3.4

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
39,340 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2012 Ford F-150:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #15

Apr 122022

F-150

  • miles
AFTER SERVICE ON 04/12/2022, MY RECEIPT UNDER COMMENTS SAID, "REP LUG NUTS". THAT'S ALL. 44,286 MILES AT THAT TIME. I TOOK F-150 FOR OIL CHANGE & TIRE ROTATION AGAIN ON 2/22/2023, WITH 47,882 MILES ON TRUCK. SERVICE RECEIPT SAID THEY DID NOT ROTATE TIRES. I ASKED WHY, AND I WAS TOLD "BECAUSE LUG NUTS ARE WORN". I TOLD SERVICE MANAGER THAT YOU GUYS ARE THE ONLY ONES TO HAVE EVER REMOVED THE LUG NUTS, WHY ARE THEY BAD?" HE REPLIED, "BETWEEN YOU AND ME, FORD USED CHEAP LUG NUTS"......SO, ONLY 47,882 MILES ON MY TRUCK, LUG NUT REMOVAL ONLY DONE BY FORD, AND i HAVE TO REPLACE LUG NUTS. PLUS, THEY STILL CHARGED ME FULL PRICE FOR MY SERVICE OF OIL CHANGE AND TIRE ROTATION. FORD SHOULD REPLACE THE LUG NUTS AND ROTATE MY TIRES FOR FREE.

- Oxnard, CA, USA

problem #14

Oct 202022

F-150

  • miles
Unable to perform tire rotation due to swollen lug nuts. Not sure what could cause this issue as all tire changes and tire rotations are performed by authorized service departments.

- Durham, NC, USA

problem #13

Sep 022022

F-150

  • miles
Lug nuts bulging/rusting under chrome coating. Potential for lug nut failure/wheel coming off vehicle while driving. Yes, problem was found by independent service center. It has not been inspected. No warnings.

- Edina, MN, USA

problem #12

May 152022

F-150

  • miles
Lug nut for wheel have swelled, unable to remove them with correct socket. Will need to replace all OEM lug nuts

- Mount Pleasant, SC, USA

problem #11

Feb 142022

F-150

  • miles
I was told at the dealership they would not do tire rotation because the lug nuts were swollen all 24 needed to be replaced. I have read this is a common problem. Looks like ford should do something about this problem.

- Louisville, TN, USA

problem #10

Sep 282020

F-150

  • 118,000 miles
Multiple times while in motion 45mph + (spontaneously), orange wrench comes up on my dash, speedometer drops to zero, engine power is cut to almost nothing, and a few times at higher speeds 60mph +, the wheels lock due to transmission downshifting out of nowhere. This has happened on the loop, city streets, highways, it's random. I can only limp my way to a safe spot to pull over, turn engine off then back on and everything generally starts working again. Last night on a city road doing about 55mph it locked up again but refused to drop out of 5th gear though I was at a dead stop. Even turning the key of and on would not re set it. It finally got to 1st after messing with it and I got it home, hooked it to my obd2 reader and it is throwing a P0720 output speed shaft sensor malfunction code and my check engine light will not go off. I have attached a picture of the code it is now showing, and date of malfunction is most recent.

- Odessa, TX, USA

problem #9

Jan 172019

F-150 6-cyl

  • miles
Driving down the road and heard an unfamiliar noise as I started to slow down I heard a loud pop and it felt as if the wheels locked up. After almost wrecking I got out to find that the ring and pinion was damaged.

- Trenton, GA, USA

problem #8

Oct 152018

F-150

  • 98,000 miles
All of the lug nuts that are originally supplied when the vehicle was purchased, eventually swell up and when a flat tire occurs, makes it impossible to use the supplied tool to remove them to repair the flat tire.

- Buffalo, NY, USA

problem #7

Apr 252019

F-150

  • 152,000 miles
I purchased my vehicle used from a Ford dealership in 2017. I brought it in a few months after I purchased it due to rear tires locking up and a sudden downshift. Was told no codes were found wrong and they couldn't duplicate the issue. April 30, 2019 had to have it towed back in. Was informed of a recall on lead mane frame for first time. After replacing lead frame vehicle still will not preform properly and I have now been told entire transmission needs to be replaced. I haven't received any letter nor made aware at time of purchase of any recall. Ford continues to refuse any remedies to justify this problem. I'm a single mother of 3 and am outraged by the companies failure to notify me of this safety recall. The company refuses to help because my mileage is 152,000 miles. 2,000 over the extended warranty for recall. If I would have been notified in a timely manner of this faulty transmission and possibly deadly recall I would have immediately tended to it. My children are my world and Ford cares less about their safety and mine and it is wrong. Please help me and my babies.

- Lake Charles, LA, USA

problem #6

Jun 042018

F-150

  • 85,000 miles
We have a Ford F-150 and it is losing power as you travel down the road. We have to pull over and turn the truck off and restart it. We have had it in the shop at least twice with no success in finding the problem. We have had sensors replaced and the intercooler drained twice. This is dangerous because as your traveling it will loose power and it's hard to get off the road sometimes and could cause an accident. We don't know what to do at this point.

- Robbinsville, NC, USA

problem #5

Aug 112015

F-150

  • 44,000 miles
I was traveling on interstate 95 in Idaho; I began to feel a vibration in the front of the truck; it was worst when slowing down. I pulled over started looking for possible issues, upon troubleshooting I noticed 5 of the 6 wheel lugs were finger loose, which I found strange and puzzling, anyway I had to tighten them and got the oem lug wrench from the truck; the lug wrench didn't fit the lug nuts; it was too small. Ford didn't include the right size lug wrench when manufacturing the truck. Second issue: The lug nuts have a faux chrome cover that can't be removed without breaking it; these faux covers get worn over time with proper maintenance of rotating tires, thus not permitting the 150lbs of torque that is required by the Ford owners manual. Upon going to a mechanic they didn't believe me that so much torque was required until I showed them; they then attempted to tighten or ensure all lug nuts had this amount of torque, well a number of these faux lug nuts wouldn't permit 150lbs of torque because they would slip around the lug underneath; these faux covers had to be broken off to tighten to the proper torque. Of note: The oem lug wrench does fit the lug nuts once these faux covers are broken off. These are serious safety concerns.

- Naples, ID, USA

problem #4

Aug 312015

F-150

  • 49,500 miles
Internet research yields common problem with 2009 and later model year Ford F150 tire pressure monitoring system. Tire pressure monitoring system fault occurs, cannot be reset, is expensive to repair, and frequently fails again. Consumers are operating vehicles, ignoring the sensor fault display. Ford should extend warranty to 10 years, 100,000 miles until engineering deficiencies are resolved.

- Sussex, WI, USA

problem #3

Jan 032011

F-150 6-cyl

  • miles
The lower control arms on my 2012 Ford F-150 ecoboost have excessive rust/corrosion. Separating arms have recently been linked to steering problems up to and including a crash.

- Lawndale, NC, USA

problem #2

Dec 292013

F-150

  • 25,000 miles
I have a 2012 Ford F150 XLT crewcab. Was driving and as I approached my turn, I slowed down and heard a loud noise that sounded like you were driving on the highway rumblestrip. I pulled off and my truck felt like it dropped down in the back so I thought I had a flat tire. When I inspected it, the tire was gone on the rear of the truck and all I saw was the brakes and lug nuts that looked sheared off. The tire was laying over a little ways on a grassy hill. There was no shimming to the truck prior to the tire flying off. The truck was driving smoothly like always. Didn't know if anyone else has had this problem. The last time the tires have had anything done to them were 2 months ago. It seems to me that it might be a lug nut issue that Ford may need to investigate. Luckily I was not going at a high rate of speed at the time of the incident. What happened sounds exactly like the recall they had on the 2011 Fusion.

- Leavenworth, KS, USA

problem #1

Jun 202013

F-150 6-cyl

  • 18,600 miles
Right rear rim cracked. Aluminum wheels with chrome covers 2012 lariat package. The dealer and Ford determined that this rim was damaged by impact but the rim has never been impacted to my knowledge. I suspect that it was dropped at the factory when they were mounting the tires. I don't believe that I damaged the wheel because there was no damage to the tire and the rim is behind the sidewall of the tire. Also the surface area was about 3" long where the impact happened. The crack was from the outer bead area about 1 1/2" long going to the inner portion of the wheel. I also have a friend who has the same identical wheels on his 2012 Ford F-150 truck (twin to mine) he has since replaced his wheels as he claimed after much balancing and rotating these wheels were in his word "wobbly and vibrating". he and I have since both replaced our trucks wheels and couldn't be happier, our trucks are smooth and handle correctly now. I am complaining because I don't want anyone else to be killed by these wheels. I feel they are inferior and unsafe. My tire man said the cracked wheel was close to "catastrophic failure". I would also like Ford to replace my wheels or reimburse me for the value of the wheels. They offered to sell me a replacement wheel for their cost with free mounting and balancing, they said it was $600 for 1 wheel. The Ford dealer is showlow Ford in show low AZ.

- St. Johns, AZ, USA