general problems of the 2013 Ford F-150 - part 1

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while hauling a trailer, the brake pedal independently went to the floorboard. The abs and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. In addition, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating with the accelerator pedal depressed. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with a master cylinder leak into the brake booster. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 16v345000 (service brakes, hydraulic); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while in reverse, the brake pedal was depressed, and the brake pedal went to the floorboard. The brake and parking brake warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and inspected. The contact stated that there was no brake fluid in the brake fluid reservoir. The contact stated that brake fluid was added to the reservoir; however, two hours later the brake reservoir was empty again. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 117,000.

Complete, instant brake failure at only 105871 miles. My wife was backing out of the drive @5 mph, brake pedal pushed clear to floor with no warning. 3-4 minutes later, the brake warning light came on. No warning light ahead of time. Reservoir was very low, I added 12 oz. Dot3 fluid…. . Brakes seemed ok. Got up the next morning , brake low fluid light is on and all 12 oz of brake fluid are gone, not a drip anywhere to be seen. Called the dealer…. Basically because our VIN has not been listed in any recall, we are out of luck on any help with repairs. Incident occurred in our drive, my wife was very lucky. Ford has a serious problem. We are the original owner, 2013 with 105871 miles. Vehicle is very excellent condition. If this would have happened on the highway, serious injury or death to us or others would have been very likely. Taking to the dealer on Monday June 9 for a diagnosis and a serious talk. Hopefully after a confirmation of master cylinder failure and leakage into the brake booster (which Ford knows is an issue), they will be able to repair under an expired recall that should have included our 2013 with the 3. 5 eco boost engine. Dealer’s service dept. Agreed with me over the phone but added not to get my hopes up because Ford did not list every VIN in the recall that they should have included. Interestingly, back in may, Ford notified us by mail, that as still the original owner there had been issues with the master cylinder and booster. If we had a repair done, they would reimburse up to 700. 00 if we could provide proof. We have had no issues, nor any repairs, so we threw the notice away. So, a month after the notification from Ford, here we are. I would think the lawsuits are out there somewhere, I would rather not be a part of any of that…. This should get Fords prompt attention from a safety standpoint. So we’ll see what happens.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, the vehicle failed to stop as intended while the brake pedal was depressed. The brake fluid warning light illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed on scene by an independent mechanic, and it was determined that the brake master cylinder and brake booster needed to be replaced due to a brake fluid leak. The vehicle was taken and to the local dealer for the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while reversing out of a driveway, the brake pedal was depressed and went down to the floorboard. The contact used the parking brake to stop the vehicle. The brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the brake master cylinder had leaked brake fluid into the brake booster pump. The contact was informed that the brake master cylinder and booster pump needed to be replaced. The dealer confirmed that the failure was related to NHTSA campaign number: 16v345000 (service brakes, hydraulic); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer opened a case. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

Traction control module failed -- (as diagnosed and confirmed by the dealer) I did a quick stop (someone cut in front of me), and felt the anti-locks 'kick in'. Later that day, the dashboard lit up with three warning lights and two messages stating that the anti-lock and brake systems needed to be serviced. I am not sure what risks are associated with this --- but. . . Its the braking system. The repair cost estimate: nearly $6,000. 00.

My vehicle has 116,000 miles and the cpu/ abs unit is not working. I took it to a Ford dealership and they said the part alone is $3,000. 00 . I feel although the vehicle is 12 years old it has low mileage and I feel that a part of this type should not malfunction. I would like Ford to pay for this repair and how many other F-150’s are out there experiencing this same problem? could you please investigate this problem. I still have bakes but the abs and down hill slope assist is not working. All the brake lights come on abs, down hill slope assist, and the brake line. The warning light and bells come on within a few hundred feet when moving. I had the vehicle inspected by a local Ford dealership and they informed me the abs unit needs replaced. This has been happening since April of this year 2025.

I was recently driving on the freeway in the #1 lane when my 2013 f150 began to experience a loss of power. While traveling at 70 mph, I noticed that my transmission had shifted and was stuck in 5th gear. I continued to depress the accelerator with no response. I then felt a sudden jolt from the transmission shifting to a lower gear and continued to travel. There was no warning light indicating that the truck was experiencing a malfunction. On Nov 26th I took my truck to an authorized Ford dealership service department who performed a diagnostic test on the transmission who recommended an immediate transmission flush and service, which I scheduled immediately. While on scheduling the repairs to my vehicle I learned that there was a recall on the 2011-2013 Ford f150 trucks. I learned that NHTSA issued a recall on 2/11/2019 and 6/10/19 due to the component failure of the transmissions in those vehicles causing the loss of power while driving. Both of these recalls involved either electrical component failure or mechanical failure of the parts installed in each vehicle that involved the powertrain. I was never notified by the NHTSA or Ford motor corporation of the recalls on my vehicle. During a phone conversation with Ford I was told that there is no longer a recall on the 2011-2013 f150. I was also told by a representative of Ford that there is no record of Ford sending me notification of the time of the recall. Here are the recall numbers that I found: 1. 19v075000 2. 19v433000 3. 16v345000 thank you for your consideration.

