10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 3 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 46,747 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Multiple acceleration issues, especially when attempting to pass another vehicle and/or when accelerating abruptly. I have also noticed condensation from the exhaust when first starting the vehicle in the morning on multiple occasions.
- College Station, TX, USA
While passing another car the throttle would not respond with full power.
- Deleon Springs, FL, USA
On Monday December 11, my wife and I left on a trip to Indiana with approximately 10,400 miles on the truck. After a stop, at the bowling green, ky., rest stop, I proceeded to return to traffic on interstate 65. After determining I could safely accelerate in front of two semi-trailer trucks, I entered the highway at approximately 50 mph and went to full throttle. Instead of accelerating, the engine went into a total loss of power. Amid the blowing of air horns and my wife's screams I was lucky enough to avoid a collision by yanking the truck onto the emergency lane. The engine did not stop running, but appeared (to me) to be totally flooded. The engine ran on ?? (number of) cylinders for approximately one eighth of a mile before returning to running on all cylinders. I do not think the service department believed me when they looked at the truck. I have been a mechanic and an engineer for a lot of years, I know what happened this time and it came very close to a serious accident and/ or injury to my wife and me. This was a very close accident avoidance and it practically destroyed our confidence in the truck. While still on our trip, we made the decision to forgo the hassle of trying to persuade the service dept. There was a problem, and get a different brand of new truck. I have taken the high financial loss of trading for another new truck. I am not totally satisfied with this vehicle. The Ford has many enhancements and I probably should have tried harder to get the appropriate service action. But would it have been worth the risk of another engine incident, no I do not think so. This was the second and most serious incident and after Ford service had pronounced there was no problem with my engine. I sold the truck with 11,399 miles on the speedometer.
- Killen, AL, USA
Well I purchased this truck a brand new 2012 Ford F-150 XLT super crew w/ 3.5L ecoboost engine. The truck had 104 miles when I bought it. After a week I started to notice that the truck shudder's when I accelerate from a dead stop and it also shudders when I come to a full stop. For about a week every single day and time I would start and stop the truck would shudder. I thought this was because the engine just needed to break in. Well I am going on the 4th week of owning this truck and it still occurs. The shudder that is. The shudder also occurs now when I have a cold engine start and I put the truck in reverse it starts to shudder. I do feel as the driver it has effected the performance of my truck. 854
- Tacoma, WA, USA
I had slowed down to exit off the freeway to get on another freeway. When I pushed the accelerator, the truck started to shutter, shake, and lose power. I took my foot completely off the accelerator and let the truck coast a short distance. When I tried to accelerate again, the truck seemed fine. It did this twice on the same day. I took it to the Ford dealership and they told me the truck was fine. I have an eco-boost V-6 engine.
- Heath, TX, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that when driving various speeds and when attempting to accelerate the vehicle hesitated or did not respond immediately. The failure recurred numerous times. The manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 4,000.
- Valdese, NC, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while at a stop, the RPM increased excessively and the vehicle accelerated without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle was placed in neutral in order to come to a stop. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was unable to be replicated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 20,000....updated 07-10-13
- Williston , ND, USA
When accelerating to pass another car, the vehicle suddenly looses power. After accelerating rapidly to get on the freeway and releasing the gas pedal, the car continues to accelerate. Ford said there is a problem with their intercoolers and they have been on backorder for several months. This is a safety issue for me and my family and Ford tells me to continue to drive my car while I wait more months until the parts are ready. ## VIN failed ##
- Vacaville, CA, USA
It was a foggy, moist day and when I accelerated to get around a slow moving vehicle I was in the passing lane! my truck lost all engine power and had no throttle response for 15 seconds, no check engine light came on, my truck went into limpmode. Thankfully no one was behind me and I was not injured or involved in a crash!!!
- Herculaneum, MO, USA
Accelerating from freeway on ramp at about 25 mph, slowly pushing pedal down truck tachometer gauge speed up to between 5500 RPM and 7000 RPM. However truck did not move. Transmission acted like it was in neutral. This lasted 4 or 5 seconds; then engine started missing and running rough. All the time vehicle had slowed to approximately 15 mph. I narrowly avoided being rearended by pulling off the shoulder of the highway. This happen on I-20 near the rest area West bound in monahans Texas. Weather was clear, and temp about 42 degrees. Has happened at least three times since then. Fuel was from national vendor and same brand I normally use. Dealer is oblivious to this and what to do.
- Strawn, TX, USA
While entering the highway from the ramp I pulled into the first lane and tried to accelerate. The truck started to miss and buck and would not increase in speed causing me to pull off the roadway. I shut the truck off and restarted it. The truck will only run if you accelerate very slowly. Any attempt to gain speed is met with the same response. I took the vehicle to the Ford dealer where they cleared the codes and informed me Ford was having problems with water in the intercooler. At this time they have no parts to repair this problem and told me to drive the vehicle as it is. My fear is someone could get killed. The vehicle is not safe to drive. If Ford knows there is a problem and can't fix it wouldn't they be responsible.
