Check Engine Light On problems of the 2012 Ford F-150 - part 2

74 problems related to check engine light on have been reported for the 2012 Ford F-150. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2012 Ford F-150 based on all problems reported for the 2012 F-150.

36 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 07/16/2013

I switched lanes to pass a truck and there was another vehicle in the lane so I stepped on the throttle to the floor and it hesitated then started to die. Then the truck started to shake along with the steering wheel. The check engine light came on and it continued to sputter and shake for a mile or so then it started to come out of the problem. The check engine light is still lit and my aftermarket stereo can pull the check engine codes and they were p0300 p0304 p0306 p0306. It was about 75 outside and the road was dry. This is the 4th time this has happened. The truck now has 26,300 miles on it.

37 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 07/06/2013

I had the TSB (for known surging issue) performed on my truck (2012 super crew 4x4) in may at 25k miles. Everything seemed better, until. . . This past Saturday, I left the house at 5am for a 7. 5 hour/ 350 mile drive from home. It was raining continuously for the first two hours. Sometimes hard rain, but it didn't stop for the first 2 hours. I was driving back country roads with mostly 55 mph limits and rolling hills. Given the weather, type of roads, time of day, etc. I drove gently for the trip, never put my foot in it. Then, when going up a steeper hill that required more throttle than the others to keep my speed up, the truck started hesitating. A lot. More than it ever had before the TSB. And then, just after the hesitation began, something extra occurred that had never happened to it before. The truck started to shudder. This shuddering was akin to driving over road shoulder rumble strips on steroids. As soon as I let off the gas, the shuddering stopped. I gently pushed the pedal, shuddering was back and just as bad. Let off again. It stopped. Pushed the pedal again. It came back. Pushed the throttle once more, and it had stopped. I slowly pushed further on the throttle and it didn't do it any longer. By this time I was down to about 35-40 mph going up the hill. So I pushed down the pedal almost to the floor. The truck kicked down and accelerated with only slight moments of hesitation. Not once did the check engine light come on. . Thus, I had a textbook case of exactly what the TSB was supposed to solve, but didn't.

38 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 07/06/2013

While traveling to florida from tennessee we had stopped at a gas station. While pulling out into traffic and accelerating, the truck started shaking violently due to misfire indicated by flashing check engine light. The miss was so bad that I immediately had to pull over. I shut the engine off to clear the on board computer. The truck ran fine afterward, but the check engine light stayed on. This was a bit scary as we could have been hit due to the rapid loss of power while merging into traffic. Weather conditions were very rainy. We had driven thru rain for ~7 hours off and on. I believe this to be a known problem that Ford has yet to fix with condensation in the turbo's intake on the v6 ecoboost engines. I am headed to the dealer when I get back in town.

39 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 06/28/2013

While traveling for an extended time in rain, attempted to accelerate to pass and the vehicle misfired, shuttered and shook to the point of nearly losing control, would not accelerate and almost stopped, causing a near rear end collision. Vehicle recovered and seemed to run fine for a while. About an hour later while attempting to accelerate onto the interstate from a rest area, the same thing happened. Had to pull off of the road to prevent getting rear ended again. At this point the check engine light came on. Manual said to get to a service area to have the engine checked as soon as possible. Dealer service department stated latest cac and deflector are installed, so they reprogrammed the pcm with the latest updates. Literature given to me at the service department states there is no cure for this problem at the present time.

40 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 06/28/2013

The first incident 6/28/13, when accelerating to get onto a highway the vehicle stopped accelerating somewhere before 60 and lost all power. The speedometer pegged at 60 and the rpms jumped to redline, but there was no power being produced. The vehicle took at nose dive and would not allow fuel to the engine until the the rpms settled to idle and I was able to feather the gas pedal in order to regain control of the engine. The second incident 8/9/13, when going to pass someone at highway speeds on I-95 the vehicle fell flat again, same scenario, this time the check engine light came on. Same actions as above, with feathering the gas pedal and able to regain control of the engine. I brought my vehicle to the dealership and the intercooler was replaced at 7600 miles. Thankfully there were no accidents in both scenarios, these events could've been catastrophic both being on heavily travelled highways. At 500 miles I had the check engine light come on and one of the catalytic converters needed to be replaced.

