There are 10 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2012 Ford Expeditionin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I was driving regularly down the road when I noticed the smell of electrical fire. Smoke started coming from the undercarriage of the truck. I pulled into a gas station, and the engine died, and I got out to look at what's causing the smoke. I observed what looked to be engine or transmission oil on fire dripping from the undercarriage, so I moved a safe distance from the vehicle, and within about 30 seconds, the entire vehicle was engulfed in flames. The fire department came, and extinguished the fire. The vehicle is 100% casualty, along with everything inside of it.
My vehicle suddenly shifted downward, my gas pedal had no effect, my speedometer stopped working and my fuel and tire sensor lights came on. This happened multiple times on my drive this morning and would have caused an accident if I was being tailgated.
WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY DOWNSHIFTED INTO 1ST GEAR, RPMS REVVED UP, SPEEDOMETER STOPPED WORKING, PUSHING THE GAS PEDAL TEMPORARILY HAD NO EFFECT, "FUEL LEVEL LOW" LIGHT CAME ON AND "TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR FAULT" LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS STILL ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE, THOUGH THE SPEEDOMETER WAS NOT WORKING. I STOPPED, TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AND RESTARTED IT AND THE VEHICLE WORKED FINE. THIS EVENT HAPPENED THREE TIMES OVER THE PAST MONTH. SHEEHY FORD IN ASHLAND, VIRGINIA SAID THAT I NEEDED A NEW "LEAD FRAME" AND THAT THE CHARGE WOULD BE $900. UPON FURTHER RESEARCH, I LEARNED THAT THERE HAD BEEN A RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE FOR THE 2012 FORD EXPEDITION, BUT MY 2012 EXPEDITION VIN NUMBER IS NOT PART OF THE RECALL. I BELIEVE MY VEHICLE SHOULD HAVE ALSO BEEN INCLUDED IN THE RECALL AND FIXED BY FORD. I COULD HAVE HAD A SERIOUS ACCIDENT IF THIS HAD HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. RECALL INFORMATION FOUND ONLINE: "FORD HAS ISSUED A SAFETY RECALL FOR THE 2011-2012 FORD F-150, AND 2012 FORD EXPEDITION FOR A POTENTIAL PROBLEM WITH THE OUTPUT SPEED SENSOR IN THE TRANSMISSION'S LEAD FRAME; IN CERTAIN CONDITIONS THE PART CAN LEAD TO A TEMPORARY DOWNSHIFT INTO FIRST GEAR. DEPENDING ON HOW FAST THE VEHICLE IS GOING, THAT COULD LEAD TO AN ABRUPT REDUCTION IN SPEED THAT COULD CAUSE THE REAR TIRES TO SLIDE OR LOCK UP. FORD SAID IT'S AWARE OF THREE ACCIDENTS REPORTED AND NO INJURIES RELATED TO THE ISSUE. THE AFFECTED VEHICLES HAVE A 6R80 TRANSMISSION IN CERTAIN FORD F-150S BUILT AT DEARBORN ASSEMBLY PLANT AND KANSAS CITY ASSEMBLY PLANT, AUG. 19, 2011 THROUGH MARCH 9, 2012; 2012 FORD EXPEDITION VEHICLES BUILT AT KENTUCKY TRUCK PLANT, AUG. 19, 2011 THROUGH DEC. 19, 2011; FORD MUSTANG VEHICLES BUILT AT FLAT ROCK ASSEMBLY PLANT, AUG. 19, 2011 THROUGH FEB. 21, 2012; AND LINCOLN NAVIGATOR VEHICLES BUILT AT KENTUCKY TRUCK PLANT, AUG. 19, 2011 THROUGH DEC. 17, 2011.
IDENTICAL TO NUMEROUS OTHER REGISTERED COMPLAINTS (JUNE 4, 2018 NHTSA ID NUMBER: 11099593, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 NHTSA ID NUMBER: 11131784, JUNE 14, 2018 NHTSA ID NUMBER: 11101913, APRIL 9, 2018 NHTSA ID NUMBER: 11084000, AUGUST 8, 2016 NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10894005): SUDDEN DECELERATION WITH GAUGES FLASHING - WRENCH LIGHT ON, MILES TO ZERO WITH NO NUMBERS, SPEEDOMETER FAILS. AT THE SAME TIME, THE CAR BEGINS BUCKING WITH SUDDEN ACCELERATION AND DECELERATION, BUT ULTIMATELY THE VEHICLE IS LOSING POWER AND ACCELERATION IS LIMITED OR USELESS. SEVERAL TIMES I COULD RESET THE ENGINE PROBLEM BY TURNING THE VEHICLE OFF AND RESTARTING. THE LAST TWO TIMES IT OCCURED WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP AND THE VEHICLE REFUSED TO SHIFT FROM 1ST GEAR. I ATTEMPTED TO RESTART IT AFTER PULLING OFF THE ROAD BUT IT DID NOT FIX IT THIS TIME. (AND ON THESE OCCASIONS THE DASH LIGHTS DID NOT CHANGE RIGHT AWAY/FIRST). I PULLED OVER 3 MORE TIMES AND TRIED SHIFTING THROUGH ALL THE GEARS MANUALLY, INCLUDING USING THE 4WD TOGGLE, AND THAT FINALLY ALLOWED THE CAR TO SHIFT NORMALLY. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND AT HIGHER SPEEDS CAN CAUSE THE CAR TO LOSE TRACTION. I'VE BEEN FORTUNATE THAT THIS HAS ONLY HAPPENED TWICE AT 65MPH AND I WAS IN A POSITION TO GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF TIMES HAS BEEN 8 IN APPROXIMATELY 2,000 MILES OF DRIVING. IF THIS HAPPENS NOW THAT SNOW AND ICE ARE ON THE ROAD, IT COULD CAUSE A CATASTROPHIC CRASH.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD EXPEDITION. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF AND THE SPEEDOMETER GAUGE WENT TO ZERO. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD TO BE COASTED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND WOULD RESTART OCCASIONALLY. THE CONTACT CALLED MONACO & SONS MOTOR SALES, INC (767 NEW LONDON TURNPIKE, GLASTONBURY, CT 06033, (860) 652-3000) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL AND ADVISED THE CONTACT TO CALL NHTSA. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 98,000.
CUSTOMER COMPLAINED OF THE VEHICLE STALLING. TESTING FOUND AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE WITH THE FUEL SUPPLY AND DELIVERY SYSTEM. REMOVAL AND INSPECTION OF THE FUEL PUMP FOUND THE INTERNAL POWER WIRE TO THE PUMP RUBBED THROUGH ON THE PRESSURE REGULATOR GROUND SPADE CAUSING A SHORT CIRCUIT INSIDE THE FUEL TANK - THIS SHORT CIRCUIT BLOWS FUSE 44 IN THE UNDERHOOD FUSE BOX, CAUSES THE VEHICLE TO STALL WITHOUT WARNING, MELTED THE SAFETY GROUND WIRE BETWEEN THE FUEL PUMP AND PRESSURE REGULATOR, AND HAS A HIGH CHANCE OF CAUSING A FIRE INSIDE THE GAS TANK. THIS WAS ON THE FACTORY OE MOTORCRAFT FUEL PUMP ASSEMBLY.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD EXPEDITION. WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH, THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER FAILED AND WENT BLANK WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL DEALER (JOHNSON BROTHERS FORD LINCOLN, 7455 SOUTH GENERAL BRUCE DR, TEMPLE, TX 75505) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE MOLAR LEAD FRAME NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE AND OPENED CASE NUMBER: 13199951. THE CONTACT WAS REFERRED TO NHTSA. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 95,000.
OUR 2012 EXPEDITION SPEEDOMETER HAS REPEATEDLY DROPPED TO ZERO AND STOPPED FUNCTIONING WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. WE BOUGHT THE TRUCK LAST MONTH AS A FORD CERTIFIED VEHICLE. IT HAS 30K ORIGINAL MILES. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. WE HAVE ALSO SUBMITTED A COMPLAINT REGARDING INTERMITTENT LOSS OF TRANSMISSION OUTPUT.
SMELLED A BURNING PLASTIC SMELL FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE . AFTER SEARCHING I DISCOVERED THE 3RD BRAKE LIGHT HOUSING HAD OVERHEATED AND HAS MELTED IN THE FRAME FROM THE HEAT OF THE LIGHTING. THIS IS A STOCK HOUSING FROM FORD WITH FORD INSTALLED LIGHTS. *TR
DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH IN THE LEFT LANE WHEN THE CAR LOST ALL POWER. WE WERE ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY BECAUSE WE WERE TRAVELING AT THE RATE OF SPEED LISTED ABOVE WITH NO POWER. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO SOMEONE IN THIS POSITION. AS WE ATTEMPTED TO SEE IF WE COULD FIGURE OUT WHAT HAD OCCURRED AN ERROR APPEARED ON THE SERVICE DISPLAY OF SERVICE ADVANCE TRAC. A FEW MINUTES LATER WE NOTICED THE ADDITIONAL CODE OF TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR FAULT. WE HAD TO GET THE VEHICLE TOWED AT THIS POINT. NOT SATISFIED AS THE COULD BE HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026