2012 Ford Expedition problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (53) · Vehicle Speed Control (18) · Structure:body (13)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford Expedition model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
85 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Power Train:automatic Transmission 2016-04-27 · campaign 16V248000 · 153,581 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford F-150 trucks, 2012 Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, and Ford Mustang vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with an automatic transmission that may unexpectedly downshift to first gear, regardless of vehicle speed.
Risk: An unexpected downshift into first gear can cause the vehicle to slow down suddenly without warning and the rear tires may slide or lock, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the powertrain control module with updated software, free of charge. The recall began on September 19, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S19.
Exterior Lighting:back Up Lights 2012-05-03 · campaign 12V190000 · 10,500 vehicles
Defect: FORD IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 FORD F-150, 2012 EXPEDITION AND LINCOLN NAVIGATOR, AND 2012-2013 MUSTANG VEHICLES, FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NOS. 102, "TRANSMISSION SHIFT LEVER SEQUENCE, STARTER INTERLOCK, AND TRANSMISSION BRAKING EFFECT" AND 108 LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT. THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE A TRANSMISSION RANGE SENSOR (TRS) THAT WAS CALIBRATED OUT OF SPECIFICATION FOR REVERSE GEAR.
Risk: IF THIS CONDITION EXISTS, THE TRANSMISSION MAY NOT GO INTO REVERSE OR WHEN THE DRIVER PUSHES THE SHIFT LEVER IN THE REVERSE R POSITION AND THE VEHICLES TRANSMISSION DOES GO IN REVERSE, THE R MAY NOT ILLUMINATE ON THE DASHBOARD OF THE F-150, EXPEDITION, OR NAVIGATOR MODELS AND/OR THE BACKUP LAMP ON THE REAR OF THE F-150, EXPEDITION, NAVIGATOR, OR MUSTANG VEHICLES MAY NOT ILLUMINATE. THESE CON
Fix: FORD WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND REPLACE THE TRS AS NECESSARY, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 11, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD MOTOR COMPANY CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP CENTER AT 1-866-436-7332.
Seats:mid/Rear Assembly 2012-02-02 · campaign 12V034000 · 569 vehicles
Defect: FORD IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2012 EXPEDITION AND LINCOLN NAVIGATOR VEHICLES, MANUFACTURED FROM NOVEMBER 19, 2011, THROUGH DECEMBER 2, 2011, FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 202, "HEAD RESTRAINTS." THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE INADEQUATE WELDS ON THE HEAD RESTRAINT SUPPORT BRACKETS FOR THE SECOND ROW, RIGHT-HAND SEAT.
Risk: IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE SEAT HEAD RESTRAINT MAY NOT PROVIDE THE REQUIRED STRENGTH, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY.
Fix: FORD WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE HEAD RESTRAINTS AS NECESSARY, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 21, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD MOTOR COMPANY CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP CENTER AT 1-866-436-7332.
Service bulletins (64)
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 2026-04-29 · 25H05 S1 · Other
harvest program 25h05 – supplement #1 certain 2011-2021 model year vehicles software verification harvest program
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 2025-11-19 · 25H05 · Other
this is a proactive investigation program by ford motor company to inspect a limited number of affected vehicles that are customer-owned. ford is voluntarily conducting this program to evaluate the software currently installed on one or more electronic modules in the affected vehicles.
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.
Wheels 2024-07-24 · TSB 24-2188 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this article supersedes tsb 22-2219 to update the parts list and service procedure to clarify applicable steps by vehicle application. some 2003-2020 expedition/navigator and 2006-2020 f-150 (non-raptor) vehicles equipped with 4wd may exhibit grinding/clicking/ratcheting noise from the front wheel a
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,
Showing the 6 most recent of 64 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-08-12 · Vehicle Speed Control“vehicle shifting erratically and shows fuel mileage low and loss of speedometer …”
2026-04-07 · Power Train · 166,000 mi“the contact owns a 2012 ford expedition. the contact stated that while his wife was driving 30 mph, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted, causing the occupants to lunge forward. the tires squealed and the wheels locked up. the vehicle was turned off but failed to restart. no warning light was illuminated. the contact stated the failure was ass…”
2026-02-24 · Power Train“while exiting the freeway at approximately 45 to 50 mph, the transmission downshifted to 1st gear locking up the tires. …”
2025-11-17 · Vehicle Speed Control“the speedometer will quit working and the vehicle will not shift out of 1st gear, if you can work through it it will start throwing error messages such as zero miles to empty, tire moniter system fault, etc. this is a very dangerous situation especially in high traffic areas. there was a customer satisfaction program on it but only up to 150,000 …”
2025-10-22 · Power Train“over a period of time this problem is occurring more often. the vehicle will downshift into first gear. i pull over check engine light is on. i turn off wait turn back on and no problem for awhile. within the last month this has occurred many times . each time the check engine light comes on but also now the advance track light. each time i have th…”
2025-09-10 · Back Over Prevention · 78,000 mi“the contact owns a 2012 ford expedition. the contact stated that the image displayed on the back over prevention screen was either upside down, distorted, static only, or completely black. the failure was intermittent. during the failure, the contact was able to restart the vehicle to fix the image; however, the fix was intermittent. the vehicle wa…”
2025-08-29 · Vehicle Speed Control“ i was driving my 2012 expedition and suddenly the vehicle went from doing 60 to 40 immediately the tires squealed and threw me into the right lane . this vehicle transmission has a recall for down shifting and power train issues. my vin number does not fit the recall but my vehicle has all the symptoms of multiple recalls and is…”
2025-08-10 · Unknown Or Other“abs cpu control system. error code b1342-ec. antilock braking system electronic control unit defect.…”
2025-07-26 · Vehicle Speed Control“july 2025 my 2012 ford expedition threw a p0742 code for a stuck torque converter clutch. the vehicle had just under 150k miles and started to jerk in and out of gear and the wrench light illuminated so i, thankfully was going approximately 45 mph when it happened and was able to pull the vehicle over as it was in limp mode. when i cleared the dtc …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.