013 model.

- Corning, NY, USA

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