2012 Ford F-53: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2012 Ford F-53
Only 1 defect report has been filed with NHTSA about the 2012 Ford F-53, which is too few to compute mileage percentiles or a risk score. The report reported control arm, ball joint or bushing failure.
When each failure gets reported
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control arm, ball joint or bushing failure | suspension | 1 | 1 | — | 22k | — | 0.3 | $400–$2,200 | High |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
Recalls on the 2012 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2012 Ford F-53, affecting an estimated 3,309 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover power train:automatic transmission:gear position indication . Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)
13,239 vehicles 2012-02-02- Defect
- Ford is recalling certain model year 2011 f-53 and f-59 stripped chassis vehicles manufactured from february 1, 2010 through july 1, 2011 and certain model year 2012 f-53 and f-59 stripped chassis vehicles manufactured from may 10, 2011 through october 25, 2011. The prndl cable may break at the attachment to the transmission control selector arm assembly mounted on the steering column. If the cable breaks, the transmission gear indicator in the prndl display in the instrument panel will remain in the first gear position regardless of the gear selected.
- Consequence
- An incorrect gear indication in the instrument panel may prevent the driver from knowing if they are in park or reverse, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners and dealers will replace the transmission selector arm assembly and the prndl cable assembly, free of charge. The safety recall began on march 2, 2012. Owners may contact ford motor company customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
Every year of the Ford F-53
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2010-2017 generation, 2016 Ford F-53 scores best at 80 and 2014 Ford F-53 worst at 85.
What the reports on file say
The complaints recorded against the 2012 Ford F-53 are control arm, ball joint or bushing failure (1 report, around 22k miles). With a sample this size these are anecdotes rather than a pattern, and they are shown because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see them than nothing.
Why this page is short
A model year needs about 8 reports before percentiles mean anything, and this one does not have them. Complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road, so a thin page usually means a rare car, a new car, or a car whose owners do not file.
Other years of the same model do have enough: 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2021. The mechanical parts are often shared across those years, so their pages are the better guide to what this one is likely to do, with the caveat that a shared part is not a shared production line.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed