2013 Ford F-150 recalls & problems

Recent owner complaints

• Oct 15, 2026Vehicle speed control
  My 2013 Ford F-150 is experiencing the dangerous failure associated with NHTSA Safety Recall 19S07. While driving, the transmission abruptly and unexpectedly downshifted into 1st gear at speed. This causes sudden, violent deceleration equivalent to a severe rear-end collision, creating an extreme safety hazard and loss of vehicle control. To protect public safety, the vehicle is parked at my residence. On October 23, 2026, I contacted the local authorized Ford service dealership. The service department refused to provide or cover loaner/rental transportation while performing this recall repair, stated that neither Ford Motor Company nor the dealership would cover towing for an un-driveable…
• Oct 7, 2026Vehicle speed control
  Was Driving my truck on the highway, when it slammed into 1st gear on its own, was going about 65 MPH and almost lost control of the vehicle. I have taken it immediately to a FORD dealership for repairs, and they are saying that they are unable to replicate what happened. At the time it showed a Wrench Icon and check engine light, and I am certain that this is from a Molded Lead Frame Failure issue. I did have mine reprogramed by the dealership service center a few years back due to recall, but I think this just pushed the problem down the road, and did not actually fix the ACTUAL problem causing the safety issue. People are going to lose lives over this issue, and it seems FORD is trying…
• May 1, 2026Power train
  While I'm driving and say I speed up or accelerate it feels like sometimes down shifts and then starts to go normal
• Oct 13, 2026Power train
  The truck randomly hard downshifts and the gauges stop working and it wont shift back out of third gear. I can stop the truck and shut it off and when I turn it back on it still will be in third gear. If I turn it to manual sometimes I can get it to go down to second but it is a hard shift and then will hard shift back into third and stay. A wrench light comes on and sometimes I will get a check engine light that reads when scanned "output shaft speed sensor circuit." It has been doing this sporadically for over a year since my recall was fixed.
• May 10, 2023Power train
  Truck will not shift into the correct gears when driving, would jump from 1st to a higher gear, it would shift weird and would lose the dash gauges when the truck was shifting.
• Sep 19, 2026Engine
  I am submitting this complaint because my 2013 Ford F-150 3.5L EcoBoost developed a serious and potentially life-threatening engine defect that placed me and my family in immediate danger. While traveling on a major interstate/highway, the engine warning light and wrench light illuminated, and the truck subsequently lost power and stalled while I was driving. This occurred in active highway traffic, creating an extremely dangerous situation. My family and I were almost killed because the vehicle unexpectedly lost propulsion while we were traveling at highway speed and surrounded by other vehicles. The defect is especially hazardous because the failure can occur without providing a safe…
• Oct 4, 2026 · crashService brakes
  Vehicle Information: 2013 Ford F-150 SuperCrew 3.5L V6 EcoBoost (VIN: [XXX]) While operating the vehicle, experienced a severe and sudden degradation of brake hydraulic pressure. The brake pedal travels abnormally deep and requires the driver to "double-pump" (fully let off the brake pedal and re-press it a second time) to achieve enough line pressure to stop the vehicle. Additionally, while stopped at an intersection, the vehicle began violently jerking and resisting movement because the brake calipers failed to release, holding the vehicle back until a heavy secondary press of the pedal forced the system to recede. Safety Risk & Background: This behavior matches the exact mechanical…
• Oct 6, 2026Power train
  My truck is shifting erratically going from 5/6th gear down to 1st/2nd. It looses power. My battery light comes on, the wrench comes on, check engine light comes on but no codes come up. I have already put in a new transmission at my cost.

Owner complaints are submitted to NHTSA by the public and are not verified. Shown as filed (NHTSA removes personal details); long reports are shortened.

NHTSA defect investigations

• RQ17010 · opened Dec 25, 2017 · closed Oct 22, 2019 · led to recall 19V075000Unexpected Transmission Downshift
  The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened an investigation based on consumer allegations of transmissions unexpectedly downshifting to a lower gear without input from the driver on model year (MY) 2011-2013 Ford F-150, Expedition and Navigator vehicles. ODI has received 455 unique reports related to the alleged problem that were not covered under a previous recall for this issue (16V-248).Expedition and Navigator complaint rates are lower than F-150 complaints. Of those 455 reports, 34.7% claimed that the rear wheels locked up when the transmission downshifted. There were 4 accident claims with no injuries. There are many instances where drivers report leaving their lane or the road because of this issue.In response to ODI's Information Request (IR) letter, Ford Motor Company (Ford) responded with 783 unique reports related to the alleged problem. There were 6 accident claims…
• PE16003 · opened Feb 29, 2016 · closed Jul 26, 2016 · led to recall 16V345000Master Cylinder External Leak
  On May 23, 2016, Ford Motor Company (Ford) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA regarding a master cylinder defect that could result in loss of the front brake circuit in approximately 225,012 model year 2013 through 2014 Ford F-150 vehicles equipped with 3.5-liter GTDI engines and built at the Dearborn Truck Plant from August 1, 2013 through August 22, 2014; and the Kansas City Assembly Plant from August 1, 2013 through August 31, 2014 (NHTSA Recall #16V-345, Ford Recall #16S24).Ford indicated that the rearmost cup seal in the brake master cylinder may roll, resulting in leakage from the brake fluid reservoir to the brake booster.According to Ford's DIR, Depending on the amount of brake fluid loss from the brake master cylinder into the brake booster, the driver will experience an audible chime, message center alert, red brake warning light in the instrument cluster and…
• PE13018 · opened May 22, 2013 · closed Apr 7, 2014Reduced power during hard acceleration
  On May 22, 2013, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE13-018 to investigate 95 complaints alleging incidents of reduced engine power during hard accelerations in model year (MY) 2011 through 2013 Ford F-150 trucks.ODI was aware of three technical service bulletins (TSBs) issued by Ford for a condition that was related to moisture accumulation in the Charge Air Cooler (CAC) for the turbochargers.A Preliminary Evaluation was opened to gather information to assess whether the subject vehicles contain a safety related defect.The subject vehicles are powered by Ford?s 3.5L EcoBoost engine which uses twin turbochargers to obtain a balance of fuel economy and engine power based on the driver?s demand.When the driver requests more power from the engine, as in accelerating to pass, merge, ascend hills or haul a load the two turbochargers will spin up compressing the air which is…