2013 Ford F-150 Problems

What owners report

Owners of this model year most often describe the transmission suddenly dropping into first gear on its own, sometimes at highway speed, often with the speedometer dropping to zero and a wrench or powertrain light on. A second cluster of complaints describes the brake pedal going to the floor with a low or empty brake fluid reservoir, and many owners tie both symptoms to recalls and programs that applied to some, but not all, vehicles.

1. 1
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Transmission unexpectedly downshifts to first gear

   • 999 complaints (33%)
   • median 101,000 mi at 7.0 yrs old (737 state mileage)
   • 37 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $1,300 (median of 59 quotes)
   • filed 2012–2026

   Owners describe driving at steady speed, sometimes 40 to 70 mph, when the transmission abruptly shifts into first gear, the vehicle slows sharply, the speedometer drops to zero and a wrench or powertrain warning light appears. Restarting the vehicle sometimes restores normal operation and sometimes leaves the transmission stuck in a single gear. Dealers and mechanics in these complaints frequently diagnosed a failed molded leadframe or control module, and several owners were told their vehicle had been repaired under a recall or that a related extended-coverage program had expired by mileage. Reported across a wide mileage range, from about 55,000 to over 200,000 miles, and often at highway speeds.

   Recall 19V433000Recall 19V0750003 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask whether the PCM reprogramming under recalls 19V075 or 19V433 was done, and whether the molded leadframe or transmission control module has been replaced. On a test drive, watch the speedometer and the wrench light and note any harsh or late shifts.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “I had recently bought a 2013 f150 have owned it for almost 6 months now it started with it's like I can be driving and it's like the transmission acts funny slows down and then a wrench symbol will show up on the dash then I pull over and shut it off then back on it's ok . …”

   NHTSA complaint #11327565, filed 2020-06, 85,000 miles

   “I have intermittently noticed for the past 10 months the transmission will be shifted to low gear (1st or 2nd) and is unable to shift into the higher gears. The automatic transmission is in drive when this happens. It occurs while I am driving, and I have to manually shift it back into drive with the manual gear up buttons on gear shifter. It happens when I am in motion driving in the city, and I have not seen it happen on the highway at high speeds yet. The symptoms are described in detail in Ford recall 19s07, but my pickup doesn't qualify for the recall.”

   NHTSA complaint #11415320, filed 2021-05, 114,000 miles
2. 2
   Brakes

   Brake fluid loss with pedal to the floor

   • 240 complaints (8%)
   • median 60,000 mi at 5.5 yrs old (194 state mileage)
   • 22 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $1,029 (median of 18 quotes)
   • filed 2013–2026

   Owners report the brake pedal sinking to the floor with little or no braking, sometimes while stopping or reversing, and finding the brake fluid reservoir empty or low. In a number of cases the fluid could not be seen leaking outside the vehicle; dealers and mechanics diagnosed a failed master cylinder that let fluid escape into the brake booster, sometimes with a brake warning light on. Some owners mention a related recall and say their vehicle was not covered or was excluded by build date. Mostly reported between about 55,000 and 120,000 miles, and in some cases the pedal dropped while the vehicle was parked.

   Recall 16V3450001 related service bulletin

   What to check: Check the brake fluid level and look for fluid weeping around the master cylinder and booster; ask whether the master cylinder recall or any brake vacuum pump repair was completed. Ask for service records if the pedal feels soft or long.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The master cylinder is dumping the fluid from the primary reservoir into the brake booster, resulting in the loss of brakes. My vehicle was not covered by the previous recall (16s24), but is experiencing the same issue. My vehicle is a f150 platinum with the 3.5l eco boost engine. The vehicle has approximately 87,000 miles. The brake loss occurred while the vehicle was sitting in a park.”

   NHTSA complaint #11341260, filed 2020-07, 87,000 miles

   “Received low brake fluid warning and then catastrophic sudden brake loss to the vehicle. I used the emergency brake to slow and stop the vehicle . Master cylinder seal has failed and filled brake booster with brake fluid. Vehicle was in very light traffic when failure occurred. I have made repairs with new oem motorcraft parts to restore brakes. Vehicle mileage is 72k miles. 6.2 v8 2wd. I have receipts of my repairs.”

   NHTSA complaint #11415356, filed 2021-05, 72,000 miles
3. 3
   Electrical system

   Loss of power, stalling and speedometer drop-out

   • 712 complaints (24%)
   • median 78,350 mi at 6.0 yrs old (532 state mileage)
   • 14 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • owner-quoted repair $1,200 (median of 43 quotes)
   • filed 2013–2026

   Owners describe the instrument cluster going blank, the speedometer falling to zero and the engine losing power or stalling, sometimes repeatedly and often resolved temporarily by restarting. Complaints link these events to the same transmission control and speed sensor faults described above, and some report the dealer found a failed sensor or module. Others describe rough running and loss of power that traced to the throttle body or fuel pump circuit. Spread broadly across the mileage range, from about 65,000 to over 190,000 miles, both in city driving and on the highway.

   Recall 19V075000Recall 19V433000

   What to check: Ask about any history of stalling or blank instrument cluster and whether speed sensors, the leadframe or the throttle body were replaced. On a test drive, confirm the gauges work at start-up and while accelerating.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “My vehicle recently died on the incline of a bridge with no shoulder putting me in a very dangerous position. It turns out that fuse 27 in my vehicles fuse box melted, not blown, but physically melted disabling the fuel pump. Tsb 15-0137 addresses this issue bit I believe iy should be elevated to a recall.”

   NHTSA complaint #11366747, filed 2020-10, 44,000 miles

   “While driving on the interstate at approximately 55 miles an hour on straight road at steady speed without warning the truck began to lurch jump and lose power, regain power and lose power. I noticed that the speedometer was very erratic and I had a light flashing on the dash as well. This pattern repeated until I eventually had to pull off the side of the road and restart the truck. It drove correctly the rest of the way home after that.”

   NHTSA complaint #11324615, filed 2020-05, 115,000 miles
4. 4
   Steering

   Steering locks up or becomes hard to turn

   Mentioned in 5 of 80 sampled complaints

   Owners report the steering wheel suddenly locking or requiring heavy effort, sometimes accompanied by a power steering fault message or a warning light. Some complaints describe the lock-up at low speed, such as leaving a driveway, and one owner reported it happened during a dealer test drive. The vehicle is then hard or impossible to steer, and in these complaints it was generally not yet diagnosed or repaired. Mostly reported between about 100,000 and 190,000 miles.

   What to check: Ask whether the power steering system has been serviced or any fault codes stored. On a test drive, turn the wheel at low speed and parking-lot maneuvers and watch for a steering warning message.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the steering wheel inadvertently locked up. The Service Advance Trac and Power Steering Fault warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle has not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 190,000.”

   NHTSA complaint #11455837, filed 2022-03, 190,000 miles

   “The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while exiting the driveway, the steering wheel moved voluntarily and failed to respond as intended. The contact stated that the steering wheel then seized. The message Power Steering Fault was displayed on the screen. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.”

   NHTSA complaint #11666851, filed 2025-06, 170,000 miles

Buying note. Have a pre-purchase inspection focus on the transmission and brakes: ask for records of the transmission control recalls and any leadframe replacement, and have the master cylinder and brake booster checked for fluid loss. Service history matters more than mileage alone here, since several of the common symptoms appear well past 100,000 miles.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 80 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.