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

Vehicle rolls backwards OR potentially forwards intermittently depending on direction of incline. Have only observed it rolling backwards. When changing gears, above third gear usually, there is a resonant grumbling sound.

NHTSA ODI 11675725

The transmission made a noise of metal and all electrical when out while driving but the engine stay on but no power to the road. yes its available. my car loss all power electrical and power to the road, had to put off to the side on the road and turn the truck off and on again. The problem has been reproduced but not confirmed by a dealer. I have done a existential look of the under and power train and cant see everything out of place. yes like every warning light when on seconds before all power when out. has never done that before.

NHTSA ODI 11674180

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V075000 (POWER TRAIN). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 27,000.

NHTSA ODI 11673875

Vehicle is downshifting unexpectedly into 2nd gear. Rear tires momentarily lock up and the engine RPM’s go extremely high. This behavior is causing potential accidents to happen.

NHTSA ODI 11672276

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted from a higher gear into a lower gear. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed and DTC: P0721 (Output speed Sensor Circuit Range/Performance; TCM)was displayed. The contact was informed that the transmission leadframe was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 175,000.

NHTSA ODI 11666819

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at various speeds, the transmission was slipping. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that occasionally the electric mirrors were moving in and out while driving without user input. Additionally, the taillights was turning on and off unintendedly. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed, and the contact was advised that the main power distribution box was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.

NHTSA ODI 11664412

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact came to a stop and then while attempting to proceed, the instrument cluster showed a black screen, and the transmission independently downshifted to first gear. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact drove the vehicle in LIMP Mode to the residence. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission lead frame had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V075000 (POWER TRAIN). The failure mileage was approximately 134,000.

NHTSA ODI 11663966

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at various speeds, the transmission occasionally struggled to get out of gear or was slipping. The contact stated that the “Service Vehicle Soon” warning light remained illuminated, and the miles to empty was blank on the instrument panel; however, and the RPM gauge remained illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 121,600.

NHTSA ODI 11664015

I am having safety related issues that are perfectly described in compliance recall notice "12C23". However, when calling a ford dealership, or looking up the VIN myself, there is no open recalls on my vehicle. My truck was manufactured at the same plant as the recall, in the same time frame. The issues I am seeing are related to the Transmission Range Sensor inside the lead frame. This causes my gear indicator to not work, starting difficulties, sudden shifts while driving, and reverse lights to not turn on when in reverse gear. These issues have been inspected and verified by an ASE certified auto shop "North County Auto" in Oceanside, CA. This is firstly a safety issue that is recognized by ford on the 6R80 transmission. Secondly, this is a very costly fix to come out-of-pocket. However, because my VIN does not reflect it as an open recall even though ALL symptoms are exactly the same Ford will not make corrective action. I think a revision needs to be made to the initial recall notice, and include more VIN numbers.

NHTSA ODI 11662218

Wrench light popped on downshift to first gear, speedometer goes to zero. My son and I driving down highway and it suddenly drops to first gear. Dealer said it sounds like transmission molded lead frame. Code reader says it's speed sensor which is in lead frame harness.

NHTSA ODI 11661970

Sudden shift into first gear at any speed. Dash lights flickering between p,r,n,d. Tool light coming on dash.

NHTSA ODI 11659761

when slowing down the transmission slams down into a lower gear with a loud noise. it hits hard

NHTSA ODI 11657778

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission independently downshifted into first gear. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The contact was advised not to drive the vehicle for safety reasons. The contact stated that the vehicle had been repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V075000 (Power Train); two days prior to the failure; however, the failure occurred. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred three days after the recall repair was performed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.

NHTSA ODI 11652324

This os a complaint Ford knows that at some point this is goign out. I have only 45k on i. I called ford and they will do nothign to prevent it goign out. When this breaks or malfunstions the car can go into 1st gear at 60+ miles and hour which could be life threatening. If the recall is for 150,000 miles it should be honored no matter the Age most everyone reports a problem around 85-120k miles. They know hw ot fix it and they know it is life threatnening here is the ford info. I am afraid ot drive my truck and cannot afford to prevent it. I bought the truck from a dealer. THIS IS LFIE THREATENING IMAGINE SUDDEN DOWEN SHIFT AT 70 MILES A HOUR ON A BUSY FREEWAY OR GOIGN AROUND A CORNER ON A TRIP> OR HAULING MY BOAT IT IS OR HAS ALREADY KILLED PEOPLE> PLEASE HELP [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11651580