41 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 06/13/2013

Raining out, went to pass a slower moving vehicle. My truck lost all power and shuddered like it was going over speed bumps. Check engine light came on and truck couldn't do more that 40 mph. Had to keep a level head to avoid a head on collision and get back behind vehicle I attempted to pass. Very scary. This continued to happen every time you gave it hard throttle throughout the trip. This is an ecoboost f150 with the twin turbo v6 engine.

42 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 06/12/2013

Was passing a large truck towing a mobile home up a steep incline, it was rainy and windy and I was traveling at 60 mph. Mid way through the pass, my truck suddenly dropped power about 15 miles down to 45 mph, I almost thought the engine stalled, and then, as I tried to floor the gas pedal, it started to shudder and I just managed to make the pass as I came over the hill. The shuddering continued for about a minute, and after traveling downhill and coasting a bit, the problem went away and there were no more incidents for the rest of of the 15 miles I drove. This is the first time this has happened, but I will report that at one point the check engine light came on for about 8 days 3 months prior, and went away on its own before I have had a chance to bring it to a garage, I had thought maybe I had just had a bad batch of gas.

43 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 06/08/2013

I am reporting a second incident of engine failure while passing that happened on the same day. While passing a vehicle my vehicle suddenly decelerated and the vehicle began to shake/shudder. I was able to pull back into the right lane and over to the shoulder. It took approximately 1 minute for the vehicle to recover, the check engine light came on. Very dangerous situaton.

44 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 06/07/2013

Driving in the rain. Tried to merge on highway. Truck started missing and bucking. I had the truck floored and it was loosing speed. I had to pull over. Check engine light came on. Almost got into an accident due to loss of power.

45 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 06/05/2013

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that during heavy rain and attempting to accelerate, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. The contact mentioned that the check engine light illuminate. The failure recurred three times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. However, he advised the contact to bring the vehicle back when it rained in order to duplicate the problem. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 6,000.

46 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 06/05/2013

June 5, driving from fort collins, CO, to billing, mt, going up a hill towing a travel trailer, loss of power, misfiring of engine, check engine light came on. Not raining. June 7, mileage at 22548, Ford¿s fix: install new deflector, new intercooler and update pcm. June 11, driving from yellow stone river in mt to steamboat lake CO, going up a hill, minor misfiring of engine, check engine light came on, went off the next day. Not raining. June 15, from colorado spring, CO to albuquerque, nm, after getting gas, started to get back on the highway (after ~5 hours of driving), turbo kick on, massive loss of power (no acceleration at all), heavy shaking of truck, engine light came on. Took over a mile to get back up to highway speed (55 mph). Gas mileage reduced by 20%. Not raining. 6/27, mileage 24563, dealer replaced all spark plugs, plugs blackened on porcelain. Truck is still misfiring at random. Gas mileage reduced. 7/1/2013, return to dealer, random misfiring. Dealer performed no fixes or updates. 7/18, return to dealer for inspection by Ford field engineer. Have an appointment 7/23 to replace catalytic converter (per field engineer) which may be plugged. I believe that permanent damage has been done to the engine. Have copies of all repair orders.

47 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 05/27/2013

Pulled out to pass and the vehicle lost all power and started to shake and shutter could not complete pass vehicle stalled had to pull over to side of road but restarted and check engine light was on. My dealer said they never heard of this before. Dealer took code from truck it showed a miss fire cylinder 6 light is off now. I think it is a big safety concern.

48 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 05/19/2013

I was driving on a 2 lane highway, behind a semi truck, with several cars behind me. We came to a passing zone and I began to pass the semi truck. I moved to the oncoming lane and accelerated, but the truck lost power. I began slowing down in the on coming lane, but couldn't return to the right lane because the vehicles that were behind me were passing me in the right lane and I had a vehicle directly behind me that was followed me to pass the semi truck. I locked out 5th and 6th gears on the transmission to gain some rpm but the vehicle started to shudder violently. I moved to the shoulder of the on coming lane and shut the vehicle off. I sat on the shoulder for several minutes, got out of the vehicle and checked under it for fluids. There were no fluids under the vehicle. All the gauges read normal. I did all this on the shoulder of the oncoming lane facing oncoming traffic. This was not a good position to be in. I started the vehicle, put it in gear to see if it would move, it did. I had full power and got back into traffic and the truck ran fine. No warning lights, no indication that anything was wrong. Several miles later I lost engine power again, and again got the violent shudder, and the check engine light came on. Going to see the dealer today. This is bad! the first incident could have caused a huge accident. Moving onto that left shoulder proved to be a good move, but I was at pucker factor 10 for a few seconds.

