Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Ford F-150 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
While traveling the vehicle unexpectedly puts itself into park. The vehicle then locks up the breaks and skids across the road. After skidding the vehicle's throttle does not work and the vehicle is inoperable. This has happened for approximately two (2) years. It has happened while driving at high speed (70 MPH) on a limited access highway facility. It has occurred at stop lights. In one instance while at a stop light the vehicle ceased to operate and was struck by another vehicle. Last week was notified by the vehicle manufacturer that they were conducting a recall for the exact reason that has caused me problems for the past two years. The malfunction has caused mechanical damages to the vehicle's suspension, steering, tires, and acceleration. The vehicle vibrates uncontrollably at any speed over 35 MPH. There are also rattling inside and outside of the vehicle.
On three separate occasions while backing into my driveway in my 2011 Ford f150 xlt as I turned my steering wheel sharply to the right and began backing up my service advance trac warning light lit up. Each time the light would go away upon restarting the truck. The forth time it came on while conducting a 3 point turn at slow speed, however the light remained on and dash displayed a picture of front wheels at hard lock right reading 37degrees of angle while I was driving straight ahead. At that time my turn signals stopped working unless held on. Upon restarting the truck the warning remained on and display failed to show change in wheel position when turning steering wheel. I brought it in to dealer to have it checked and two codes were present (c1b00 and u2101). I was told vehicle needs electronic steering rack replaced. …
My 2011 Ford f150, with less than 23500 miles, suddenly developed problems with its electronic steering system consisting of (a) very loose steering, (b) a "service advanctrac" warning message, (c) the control for the left & right blinkers no longer working. I was driving down a dirt at a low rate of speed when the problem struck without warning, and then got onto a paved road where the steering continued to feel very 'sloppy' and somewhat difficult to control the truck. The local Ford dealership diagnosed the problem with the epas (electronic) steering system which was first introduced on the 2011 f150 model. They first quoted $1300 to repair it since I am out of the 3/36 warranty, but later came down to $480 when I complained about it being a safety issue and that it was ridiculous for something like this to happen on a truck with less than 25K miles (mostly highway miles). …
While sitting at a red light. I noticed my digital electronic gear display was in 5th with my foot on the brake. When I accelerated, all of sudden, the wrench light appeared and everything on the digital display appeared as (---). The truck could barely accelerate. I drove the truck to a safe and location, with the truck barely accelerating. I parked and shut the engine off. When the vehicle was restarted and placed in drive. The digital electronic gear was in the 3rd gear. My truck would barely accelerate. I went to have a diagnosis performed and the trouble code came back as p0720 output shaft speed sensor. This is very dangerous and a safety risk. I'm terrified to drive on the interstate because my truck May all of sudden downshift to 1st and cause an accident. I have a newborn child and I'm terrified to drive around with my newborn. …
Steering lock up while driving. While making a sharp left turn in a parking lot the steering wheel locked up momentarily then became hard to turn. At the same time I heard a loud grinding or buzzing sound and the 'service advance trak' light came on. I had to have the car towed 150 miles to my mechanic. My mechanic conferred with the local Ford dealer and determined that the rack and pinion had to be replace. Truck has 57,000 miles on it. My mechanic expected the part to take up to a week to arrive but it was delivered the same day. Dealer had several units in stock. Seems strange to have that many of this p[art in stock unless there is a design or manufacturing flaw that Ford has not declared. I checked the f150 online forums and there are many references to this problem. …
While driving thru a parking lot I received a warning "service advantrac" then while making a turn into a food drive thru another alarm went off. Power steering assist fault. I lost all power steering and nearly crashed into the drive thru sign. This all happened within minutes. When the steering goes out there is not advanced indications or warnings until it happens. The electric assist motor is just disabled. You have no steering at that point. It is harder to turn then an older manual steering vehicle. The entire rack n pinion steering unit has to be replaced due to under engineering. It is one motor but is embedded into the rack. The cost alone is 1200.00 for the rack not including labor to install and reprogram. To me this is an extreme safety issue that will some day get someone severely injured or death due to a non steering vehicle. …
While driving and under no particular common conditions, the dashboard, instrument gauges, interior lighting, headlights, navigation panel suddenly begin flashing and blacking out. Then after a few seconds, come back to normal, but typically with a "traction control service" message on with the trouble light remaining on. This happens about every 10 minutes of driving. Once in a while, it lasted longer and clunking noises seemed to come from the drive train. However, a few occurrences were while turning and the power steering was out. I took it to a belle tire nearby and they could not fix the problem, saying the dealer had to update the ABS module and gave me a printout of TSB 12-11-18 [attached scan]. They circled diagnostic trouble codes c1278 and c1963 as the ones that popped up in their analysis. I find no recalls of this item, but the steering issue is certainly dangerous.
2011 f150 steering failure , when failed steering failed stability control and steering went. While making turn steering would " lock" preventing tempary control of pickup, before completing trip power assist went totally out. Contacted Ford they state that the power assist needs to be replaced from description alone, they also had recalled multiple other vehicles for this issue how ever the f 150 is not one of those and it will cost 3 k to fix.... Umm if all your other vehicles are doing this and this one is doing the same thing then its a defect! The only thing that helped me prevent the accident from happening was my training as an evo ( emergency vehicle operator) at the time of failure I was turning in front of semi , if I would not have taken the ditch and prevented measures this would have been a quad fatality . Truck is parked at a dress given unable to drive home
I was turning my 2011 f150 around in a lot when a steering error warning poped up on dash along with a stability control error. Steering froze and I did not have steering control. Took all effort to force vehicle to turn and avoid a collision steering was extremely hard to turn with a loud buzzing noise and limited turning range (about 2/3 of normal range left and right. Drove home this way (about 15 miles). Was extremely difficult to control vehicle and very nerve racking. Being a mechanic I scanned codes and it appears that the electronic steering gear failed. This is a very dangerous system I shudder when I think of the consequences had I been driving at highway speed. If there is not a recall for this issue there should be before someone is killed. I included the scanned codes below.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Ford f-150. While driving approximately 55 MPH around a curved road, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle started to jerk and the power steering assist and advance traction system warning indicators illuminated. The contact coasted the vehicle to the side of the road and was able to drive home despite the difficulty steering. The contact called preaus Ford motor (206 s main st, farmerville, la 71241, phone number: [phone]) and was informed to bring the vehicle in for a diagnostic test at the contact's expense. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer due to the diagnostic and repair fees. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 146,540.
Traction Control complaints in other F-150 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2011 Ford F-150?
NHTSA has 47 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2011 Ford F-150, 2% of the model year's 2,193 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2011 Ford F-150 traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control recall for the 2011 Ford F-150, though it has 6 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2011 Ford F-150 traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 81,000 miles, and 14% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to stability & traction control problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.