See complaint on file: 11623520.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while coming to a stop, the brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond as intended. The brake pedal traveled to the floorboard and multiple unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact had to shift the vehicle into neutral and coast to the side of the road to bring the vehicle to a safe stop. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed that the master cylinder did not have any brake fluid. The contact added brake fluid to the master cylinder and restarted the vehicle where it resumed to normal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was confirmed that the master cylinder did not have brake fluid and that the brake fluid leaked into the brake boosters which caused the master cylinders and brake boosters to fail. The contact was informed that the master cylinder and brake boosters needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 16v345000 (service brakes, hydraulic). A case was opened, and the manufacturer referred the contact to the nhsta hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 89,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the brake warning light illuminated, and the vehicle made an abnormal beeping sound. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the brake master cylinder and brake booster needed to be replaced. The mechanic related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 16v345000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 106,334.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the brakes applied independently. The vehicle slowed down to 5 mph. The contact stated that the wrench symbol was illuminated. The speedometer became inoperable and there were dots on the instrument cluster. The vehicle was turned off and restarted, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to a transmission center, where it was determined that the failure was due to the speed sensor valve. The vehicle was repaired. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who advised that there was no recall coverage on the VIN for the failure. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA campaign number: 16v345000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while coming to a stop, she became aware that the brakes was not functioning properly. The contact had to depress down on the brake pedal with excessive force for the brakes to activate as needed. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer however, the diagnostic test result was undisclosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was referred to the nhsta hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Master cylinder leaked into brake booster causing complete brake failure. Had to use downshifting and emergency brake to stop. Contact Ford and they said not on recall list. Have a nice day.

I started the truck and as I backed out of a parking spot, the brake pedal went all the way to the floor and the brakes did not stop the truck. I used the emergency brake to stop and pulled back into the parking spot. I checked the brake fluid and it was low. I purchased some at the store I was at and filled up the reservoir. I pumped the brakes and they appeared to work. After driving for about a block the brake fluid light came on and the reservoir was empty. No fluid leaking anywhere under the vehicle.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact depressed the brake pedal down to the floor and the brakes were inoperable. The low brake fluid light illuminated. The contact added brake fluid, however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed stating brake fluid was leaking from the master cylinder into the brake booster. The contact was informed that the brake master cylinder needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired to due to cost. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 123,000.  .

Brake pedal goes very hard and unless you press with both feet you will not stop. It happens intermittently. Almost had two accidents because of this and I knew what to do. If someone else was driving there would definitely been an accident. Also the engine mounted vacuum pump is leaking oil which seems to be a problem with everyone on these vehicles. The oil leaking directly onto the hot tubo creating a burning smell.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact depressed the brake pedal down to the floor and the brakes were inoperable. The contact stated he had to swerve to avoid an accident. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with failed master cylinder. The master cylinder and the brakes needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 35-40 mph and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle responded with delay. The contact stated that upon depressing the brake pedal for the third time the vehicle failed to respond. The brake warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that he applied more pressure to the brake pedal until the vehicle responded as needed. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring daily, and increasingly was reversing. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with low vacuum pressure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 16v345000 (service brakes, hydraulic). An unknown dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, she had to apply extra pressure to the brake pedal to coast the vehicle to a stop. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the brake vacuum pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the valve cover, head gasket set, and the brake vacuum pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact notified the dealer of the failure and was advised to take the vehicle back to the dealer. The vehicle had not yet been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to call the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 19,731.

The brakes instantly became soft and unresponsive with a warning chime and message to service the vehicle. The brake fluid reservoir was empty with no apparent leaks on the vehicle. I refilled the brake reservoir only to watch it disappear over a short time. I researched and found there is a recall 16s24 impacting Ford f150 ecoboost vehicles with this exact symptom. My vehicle does not show up on the recall list having been manufactured at the dearborn facility in June of 2013 where the cutoff was August 2013. At this point, Ford has refused to recognize this issue is the same.