49 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 05/03/2013

On 2 separate occasions, approximately 3 months apart while in hard acceleration attempting to merge on an interstate on-ramp, vehicle began to shudder violently and lose power. In first instance, I was able to merge in the left lane and let off the accelerator. As vehicle coasted, the shudder subsided and within 1 minute stopped all together. In the second instance, when the vehicle lost power, traffic conditions would not allow me to merge and I was forced to coast along the shoulder of the road until the shudder subsided and power was resumed. In neither situation, did the vehicle go into safe mode or the check engine light appear. Vehicle simply resumed normal operation.

50 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 04/14/2013

I only just learned of your investigation so my memory on exact dates and mileage may be off by a few weeks. I did take my truck to the Ford dealer to report my incident so they should should have a record of this and the work they performed (baierl Ford, zelienople, PA 16063). My 2012 f150 with the 3. 5l ecoboost was about 6 months old at the time. I was passing a coal truck uphill on a 10% grade. I was not towing, nor did I have a load in the bed. He was going about 30 mph. I eased out and got along side running now at about 50-55, then 'punched' the throttle to complete the pass. That did not turn out well. The engine cut out exactly like a reverse limiter on an atv and the check engine light came on. I barely was able to complete the pass, and was 'pushed' up the hill by the coal truck, engine running in that cut-out mode all the way. Got over the top and it continued to run like this down the other side. After about 6 miles, it went back to normal and the check engine light went out. Took it to my dealer not too long after. They installed something - since it was warranty work I wasn't given the paperwork and simply don't recall what they did. Apparently there was a TSB on the problem though. I have not had a repeat in the 6 months since, although I do drive differently now, having experienced that episode. That event severely compromised my confidence in this engine. Since then I have been very adverse to passing on two lane roads and have delayed towing several times for fear this would happen again potentially creating a deadly situation.

51 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 04/12/2013

Merging onto interstate at 50 mph I accelerated hard to merge into traffic. Complete loss of acceleration nearly causing an accident with a tractor trailer behind us. Violent shuddering of entire vehicle, check engine light flashed and then remained on. After nearly a minute of feathering the accelerator, the problem subsided and ability to accelerate was regained. This had already happened once on the same drive and a couple if times prior to this incident. I dropped the truck off at the dealer this am after driving it for two days with the check engine light on. They said they would call with an update in the afternoon, but when 7pm rolled around and I had not yet heard from them I called to see what was going on and was told that they were waiting for a replacement intercooler and to call back in the morning and speak with the service advisor. Seems like a very common - not to mention dangerous - problem for Ford not to be publicly dealing with it, or at least being more proactive about issuing a recall for. Hopefully no one gets hurt before the problem is acknowledged & fixed.

52 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 04/10/2013

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle shook violently and lost acceleration power. The contact also mentioned that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was unable to be replicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000 and current mileage was 12,400.

53 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 04/04/2013

I had been driving in hard rain for about 3 hours pulling a 8000lb travel trailer. On a 3 lane interstate I pulled out to pass a slow vehicle in the rh lane. We were going up a slight hill. It started to shake, lost power, and slowed to about 30 mph. I was then in the center lane going too slow for the traffic with trucks passing me blowing their horns on both sides and the road slop from them making it hard to see. I stopped in a rest area and called the Ford help line who offered no advice other than to call a local dealer. I am from mi. And this happened in TN. Normally on a hill like this it would have gone to 65mph with no effort. The altitude was about 850', temp 45 deg, no check engine lights or codes, was in the tow haul mode, as I got to the rh side again it started to get better, took about 2 minutes. I was amazed I didn't get rear ended by a truck. It was a really scary situation and my wife is still hesitant about pulling a trailer with it. When I got home I took it to my dealer and they checked a lot of things and did some of the TSB's for this problem and couldn't find anything. They then put a flight recorder on it for about 3 weeks and got no codes. Now all I know is they don't know what is wrong and I'm not sure if it will ever be taken care of. They are very closed mouth about this issue. I'd really like to get some idea if they are working on it or if I'm stuck with it. It's a really nice truck if it doesn't kill us.

