2012 Ford F-350

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Avoid This Year

Quick Summary

The 2012 Ford F-350 has 252 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 3.1x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is steering problems (26% of all complaints), specifically: front wheel wobble after hitting bump. *tr. ⚠️ 5 fire reports filed.

5 fire reports 5 crash reports 2 injuries

252

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

3.1x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

STEERING

66 complaints

26%

• FRONT WHEEL WOBBLE AFTER HITTING BUMP. *TR
• AT 55 MILES AN HOUR ON ROUGH PAVEMENT, THE TRUCK BEGIN TO VIOLENTLY SHAKE BACK AND FORTH. THIS SHAKING AND JERKING CAUSED ME TO ENTER INTO THE ONCOMING LANE OF TRAFFIC. IN ORDER TO REGAIN I HAD TO SLAM ON THE BRAKE PEDAL CONTROL THEREBY GETTING THE SPEED DOWN TO 40 MILES AN HOUR. FORD SUGGESTED I
• FIRST INCIDENT AT 20K MILES: AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY I CROSSED A BRIDGE JOINT AND THE FRONT END STARTED TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY. THE HORIZONTAL STEERING STABILIZING SHOCK ABSORBER FAILED. SECOND INCIDENT AT 49K MILES. AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY THE FRONT END STARTE

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“FRONT WHEEL WOBBLE AFTER HITTING BUMP. *TR”

— NHTSA complaint filing

SUSPENSION

65 complaints

26%

• FRONT WHEEL WOBBLE AFTER HITTING BUMP. *TR
• I BOUGHT A SALVAGED F 3-50 KING RANCH. IM HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM SOME OF YOU ARE HAVING. I THOUGHT MAYBE I GOT SCREWED FOR BUYING A SALVAGED VEHICLE, BUT YOU ALL ARE HAVING SAME PROBLEM. DEATH WOBBLE. AT 60MPH MY TRUCK SOMETIMES SHAKES EXTREMELY BAD. I THOUGHT TIRES WERE OUT OF BALANCE SO I GOT THA
• AT 55 MILES AN HOUR ON ROUGH PAVEMENT, THE TRUCK BEGIN TO VIOLENTLY SHAKE BACK AND FORTH. THIS SHAKING AND JERKING CAUSED ME TO ENTER INTO THE ONCOMING LANE OF TRAFFIC. IN ORDER TO REGAIN I HAD TO SLAM ON THE BRAKE PEDAL CONTROL THEREBY GETTING THE SPEED DOWN TO 40 MILES AN HOUR. FORD SUGGESTED I

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 1 crashes

“FRONT WHEEL WOBBLE AFTER HITTING BUMP. *TR”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ENGINE

37 complaints

15%

• DELAYED REACTION OF ACCELERATOR : ENGINE RPM DOES NOT DECREASE IMMEDIATELY WHEN ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS RELEASED THEREFORE MAKING THE VEHICLE DIFFICULT TO STOP IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION . *TR
• WHILE TOWING LOADED TRAILER ON 2 LANE HIGHWAY, TRUCK COMPUTER FLASHED MESSAGE TO "STOP SAFELY NOW". ENGINE SHUT DOWN AND WOULD NOT RESTART. DEALER INSPECTION FOUND A FAULTY EGT EXHAUST SENSOR. NO OTHER ISSUES WITH COOLING, OIL OR ENGINE OCCURRED. THE SAFETY ISSUE IS THAT THE NEW CONTROL SYSTEM SO
• WHILE TOWING LOADED TRAILER ON 2 LANE HIGHWAY, TRUCK COMPUTER FLASHED MESSAGE TO "STOP SAFELY NOW". ENGINE SHUT DOWN AND WOULD NOT RESTART. DEALER INSPECTION FOUND A FAULTY EGT EXHAUST SENSOR. NO OTHER ISSUES WITH COOLING, OIL OR ENGINE OCCURRED. THE SAFETY ISSUE IS THAT THE NEW CONTROL SYSTEM SO

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 2 fire reports

“DELAYED REACTION OF ACCELERATOR : ENGINE RPM DOES NOT DECREASE IMMEDIATELY WHEN ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS RELEASED THEREFORE MAKING THE VEHICLE DIFFICULT TO STOP IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION . *TR”