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving from a complete stop and while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the transmission unexpectedly downshifted while driving at various speeds. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull into a parking lot. The contact stated that upon adding fuel to the vehicle, the vehicle restarted and was drivable. The power train warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission lead frame failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered because Ford Campaign Number: 19N01 had expired. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

NHTSA ODI 11651059

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

2012 Ford F-150 Platinum, 154000 miles. My truck has the problem of un-commanded transmission gear change to a lower gear. It started a couple of years ago but it took me a while to identify the problem and when it happened. Once, I was traveling at 70mph and, all by itself, it downshifted into 1st gear. The truck lurched and made a loud bang. It also caused a minor control problem due to the change is gears at that speed. I took it to my local Ford dealer and they replaced the shift motor in the transfer case (at my expense), maybe in Nov 2024. It worked fine after that until my recent road trip, Mar 2025. The un-commanded shift happened again three times during my trip to GA from PA. I'm taking it back to Ford tomorrow. When this shift happens, there is a bang followed by a sudden slowing of the vehicle. It's somewhat scary to have the truck act in this manner.

NHTSA ODI 11650749

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission unexpectedly shifted from 3rd and 2nd gears to first gear, causing the vehicle to abruptly decelerate. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V075000 (POWER TRAIN). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 175,000.

NHTSA ODI 11649540

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 85 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted from 6th to 2nd gear, the wheels locked up and the vehicle came to a complete stop. The transmission and air bag warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and then into a gasoline station and the vehicle shifted into first gear. The vehicle was driving in 1st gear and then shifted to 3rd gear. The contact stated that he went to a different store and was able to drive the vehicle in 5th gear. The contact then drove the vehicle to the residence. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered the contact a Customer Satisfaction warranty repair. The failure mileage was approximately 165,000.

NHTSA ODI 11648221

I am the second owner of the vehicle and there were no disclosed repairs or issues provided at the time of purchased. The 2012 Ford F-150, is shifting sporadically and harsh. Throwing out code P0722. Which directly relates to the below previous recall. Recall Reference Number: 24S37. Issue: An intermittent failure of the output shaft speed (OSS) sensor in the transmission can lead to an unintended downshift to first gear. Affected Vehicles: Some 2014 Ford F-150 models. Reason for Recall: The abrupt downshift can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash. Potential Codes: P0720, P0722, P0731 and/or P1500

NHTSA ODI 11647962

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 10-60 MPH, the vehicle sporadically downshifted and upshifted. The contact stated that the vehicle occasionally worked as designed. The wrench symbol was displayed. The contact stated that the failure was like NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V248000 (Power Train). The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined the failure was due to the PCM, which had produced unknown codes. The manufacturer was contacted, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11646928

The contact's husband owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact's husband stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted into first gear. The contact's husband stated that the engine warning light and maintenance reminder light were illuminated. The contact's husband drove the vehicle onto the shoulder of the residence. The contact stated that an employee from the dealer stopped by the residence and updated the Power Control Module (PCM). The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was provided with the Manufacturer Recall Number: 25S37; but the vehicle was not included. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11646595

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted into first gear. The contact stated that the light for the speedometer went black and failed to illuminate as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle then lost power. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and restarted after several minutes after each failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 122,000.

NHTSA ODI 11644570

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 5 - 10 MPH, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode. There were no warning lights illuminated. The DTC: P0720 (Faulty Output Shaft Speed Sensor) was retrieved. The contact stated that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 16N02. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 164,000.

NHTSA ODI 11641048

While driving down the interstate truck suddenly down shifted causing everyone in the vehicle to fly forward. I shifted truck to neutral and pulled to the side of the road. When I started the truck back up transmission would not shift out of 3rd gear and then went down to 1 st gear the truck and back to 3rd never getting out of 3rd and the wrench light came on. Took to the mechanic they said the lead frame was bad but the the computer had also thrown a fatal transmission code, and that I would need a new transmission at a price of $8000. I have tried to contact and look up a recall I can find them on other trucks but says there's not one for mine

NHTSA ODI 11638446