54 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 03/23/2013

While merging onto highway during acceleration ecperienced loss of power, check engine light, and shutter throughout entire truck. This information is all over the Ford forums. Hundreds of people witht he same symptoms.

55 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 12/21/2012

I pulled out to pass a slower vehicle on a two lane highway in a passing zone as accelerating my f150 loss power and began shaking. Luckily I was able to pull back into my lane before the oncoming car hit me head on. My f150 continued to shake a lose power, after a few moments of this it regained power and the shaking halted. My check engine light has remained on since this. I took the truck in to my dealer to check this out and was told it is a problem with the intercooler and they would order parts to repair. As of today (Feb, 20th 2013) I am still waiting for the parts to come in. I have spoken with Ford customer care and was informed the supposed parts are on a back order. The loss of power and shaking has happened a few more times since, also my remote start does not work due to the check engine light being on. My fuel mileage has dropped from 18. 7 to 14 mpg. I do not feel safe driving this vehicle, as you never know when it is going to lose power.

56 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 12/17/2012

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.

57 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 12/15/2012

Tl-the contact owns a 2012 Ford f150. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate with the illumination of the check engine light. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was stated that the inner cooler for the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 36,800. Kmj.

58 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 12/13/2012

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!!!.

59 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 12/03/2012

At passing speeds or during acceleration the vehicle will stall and check engine light will come on and start flashing. It only does this when accelerated and has almost caused accidents. After numerous occasions of this happening the light has continuously stayed on and now it won't go off.

60 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 11/01/2012

2012 f150 ecoboost. Was cruising on the highway at 60-65 closing in on a slower moving bus. Pulled out to pass and gave it more throttle the vehicle did not accelerate even with throttle to the floor. Had to hit the brakes and pull back behind the bus to avoid a collision. After recovering the motor seemed to recover and allowed for acceleration again. This was the second time this has happened to us. Neither time did the computer register a fault code or check engine light. The first time we took it for the issue, Ford service could not do anything as no code was found and unable to recreate in test drive. At that time TSB 12-6-4 was out pertaining to this issue. After the second time,again there was no code or recreation but a new TSB 12-10-19 superseded the previous TSB and allowed for repairs. This is a dangerous condition that Ford is aware of and could possibly affect all 2011-2012 f150 ecoboost motors and some early 2013 models. The charge air cooler as originally designed is creating condensation that causes these power loss events. The corrective actions in TSB 12-10-19, if successful, should be applied to all f150 ecoboost vehicles built with the older intercooler design.

61 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 10/21/2012

I have experienced two separate occurrences where the truck would violently lose power during acceleration during rainstorms. The first time the check engine light flashed but went away. The dealer told me it was probably the traction control, since no check engine light was logged in the system. The second time was April 24th, 2013, and the truck had approximately 11,000 miles. I was traveling approximately 70mph and passing two 18 wheelers on the interstate during a heavy rainstorm and the truck began to misfire and stutter and had no power. I had to swerve between the semis and coast to a stop on the shoulder to narrowly avoid a potentially fatal crash due to the loss in power. The check engine light stayed on this time, so when I took it to the dealer I specifically asked about the turbo intercooler issues that the ecoboosts have been reported to have. After checking my truck out, they indicated that my problem was consistent with the interrcooler condensation issue, but that my truck was built with the newer updated intercooler and that there is currently no fix for the problem. Now I am the disappointed owner of a new truck that I'm afraid to drive in the rain because my family might be killed or injured in it. The truck was purchased and always serviced at premier Ford in columbus, ms.

62 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 10/09/2012

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.

63 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 09/29/2012

Tl-the contact owns a 2012 Ford f150. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph in the rain, the vehicle stalled and the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road because it was limp mode. The contact was able to regain speed once he drove away from the shoulder. The contact stated that the failure recurred whenever it rained. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that there was water in the engine and the spark plugs were damaged. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified and they stated that they were aware of the problem and they were working on it. The failure mileage was 768. The VIN was unavailable. Ap.

