2012 Ford F-350 problems
NHTSA has received 252 complaints about the 2012 Ford F-350, and 26% of them involve steering. After that come suspension (26%) and engine (15%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 252 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 26% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 9 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 90,000 miles 178 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 14 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 23 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 26 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 16 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 16 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 18 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 24 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 19 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 6 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 16 |
What the data shows
Among the 178 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 90,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 112,000 miles (46 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 6 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 13th most-complained-about out of 23 model years of the Ford F-350 with enough data (75 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford f-350 super duty. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45-50 MPH, the driver crashed into the passenger's side of a vehicle that failed to yield the right-of-way. The frontal air bags failed to deploy. The driver sustained facial injuries and the contact, who was a passenger, also sustained facial injuries. The driver of the second vehicle also sustained facial injuries. A police report was filed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford f-350 sd. The contact stated that the ignition was started and he shifted from four wheel low to four wheel high range. Once the gear lever was placed in reverse, the transfer case failed to respond, accompanied by an abnormally loud grinding noise. The vehicle then unexpectedly accelerated in reverse, which resulted in a crash. The contact sustained nerve damage to the spinal cord and severe injuries to the hands. A police report was not filed of the incident.
Truck hit bump (small curb) with driver's side front wheel and simultaneously started accelerating and had total brake loss. This happened while driving towards a gas bump in a filling station. Vehicle accelerated from about 10 MPH to probably over 30 MPH until it hit a stationary truck.
At speeds typically over 50 MPH vehicle, vehicle has a propensity to begin shaking violently, and uncontrollably. After doing some research this appears to be a common problem known among owners as "death wobble". The vehicle has been to my local dealership to for repairs and parts replacement but the problem remains unsolved. I no longer feel safe operating this vehicle.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-350. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45-50 MPH, the vehicle drove over a bump and experienced the death wobble. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the tie rods and shock absorbers needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired.