What 1,717 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Ford F-150 Supercab Diesel

The cam phasers are in need of changing. Ford has acknowledged they are aware of the problems with the 3.5 Ecoboost engine but will not take responsibility and repair them. I definitely can not pay for this type of tepair

NHTSA ODI 11671812

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the timing chain and valve had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 151,000.

NHTSA ODI 11666719

Engine coolant over temperature condition. Cylinder head overtemperature condition. Engine air filter restriction pending. Ceased running boards/ rusted. Broken suspensions and bad tie rods. Bluetooth doesn’t connect sometimes. Engine or turbo making loud noises when accelerated.

NHTSA ODI 11656639

2012 f150 3. 5L Ecoboost engine. Had the all too well known rattle at start up because of failed to ing components/timing chain stretched. Repair cost me 5k dollars and failed AGAIN after only 4000 miles. Got code for timing being over-retarded. Took to dealer that initially did the job. Were supposed to repair at no cost to me, in my opinion anyway. Then they send me a video and tell me something else with the timing was the issue. When I called back to confirm, the story changed again that they never replaced the current failed part in the first place. All these engines have the same problem spanning numerous years and not my truck is being held hostage because they want another 15,000 from me for a new engine! 20,000 for a remanufactured engine is crazy! Please help owners and investigate this issue with Ford Ecoboost engines!

NHTSA ODI 11655004

ECM automatically downshifts to fifth or third gear. The picture uploaded is a picture while driving on interstate.

NHTSA ODI 11654009

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 40-50 MPH, the vehicle hesitated and jerked. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle hesitated and lost motive power. The transmission slipped and downshifted to first gear. The contact was able to move over to the side of the road. The wrench warning light and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact turned off the vehicle and waited for a while. The vehicle was restarted and returned to normal functionality; however, the vehicle failed to get up to speed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the lead frame needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle had been taken to the dealer weeks prior the failure for service. The contact was provided with the manufacturer's recall number: 19N01 and an unknown update was performed on the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 175,000.

NHTSA ODI 11650740

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated when the vehicle started, there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with failed variable camshaft timing (VCT) cam phasers. The contact was informed that the VCT cam phasers and the timing chain needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.

NHTSA ODI 11650151

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while depressing the accelerator pedal, there was an abnormally loud sound coming from the engine. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the air conditioner had seized, and the pulley from the engine was damaged and had detached from the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

NHTSA ODI 11648816

This truck is a safety hazard! The waterpump had to be replaced due to overheating, plus numerous other engine issues. it only has 137,000 miles on it But the REAL safety hazard is the power steering goes out at random times. and when this happens the dash goes blank. This has happened 4 times and each time we were lucky it was not on a busy highway, and close to home. The mechanic did everything he knew to do, and when we got it back....It did it again!!! Now, supposedly it is fixed, and we drove it home with no issues.....but...again, they are random, and I am scared to drive the truck. Will it take someone getting killed for this recall to happen? I have seen numerous post about this happening to others. I live on a winding back road, and if the power steering went out, I dont think it would end well. We are thinking of selling it, but I cant in my heart sell it to someone knowing these issues, and if we trade at a dealership, they will find numerous problems and never give us what it is worth, even though these problems are not from neglect

NHTSA ODI 11612131

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle downshifted with the check engine, transmission, and the air bag warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The contact also noticed the vehicle had gone into LIMP Mode after the vehicle was restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the lead frame failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 187,000.

NHTSA ODI 11609798

Driving down the road at 60 mph and heard a boom pulled over and seen oil coming out of motor and a pulley was broken off of the timing housing of the motor putting a hole in motor where pulley used to be. (Did some research ford 2011-2012 do not have supports on engine housing where pulley mounts but the newer 5.0 motors do have the supports to stop motor from breaking where pulley mounts I will include photos below the new supplied replacement part has supports) This has happened to multiple people

NHTSA ODI 11596661

Driving at approximately 40-50 mph and it suddenly downshifted to 2nd gear, stopping the truck. This was the first time this happened. Recall 19s07 was performed on 05/03/2019 that supposedly fixed and prevented this from happening.

NHTSA ODI 11596923

Transmission lead frame module needs replacement. Truck will not shift properly and the wrench light illuminated on dash; I took it for an assessment and it was determined that the lead frame module was bad. I found a safety recall for the lead frame module for my truck for which I never received any correspondence about and would like to have it investigated.

NHTSA ODI 11596036

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start as intended, prompting the contact to attempt to jump-start the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to start. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the power train control module. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer, who then diagnosed an additional failure with the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 168,000.

NHTSA ODI 11586810

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while his son was driving at an undisclosed speed, he heard an abnormal sound emanating from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 19N01 (Lead frame Extended Coverage). The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 137,000.

NHTSA ODI 11585076

At 76,000 miles my Turbo’s started leaking engine coolant. From what I am told the rubber seal failed on the lines from the radiator to the turbos. The repair parts are cheap but the labor is intensive (7.5 hrs). To get to the turbos in 7.5 hrs the cab has to be lifted off the chassis. Without lifting it takes longer. In the end I spent over $2000 to fix some pieces of rubber. I consider this a design flaw that is costing the consumer big money. I am [XXX] old. This is the only car I ever owned that had engine trouble at 76,000 miles. I am soured on Ford at this time. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11580238

Ecoboost engine shut down on highway in rush hour traffic. Had my truck in the shop after 9526.00 in repairs and new engine it happened again this week. 1 year later. My truck was under 2 warranty extensions . And was in the Ford dealership at those times. I mentioned to service manager that it seems that possible could be the problem. Now I'm stuck with this mess . And it took 18 months for them to fix/ not fix it. Ford dealership

NHTSA ODI 11578090

hello i purchased my truck in april 2020.since this purchase this past year i've been on the highway and all of the sudden truck drops down from 65mph to 20mph. no injurys in these three separate instances. I will file this claim and visit closest dealer.

NHTSA ODI 11564130

highway traveling, transmission dropped into lowest gear from 65mph. no injury of myself or others in the vehicle. no accident occurred as result. I have not taken the issue up with the manufacturer or scheduled inspection. no other representatives police, insurance were contacted. no warning lights on dash when this happened two separate times since owning the vehicle in 2021.

NHTSA ODI 11559202

Attempted to merge onto a highway and car stayed in first and not allowing for proper acceleration. Ended up not being included under a current recall. Replace the lead frame connector in the transmission.

NHTSA ODI 11551234

Cylinder 2 had a stored code for misfire and oil and coolant mixture leaking from block. With the F150 raised up on the lift I removed the lower splash shields and continued inspection. Oil was found predominantly on passenger side with a mixture of oil and coolant leaking out drivers side. Using my lab scope I was able to locate the damage in the block. A large crack split down in a Y pattern. This split is located on cylinder #2 location. I would say #2 connecting rod has impacted block due to internal failure.

NHTSA ODI 11550095

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was being serviced for an oil change. The contact stated that the dealer observed condensation in the coolant reservoir and diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 158,000.

NHTSA ODI 11549534

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that after starting the engine, a rattling noise was present coming from the engine compartment and the vehicle would not properly accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the engine cam phasers and engine timing system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 150,000.

NHTSA ODI 11549648

Truck has jumped time and or timing chain stretched will driving truck geared down and was like it went into limp mode I turn the truck off and back on it straightened out enough to get it home dealer said it was the timing chain after running scans on it

NHTSA ODI 11541316

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond and went into LIMP Mode. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle several times; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed 30 MPH. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the timing chain had failed. 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 145,000.

NHTSA ODI 11537110