64 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 09/19/2012

Traveling west on I-20 in TX for several hours through rain/mist/foggy conditions. Exited the highway for fuel. Upon reentering the highway and attempting to accelerate to speed, truck began shaking violently and did not respond to inputs from the throttle. I was able to speed up to about 45mph before the engine problem developed. Luckily I had a shoulder to pull over on as I had entered the interstate ahead of a tractor-trailer combo who was doing the speed limit and approaching my rear bumper very quickly. After the engine began misfiring at about 45 mph, I could not increase speed, I was only able to slow down and pull off onto the shoulder. During the incident, the check engine light illuminated, began flashing until the vehicle came to a stop on the shoulder, then remained illuminated until the truck was restarted 5 times on the shoulder.

65 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 09/13/2012

Losing power, vehicle shake , check engine light. Je demeure au quebec, je parle francais. Si vous avez d autre info a me demander, n hesiter pas.

66 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 08/30/2012

2012 f150 ecoboost. Consumer states shuttering, loss of horsepower and electrical panel went blank the consumer stated when he stopped at the gas station, there was steam coming from the engine. The next morning, as the consumer was driving to the dealer, the check engine light illuminated. The mechanic found the inner cooler was filled with water and was pushing water through the engine. The water was created by the engine and its components. The consumer was informed there was no fix for the problem at the current time. Updated 02/11/13.

67 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 08/12/2012

On two occasions I was cruising in high humidity or rainy conditions for close to 2 hours. Upon trying to pass the engine lost total power and the check engine light went on. After the first occasion I went to a dealer in canada because I was vacationing there, they performed TSB 12-6-4 and sent me on my way. Today on the return trip back to the USA the problem occured again in maine and the check engine light is on again. This problem can cause a sudden loss in power under certain conditions that could lead to a major accident since this event only shows it self at highway speeds when attempting to pass. Some have suggested that the problem is associated with the intercooler condensing water while cruising at speed and then ingesting the water upon acceleration causing the misfire and lost of power.

68 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 07/29/2012

We experienced bucking, shuttering, lack of acceleration when exiting one major highway and entering another. Also check engine light came on. We called the dealer and they said we could still drive truck after we told them what happened. (we were about 200 miles from home)this happened twice. After the first time we took the truck back to the dealer and they installed a cl3z*19e672*a deflector and *w711281*s300 pin. The dealer said the reason for the problem was the computer "learns" the driving habits of the everyday driver (wife). When the husband drove the truck the incidents occurred. Dealer said they re-programed the computer, installed parts. Several months later when husband was driving the truck it happened again. We took the truck back to the dealer but they said nothing was wrong.

69 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 05/30/2012

While accelerating on an on-ramp to merge into traffic on I-90, the entire vehicle vibrated very hard, the engine then lost power, causing electric to shut down, and uncontrolled deceleration to occur. The check engine light started to flash. Once I released the pressure on the gas pedal, and pulled off the interstate to avoid oncoming traffic, the power returned and the engine responded again. The catalytic converter was determined to be the problem and was replaced. Notified Ford regional service manager about concerns that this was a safety issue, he responded that the car was under warranty, and nothing else could be done despite acknowledging that we could have been involved in a very serious accident due to the engine failure. About 2 months later, the same problem occurred, and apparantly the computer system was not updated as required. After the update, it worked fine. In December 2012, similar symptoms occurred and the dealership determined it was the coil in engine 4 as the problem.

70 Check Engine Light On problem

Failure Date: 05/09/2012

Experienced with my new 2012 Ford f150 ecoboost. While trying to rapidly accelerate to pass another slow vehicle, my vehicle lost power and began to shake violently almost creating an accident. After pulling to side of the road to allow other vehicles to pass vehicle seemed to idle correctly. Upon trying to resume travel vehicle missed and shook off and on for the next 5 mile or so. During this time the check engine light was flashing but was not in a safe place to pull over and stop. After traveling approximately 5 miles at around 15 to 20 mph check engine light went away and engine seemed to run correctly. Then slowly resumed 55 mph travel with no further incidents. Has happened several times since then but not as bad and didn't last as long.



F-150 Service Bulletins
F-150 Safety Recalls
F-150 Defect Investigations