- Richmond Hill , GA, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that after he parked and exited the vehicle, the vehicle began to roll forward. The contact re-entered the vehicle and engaged the brake pedal however, the wheels started spinning and the contact crashed into another vehicle. The contact's vehicle then pushed the other vehicle into the contact's home. There were no injuries. The contact's home was damaged. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure and current mileage was 10,000.
- Addis, AL, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the cruise control was set at 45 mph when the vehicle jerked abnormally. In addition, when the cruise control was set to 35 mph, the vehicle would exhibit a loud noise in the rear area. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times for the failure. The dealer replaced the charge air cooler however, the failure was not corrected and the dealer advised the contact that the vehicle was operating as normal. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was not available and the current mileage was 2,600.
- Inverness, FL, USA
On a 500 mile trip from va to nyc during rainy weather, engine stalled upon acceleration on 6 occasions. Reproducible after driving at constant speed for an hour, or so, and then accelerating to pass a vehicle or enter a freeway. Absolutely scary and extremely dangerous. I had several such incidences from day 1 of ownership and I already filed a similar report in July 2012 (#10465748). Never happens during dry weather. Ford applied the deflector shield and reprogramming, which did not solve the problem at all, but noticeably reduced the engine power, leading to shudder in 6th gear when going uphill at 60 mph (apparently due to a lack of enough torque; shudder disappears when switching down to 5th gear). Gas mileage is down to 15-16 mpg at constant speed of 65 mph on highway, far from the advertised numbers. The check engine light came on during yesterdays nightmare stalling events and the truck goes back into the shop shortly. $55,000 truck that cannot be driven in bad weather - and every Ford dealer declines having "ever heard of the problem". seeing all the complaints in this database and on F150 forums, I think it is time for Ford to acknowledge the problem publicly and come up wit a fix vial recall.
- Hampstead, NH, USA
While attempting to merge into traffic pulling a trailer I pushed the gas pedal and the truck down shifted but would not accelerate. The truck will drop into 3rd gear and will not exceed 4000 RPM. This has occurred several times and has been in the shop 3 or 4 times. It has also happened without a trailer. On several occasions I have had to pull over and turn the truck off to get it to go. Sometimes I can just come off the pedal and press it again to correct. This is a dangerous issue that could cause an accident. The dealer has reprogrammed the truck several times and replaced the converters twice. I have asked Ford to buy back the truck but they have not responded yet. The truck is going back into the shop tomorrow and I am considering utilizing the lemon law.
- Forest Hill, LA, USA
Was driving at 60mph, accelerated a little and vehicle shuddered/hesitated and didn't accelerate, and check engine light flashed, then became solid. Took to Ford dealership was told a calibration update fixed the problem. Same problem occurred 3 days later. Took it back to dealership, it has been there for 3 days and they state "are waiting for Ford to advise them on what to do next." This is a 2012 Ford F150 ecoboost lariat 4X4 supercrew with only 5,000 miles on it and has a sticker of nearly $50,000. I would expect no problems or at least a timely solution. Either way, merging onto the interstate or needing to accelerate and the truck failing to do so is a safety issue.
- Little Rock, AR, USA
Had cruise control set on 59mph......came upon slow moving vehicles and hit accelerator to pass reaching 80mph....made pass.....took foot off accelerator to slow down, nothing happened with vehicle continuously at 80mph....hit brake....no reaction still 80mph...hot the cruise off button on steering wheel, still no reaction.....had to physically force brake pedal to slow vehicle down to a stop, however engine remained at high throttle until I could turn ignition off.......waited a few minutes...turned vehicle back on and vehicle acted normally....tested cruise control a couple times before making it home...no problems....this was and could have been a very serious situation had there been traffic on this highway...thank god it was around 11 pm.....brand new truck...had for two weeks.......reporting to Ford service tomm morn.
- Hessmer, LA, USA
After using cruise control for 1 hour on a 4 lane highway at 70 mph during high humidity early in the morning I try to accelerate and the motor loses all power. I had tsb 12-6-4 applied to the vehicle Friday, three days ago, and though it may reduce the likelihood of this situation, it does not overcome what appears to be a design flaw with the intercooler in this ecoboost motor. This flaw allows for condensated water to be sucked into the motor and causing the misfire during hard accelerations after long periods of using cruise control in high humidity situation. The impact of losing power will be a fatal accident for a customer at some point in time if it has not already occurred.
- Gainesville, FL, USA
While driving a brand new 2012 Ford F-150 w/ 3.5L V6 eco-boost I was attempting to merge onto interstate while towing a small boat trailer when I lost towing power (RPM dropped instantly from ~4000 to ~2000 RPM despite having accelerator depressed) and the entire truck started violently shaking. This continued until I completely let off the gas for a few seconds. I then pressed down on the accelerator and things were back to normal. I could have easily lost control during the rapid deceleration had the roads been wet or if a big ole 18-wheeler had been behind me things could have ended poorly.
- Laplace, LA, USA
- Warsaw, MO, USA