— NHTSA complaint filing

OTHER

17 complaints

• DEATH WOBBLE. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY DANGEROUS. WE HAVE REPLACED TIRES, SHOCKS, STEERING DAMPENER AND TRACK BAR. IF WE HIT A BUMP IN THE ROAD AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHILE IN A CURVE THE DEATH WOBBLE IS SO SEVERE IT IS LUCKY THAT I HAVE NOT LOST CONTROL. BUT
• EXHAUST GAS TEMPERATURE SENSORS FAIL REPEATEDLY. THEY HAVE BEEN REPLACED MULTIPLE TIMES. REDUCTANT HEATER A CONTROL PERFORMANCE HAS NOW FAILED AS WELL (ALL PART OF THE DIESEL EMISSIONS DISASTER). ASIDE FROM CONSTANT BREAKDOWNS DUE TO EMISSION RELATED ITEMS THE TRUCK HAS SHUTOFF ABRUPTLY WHEN IT E
• DEF ISSUES, FIRST WAS NOT FEEDING DEF, FORD REGEN'D THE SYSTEM, PROBLEM FIXED. 2 MONTHS LATER, SAME ISSUE, NOW DEF CONTROLLER CODE FAULT. NO COVERED UNDER WARRANTY.

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 1 fire reports

“DEATH WOBBLE. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY DANGEROUS. WE HAVE REPLACED TIRES, SHOCKS, STEERING DAMPENER AND TRACK BAR. IF WE HIT A BUMP IN THE ROAD AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHILE IN A CURVE THE DEATH WOBBLE IS SO SEVERE IT IS LUCKY THAT I HAVE NOT LOST CONTROL. BUT ”

— NHTSA complaint filing

FUEL SYSTEM

14 complaints

• TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD F-350 SD. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH A WARNING APPEARED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WHICH DISPLAYED PULL THE VEHICLE OVER. THE CONTACT SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE IN LIMP MODE. AFTER THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST WAS PERFORMED THE DEALER STATED THE
• WHEN SHE PURCHASE THE VEHICLE DEC 2016 IT HAD THE CHECK IN LIGHT ON WITH THE FIGURE OF A ENGINE ON , ITS BEING READING TURBO NDERCHARGE BOOST ERROR CODE P0299 COCEQUENCE REDUCE POWER, SEVERAL LINKS ON THE MANIFOLD AND I CAN SMELL THE FUMES INSIDE THE CABIN WHILE DRIVING THE STRONG FUEL FROM THE DIES
• DEF SYSTEM/ENGINE CLEANING ISSUE. MESSAGE CONTINUOUSLY SHOWS ON DASH "DRIVE TO CLEAN ENGINE" REGARDLESS OF DRIVING HIGHWAY SPEEDS FOR 30+ MIN AT A TIME.

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 1 fire reports

“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD F-350 SD. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH A WARNING APPEARED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WHICH DISPLAYED PULL THE VEHICLE OVER. THE CONTACT SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE IN LIMP MODE. AFTER THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST WAS PERFORMED THE DEALER STATED THE ”

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

STEERING(~50K mi)

$500

SUSPENSION(~50K mi)

$500

ENGINE(~50K mi)

$500

OTHER(~50K mi)

$500

FUEL SYSTEM(~50K mi)

$500

Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 252 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
STEERING: FRONT WHEEL WOBBLE AFTER HITTING BUMP. *TR
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
SUSPENSION: FRONT WHEEL WOBBLE AFTER HITTING BUMP. *TR
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ENGINE: DELAYED REACTION OF ACCELERATOR : ENGINE RPM DOES NOT DECREASE IMMEDIATELY WHEN ACCELERATOR PEDAL IS RELEASED THEREFORE MAKING THE VEHICLE DIFFICULT TO STOP IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION . *TR
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
OTHER: DEATH WOBBLE. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY DANGEROUS. WE HAVE REPLACED TIRES, SHOCKS, STEERING DAMPENER AND TRACK BAR. IF WE HIT A BUMP IN THE ROAD AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHILE IN A CURVE THE DEATH WOBBLE IS SO SEVERE IT IS LUCKY THAT I HAVE NOT LOST CONTROL. BUT
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)