I took my truck in a couple of weeks ago to get the recall done due to downshifting. Picked it up the next day and they told me they resolved the issue. The next day it happened again and it continued for a week. I called the dealership (holmes tuttle Ford) and they said they would charge me $200 plus maintenance fee even though it is a recall. Fast forward to today and my truck went out and will not start. Called Ford and they informed me that although they cleared the recall they did not actually fix the problem because it was not present when they turned it on and told me I would have to repair it on my own even though they did not attempt to fix it.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while attempting to stop the vehicle the brake pedal had extended to the floor and the braking distances were extended. Brake fluid was added to the vehicle and after driving a short distance the brake fluid had leaked out of the brake fluid reservoir but no visible fluid leak was present. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the front brake master cylinder was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 107,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and remained on the floorboard. The brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000.

The truck slammed into 1st gear going 55 mph on the interstate. Through investigation a speed sensor warning was the culprit. Not being able to have truck service for a month due to Ford dealers being backed up cavalier Ford sent a mobile mechanic out to me. He spent about 10 minutes on my truck handed me the keys and told me he did something with the computer mo parts are needed. He never test drove it to ensure the problem was corrected. When I went to drive the truck, the wrench light was still on and was worse than before. Actually stuck in first gear. After going around and around I was informed by fors customer service they did their part, anything else I wanted done would be my responsibility financially because of the mileage. I didn't not think recalls had a mileage limit but they are insistent after 150k they were no longer responsible. Cavalier Ford marked the recall as complete but it wasn't. My case number with Ford is cas44213098 transmission fluid leaking recall was not on there but I am leaking that as well. I don't want something for free, I just want them to correct their defects.

My break went out an I hit my garage when I start my vehicle or if I’m going down a hill slow the breaks get really hard to push an almost want stop all my breaks an calipers are new so it’s a different issue.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the brake pedal went to the floorboard while depressed. Additionally, the low brake fluid warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who replaced the brakes, brake cylinder, and power brake booster. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 16v345000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 132,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at approximately 45 mph, there was an abnormal sound coming from the front brakes. The contact stated that the braking system independently engaged and stopped the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle had not stalled. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a parts store and upon parking he observed that smoke was being emitted from the passenger side front wheel well. The contact stated that he observed that a flame was visible from the passenger wheel well and that store employees had extinguished the flames with hand-held fire extinguishers. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the front brake line on the passenger side, both brake drums, calipers, pads, and rotors needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that later the failure recurred and he needed to replace pads, and calipers on the front passenger side. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 16v345000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not associated with any recalls related to the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the brake pedal would depress to the floorboard while depressed. The brake pedal needed to be pumped repeatedly to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to two separate independent mechanics who both confirmed that the issue was related to the brake booster. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

Master cylinder failed, causing all fluid to go into the booster, which resulted in no braking ability at all. Fortunately I was in a parking lot when the occured, the vehicle was traveling at slow speed and was stopped by coming up against a curb. The low brake fluid warning came on at the time of total failure, this would have resulted in a serious accident had it occured on the roadway. The vehcle is being repaired at a local shop after it was towed there following this incident. An attempt was made to refill the master cylinder with brake fluid but it immediately empted with any attempt to use the brakes. There was no other visible sign of leak.

Brake fluid is leaking into the brake booster, im not understanding why the recall back in 2020 didn't cover my truck. 2013 f150's were recalled but the Ford dealership says they show nothing.

Brakes began to pulse when pressure applied to pedal. Complete loss of brake crashed in parking lot wall. Was knocked unconscious. The brake system has been professionally serviced. Cant find any reason for loss of brakes. This vehicle has been parked since incident. Because it will keep.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving in a parking lot, she depressed the brakes and the pedal became stiff. The vehicle did not slow down as intended. The vehicle collided with a parked car. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The contact then began driving at approximatly 30 mph, the brake was depressed, and he observed a grinding noise emanating from the front left of the vehicle. The brake then became stiff and did not slow down as intended. The vehicle was placed in the park position on multiple occasions to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the check valve was clogged and the brake vacuum booster pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

Locked up in 1st gear while driving.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an unknown speed, the brakes became inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the brake master cylinder needed brake fluid added. The mechanic failed to locate a leak. The mechanic added dye to show a possible brake fluid leak. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed that the brake master cylinder fluid had leaked into the brake booster pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the brake booster and brake master cylinder. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA campaign number: 16v345000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The manufacturer was contacted and referred him to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 64,438.