2012 Ford F-150 REGULAR CAB - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2012 Ford F-150 Regular Cab has an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5, indicating above average safety features. In crash tests, it received solid scores with 4 out of 5 stars for front crash driver side, front crash passenger side, and rollover rating. It excelled in side crash ratings with 5 out of 5 stars overall, demonstrating superior protection for drivers and passengers in side impacts. Additionally, the vehicle comes equipped with standard electronic stability control, a crucial feature for maintaining control in hazardous driving conditions.

While the F-150 Regular Cab lacks forward collision warning and lane departure warning systems, its strong performance in crash tests and inclusion of stability control contribute to its overall safety profile. With 1591 complaints and 4 recalls reported, it is important for owners to stay informed about any potential safety issues and address them promptly. Overall, the 2012 Ford F-150 Regular Cab offers solid safety features but drivers should remain vigilant and proactive in addressing any reported concerns.

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Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

1,591

Recall Count

4

Investigation Count

4

Safety Rating

4/5

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Safety Features

2012 Ford F-150 Regular Cab PU/RC 4x2 Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2012 Ford F-150 Regular Cab PU/RC 4x2

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2012 Ford F-150 Regular Cab PU/RC 4x2 Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2012 Ford F-150 Regular Cab PU/RC 4x2 Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2010 Score 2012 Score 2022 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 4 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 4 4
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 3 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2010 Score 2012 Score 2022 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated Not Rated Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 0 Not Rated
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 5 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2010 Score 2012 Score 2022 Score
Rollover Rating 3 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated 4 5

Complaints for the 2012 Ford F-150 REGULAR CAB

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"got the software update for the recall and it made the problem worse"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-06-01
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 ford f-150. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission downshifted to first gear with the check engine warning light illuminated. after restarting the vehicle, the failure was corrected. the vehicle was taken to a dealer on several occasions where it was later repaired. recently, the failure recurred, and the vehicle was towed to holmes tuttle ford (660 w auto mall dr, tucson, az 85705) where it remained in dealer possession. the contact was informed by the manufacturer that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 19v075000 (power train). the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 30."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2012-01-08
Complaint:
"vehicle shifted from fifth gear down to first gear while traveling fifty mph. rear tires locked up and caused the vehicle to skid into a break down lane. vehicle will not shift out of first gear now."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-11-12
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 ford f-150. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission downshifted to first gear causing the vehicle to abruptly decelerate. after restarting the vehicle, the failure was corrected. the contact stated that the failure progressed, and the transmission would no longer shift gear as needed. the cause of the failure was not yet determined. the local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. the contact was informed that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 19v075000 (power train). the contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. the failure mileage was 50,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-11-12
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 ford f-150. the contact stated while driving 45 mph, the vehicle downshifted into first gear. the contact stated that the wrench warning light was illuminated, and the speedometer and other gauges malfunctioned. the contact turned off and restarted the vehicle however, the failure persisted. the contact drove the vehicle to the residence and contacted the dealer however, no assistance was provided. the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 19v075000 (power train). the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 199,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-01-10
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 ford f-150. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 19v075000 (power train). the vehicle was taken to a local dealer and the recall was serviced. the contact stated that while driving at 70 mph, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted without warning. the contact pulled over as certain parts of the instrument panel had gone blank. the contact restarted the vehicle and the vehicle resumed normal operation. the contact called a dealer and made an appointment to have the vehicle serviced; however, once the vehicle arrived at the dealer, the contact was informed that the vehicle could not be serviced for several weeks. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer. the failure mileage was approximately 172,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-06-12
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 ford f-150. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle suddenly downshifted and lost motive power. the contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the failure persisted. the transmission warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. the vehicle was not repaired. after investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to nhtsa campaign number: 19v075000 (power train), but the vin was not included. the manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not assist. the failure mileage was 200,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2024-07-12
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2012 ford f-150. the contact initially stated that while driving at low rates of speed, the vehicle would unexpectedly downshift without warning. the contact then stated that while driving at highway speeds, the vehicle downshifted as the indicator warning light appeared on the instrument panel. soon after the failure, the instrument panel went blank. upon restart of the vehicle, the vehicle resumed normal operation; however, the failure persisted as the contact stated that the failure would occur more frequently. the contact stated that the check engine warning light had appeared on the instrument panel. upon investigation, the contact discovered nhtsa campaign number: 19v075000 (power train) which was linked to the failure. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 70,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2019-01-10
Complaint:
"transmission down shifted to 1st gear at a high rate of speed."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2025-03-11
Complaint:
"on a cold start, my truck will not go into first gear until the rpm’s get from 1500-2000 and then it slams into first gear. other times it won’t have barely any power and will accelerate so slowly that i’ve nearly missed getting in an accident more than a few times. also, it will slam down into lower gears when down shifting. all of the problems listed above will cause my truck to violently shake to where it feels like i got hit."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2023-05-10

FORD Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

FORD ranks 1 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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