2012 Ford E-450 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Wheels (2) · Tires:tread/Belt (1) · Power Train (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford E-450 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (4)
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility 2015-02-25 · campaign 15V112000 · 117 vehicles
Defect: Farber Specialty Vehicles (Farber) is recalling various specialty vehicles modified by Farber and equipped with model S2005, S2010, S5005, S5010, S5505, and S5510 wheelchair lifts manufactured by Ricon Corporation. The platform side plate of the affected wheelchair lifts may crack.
Risk: If the platform side plates crack, the lift platform can separate from the lift and come to rest against the vehicle's lift door. When the doors are opened, the platform may fall out, increasing the risk of injury to the lift operator.
Fix: Farber will notify owners to take their vehicles to a Ricon dealer or service center who will install supplemental platform support bumpers. Any platform that has already started cracking will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on March 24, 2015. Owners may contact Farber customer service at 1-800-331-3188, or Ricon customer service at 1-800-322-2884. Farber's number for this recall is 14E-041.
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility 2014-09-24 · campaign 14V595000 · 437 vehicles
Defect: Elkhart Coach (Elkhart) is recalling certain model year 2006-2014 Ford E-350 and Ford E-450 vehicles manufactured January 1, 2006, to May 1, 2014 and equipped with certain model S2005, S2010, S5005, S5010, S5505, and S5510 wheelchair lifts manufactured by Ricon Corporation. The platform side plate of the affected wheelchair lifts may crack.
Risk: If the platform side plates crack, the lift platform can separate from the lift and come to rest against the vehicle's lift door. When the doors are opened, the platform may fall out, increasing the risk of injury to the lift operator.
Fix: Elkhart will notify owners to take the vehicles to a Ricon dealer or service center who will install supplemental platform support bumpers. Any platform that has already started cracking will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on October 1, 2014. Owners may contact Ricon customer service at 1-800-322-2884. Owners may also contact Elkhart customer service at 1-574-264-5179. This recall has been superseded by campaign 15V-768.
Fuel System, Other:delivery:hoses, Lines/Piping, And Fittings 2014-08-06 · campaign 14V501000 · 28 vehicles
Defect: Adrian Steel Company (Adrian) is recalling certain model year 2012 Ford E-150, E-250 and E-350 Commercial Cargo Vans modified by Adrian between September 21, 2012, to September 24, 2012. The affected vehicles are equipped with certain propane fuel system conversion kits with an aluminum fuel line fitting manufactured by Roush CleanTech. Due to a reaction between the different metals, the affected kits may develop a propane leak where the aluminum fuel line fitting contacts the brass supply valv
Risk: A propane leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Adrian will notify owners, and dealers will replace the aluminum fuel line fittings with stainless steel fittings, free of charge. The recall began during July 2014. Owners may contact Adrian customer service at 1-800-677-2726.
Fuel System, Other:delivery:hoses, Lines/Piping, And Fittings 2014-07-10 · campaign 14V426000 · 36 vehicles
Defect: Roush Performance Products, Inc. (Roush) is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Ford E-150 Wagons and Cargo Vans, E-250 Cargo Vans and Extended Cargo Vans, E-350 Wagons, Extended Wagons, Cargo Vans, and Extended Vans, and E-450 Cutaway models. These models were modified by Roush to be equipped with certain propane fuel system conversion kits manufactured January 2011 to August 2012 with an aluminum fuel line fitting. Due to a reaction between the different metals, the affected kits may develo
Risk: A propane leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
Fix: Roush will notify owners and will replace the aluminum fuel line fittings with new stainless steel fittings, free of charge. The recall began on September 1, 2014. Owners may contact Roush customer service at 1-800-597-6874.
Service bulletins (19)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-02-24 · SSM 54601 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ford and lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. unlike the integrated wired keypad, the accessory wireless keypad master code cannot be retrieved from the
Unknown Or Other 2024-10-10 · SSM 53040 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
while performing a transmission repair on some 2012-2024 ford and lincoln vehicles, a transmission seal kit may be on backorder due to supply chain interruptions.
Equipment 2024-04-24 · SSM 52476 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
all accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. if the accessory keypad was factory installed, this card will be placed in the glove box and should be handed to the vehicle s owner during initial delivery. unlike the integrated (wired) factory keypad,
Visibility:glass, Side/Rear 2019-08-09 · SSM 48130 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2010-2020 vehicles may exhibit distorted glass with a subtle orange peel pattern or streaking etched into the surface. this is caused by hydrofluoric acid which is used in some car wash solutions as a cleaning agent. hydrofluoric acid can attack the glass and cause visual distortion and/or disc
Electrical System 2019-08-07 · SSM 48123 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
for ford and lincoln vehicles that require positive or negative battery terminal replacement, it is not necessary to replace the complete battery cable harness (14300 and 14301) for this concern. positive battery cable clamp bt4z-14450-aa and negative battery cable clamp bt4z-14450-ba are available
Power Train 2019-05-10 · SSM 47976 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
on vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission it is imperative that the converter pilot hub be greased with motorcraft multi-purpose grease spray xl-5-a even if grease was not applied from the factory. also verify that the engine/transmission alignment dowel pins are present as well as the eng
Showing the 6 most recent of 19 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2022-10-24 · Tires:tread/Belt“the contact owns a 2012 forest river sunseeker built on a 2012 ford e-450 chassis, equipped with michelin tires, tire line: ltx ms2, tire size: lt225/75/r16. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal vibration in the front end. the contact became aware that the driver’s side front tire belt was going through th…”
2020-12-04 · Power Train · 23,337 mi“while driving on the interstate the motor block blew. there was a loud, fast clicking noise followed by clunking and smoke from under the vehicle. all fluids were good but there was a few drops of oil on the ground. the mechanic said it was a manufacture defect that he has previously seen. the vehicle was maintained and thoroughly checked before th…”
2020-07-22 · Wheels · 16,600 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford e-450. the contact stated that the passenger's side rear lug nut loosened causing the wheel hub to detach from the vehicle. the contact stated that the wrong type of wheel was installed on the vehicle. the contact stated that an aluminum wheel was installed on the vehicle instead of the required steel wheel. the con…”
2014-03-06 · Wheels“tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford e-450 (n/a). the contact stated that upon inspection, it was found that the rear tires were flat. the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was found that the failure was due to the wheel simulators severing the valve stems. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted about the failure. t…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.