2012 Ford F-250 problems & reliability
266 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2012 Ford F-250, alongside 1 safety recall campaign. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
4 complaints report injuries (5 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2012 Ford F-250 vehicles were involved in 62 fatal crashes with 17 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Suspension → | 125 | 47% |
| Steering → | 112 | 42% |
| Engine → | 27 | 10% |
| Unknown OR Other | 25 | 9% |
| Electrical System → | 18 | 7% |
| Wheels → | 16 | 6% |
| Power Train → | 15 | 6% |
| Fuel/propulsion System → | 14 | 5% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 12 | 5% |
| Service Brakes | 9 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 81,160 miles (middle 50% between 42,500 and 130,150 miles), based on 189 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2012 Ford F-250. The contact stated that they discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 141,000. It was later discovered upon checking Carfax, that the mileage was 477,000.”
Electrical System · filed Jun 3, 2026
“Over 1 year (2025) steering front end shaking began. Our dealership on oil changes did not tell us to watch for anything and we should have been warned. When the shaking occurred we changed Ford shock asborbers from Ford dealership. Problem still occured. We lost faith in Ford and our regular dealership. We then at…”
Suspension · filed Apr 21, 2026
“CP4 pump continuous failure sending metal into the fuel system. Ford still uses an inferior product causing truck owners up to $18000 in repairs.”
Fuel/propulsion System · filed Apr 8, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Vehicle Commanded Engine Shutdown
Recall Query RQ14005 · opened Jan 13, 2015 · closed Mar 15, 2016 · led to recall 15V175000
Technical service bulletins
15 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2012 Ford F-250. The 10 most recent:
Certain 2011-2022 Model Year Super Duty Vehicles Equipped with 6.7L Engine - Emission Control Information Label Update for Qualified Vehicles
24L05 · Other · issued Sep 24, 2025
Some 2011-2012 F-250/F-350 and 2011-2015 F-450/F-550 vehicles equipped with a 6.7L diesel engine built on or before 9-Dec-2014 may exhibit an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) with diagnostic trouble codes…
tsb18-2190 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 3, 2018
The Powertrain Control/Emissions Diagnosis (PC/ED) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic throttle bodies (ETBs). The ETC_ACT and ETC_DSD PIDs should not used to diagnose possible ETB concerns. The IDS has a…
SSM 46085 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 21, 2016
Touchscreen navigation system - arabic language - blank screen
TSB160066 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 20, 2016
Some 2012-2016 vehicles equipped with a touchscreen navigation system and the language set to Arabic may exhibit a blank screen. This may be the result of the ribbon cables not being fully seated inside the front…
16-0066 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 20, 2016
In monitoring our technical service inquiries and technical service bulletins from Ford, there is the potential for moderate to severe steering wheel oscillation (wobble) to occur. After extensive testing and outside…
PC-01.12.2016 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 12, 2016
Ford: 2011-2014 f-super duty vehicles equipped with 6.7l diesel engine may experience a running rough or misfire during exhaust regeneration process *cn
TSB15-0124 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 10, 2015
Ford: no service action is recommended for this condition. Please use at your discretion. Various 2010-2015 vehicles may experience a turbulence noise, similar to an helicopter noise, at highway speeds when the rear…
44863 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 1, 2015
Ford:lincoln: on some vehicles, there are various related concerns about the sync features, such as sync features inoperative, lack of or slow response to phone and voice button operation. Models 2012-2013 focus…
TSB-13-6-17 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 15, 2013
Ford: due to loose, missing, modified or damaged ground g400, various malfunction indicator light (mil) dtc's, related to glow plug control module (gpcm), may be exhibit on some diesel equipped trucks. Model years…
ASI-32207 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 1, 2013
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2012 Ford F-250 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2012 Ford F-250?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 81,160 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.