Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2012 Ford F-150 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while at a stop light, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact called a tow truck company, which declined to tow the vehicle. The tow truck driver informed the contact that there was severe rust damage to the subframe. The vehicle was towed by another tow truck company to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that there was significant rust on the cross member and that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 151,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the subframe of the vehicle was severely corroded and had disintegrated due to the severe corrosion started developing in 2018. . The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. A case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Three of my four doors sporadically fail to close and latch. When I open the door the latch does not fully open, so when I try to close the door the latch prevents it from closing. Maybe it is just normal wear and tear, but I understand there was a recall for something with latches on this era of f-150s, and my VIN is not part of that. I'm reporting this in case it's useful information and in case it indicates the recall should be expanded. So far I have been able to use a screwdriver to push the latch open, and the door will close and latch after that. I can not replicate this consistently.
Engine coolant over temperature condition. Cylinder head overtemperature condition. Engine air filter restriction pending. Ceased running boards/ rusted. Broken suspensions and bad tie rods. Bluetooth doesn't connect sometimes. Engine or turbo making loud noises when accelerated.
While traveling at 48 MPH on 2 lane county rd I was in 4 wheel high when truck slammed into 1st gear causing truck to loose traction and ended up going into ditch. The truck never stalled out all gauges stopped working and tech light came on. I proceeded to be pulled from ditch. Then turned truck off .checked truck over it has body damage nothing visible under truck so I started it gauges where working tech light was off radio stopped working but could be loose connection I proceeded to limp it home at about 20 MPH was shifting hard at higher RPM I had it towed to body shop while at hospital.recall came on news I went to dealership they said bring it in they'll reprogram it . I'm wondering about damages caused by defect who will be paying for that? This defect is a danger and I can't believe it took Ford 7 years from first report on here to address issue. …
Incident occurred on Saturday 2-21-15 at or about 3:30 pm. The vehicle was traveling at about 30mph when a very loud bang was heard inside vehicle. After pulling over a quick glance around inside the vehicle revealed that the drivers side portion of the 3 piece rear glass of the cab has shattered. The glass remains in place but had "spiderwebed" and is completely shattered. Upon inspection on the outside, no signs of impact are visible and the point of origin of the cracks appears to be the upper right hand corner where the glass is covered by the rubber molding. When this happened it was about 25 degrees outside and snowing, all snow had been removed from vehicle prior to driving and the rear de-frost/de-fogger had been run and turned off about 10 mins prior to the incident. …
On February 19 2015 I remote started my f150 in the driveway to warm it up. I got in the vehicle and put on the rear defroster to clear the mirrors and rear window. I heard a loud noise after about 30 seconds like an explosion inside vehicle. I looked around and noticed the drivers side rear glass was shattered. There was no external damage to the glass. Previously this vehicle was taken to a Ford dealer on March 27 2014 for an inoperative rear defroster system. The dealer diagnosed it as an open in the resister in the defroster grid and the whole rear window assembly was replaced. Ford corporate told the dealer that the window couldn't shatter by turning on the defroster and would not replace the unit. I called the Ford corporate number and lodged a complaint and was given a claim number. They had the dealer send them pictures of the shattered glass. …
To whom it May concern, this compliant is forwarded to you in due time. Too many times when driving back from my families home in pa, I encounter dangerous conditions on the road with regard to large dump trucks that carry stone. This morning it happened again, when I passed a said truck, rocks came out of the top of the bed, hitting my hood and windshield in several areas. It goes without say how dangerous this matter can become. The situation is even worst, if your passing when the road in bumpy. I travel east from pa, route 15, route 206, route 80, route 46 and route 3. I had to replace windshields before, because of rocks flying off of dump trucks. Please look into to this matter, before this issue causes more accidents. There must be regulations, that can be more strictly enforced. Thank, you [redacted] '
Less than a year ago, my passenger side windshield trim started making a flapping side. Eventually it came off and I had to take it to the dealer and was charged over $200 to have it repaired. Less than 1 month ago, the right side (driver) windshield trim started making the same noise. My vehicle has not had a new windshield in it so apparently the trim is defective. My vehicle has less than 70,000 miles on it. Unfortunately, my dealer's extended warranty package does not cover this problem. Even then, it would cost me $250.00 for the deductible. This problem started occurring when I reached driving speeds of 50+MPH.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 Ford f-150. While washing the vehicle, the contact noticed severe rust on the inside of the cabin corners all the way to the outer surface on both corners of the cabin. The vehicle was taken to an independent body shop and the contact was informed that this was a common failure with these vehicles. Due to how the vehicles were designed, water would accumulate on the corners of the cabin. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000.
Body complaints in other F-150 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2012 Ford F-150?
NHTSA has 24 complaints about the body & structure of the 2012 Ford F-150, 1% of the model year's 1,783 complaints. The component named most often is body (18 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2012 Ford F-150 body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2012 Ford F-150, though it has 4 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 2012 Ford F-150 body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 78,000 miles, and 18% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 1 injury to body & structure 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.