Locks and Security 136
Keys 136
Locks 144
Anti-theft system 156
Seating and Safety Restraints 160
Seating 160
Personal Safety System™ 177
Safety belt system 180
Airbags 193
Child restraints 209
Tires, Wheels and Loading 230
Tire information 233
Tire inflation 235
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) 248
Vehicle loading 255
Trailer towing 263
Trailer brake controller-integrated 270
Recreational towing 276
Driving 278
Starting 278
Brakes 284
AdvanceTrac286
Transmission operation 299
Reverse sensing system 304
Rear-view camera system 306
Roadside Emergencies 326
Getting roadside assistance 326
Hazard flasher control 327
Fuel pump shut-off 328
Fuses and relays 328
Changing tires 338
Wheel lug nut torque 346
Jump starting 347
Wrecker towing 350
Table of Contents
2
2012 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
SPECIAL NOTICES
New Vehicle Limited Warranty
For a detailed description of what is covered and what is not covered by
your vehicle’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty, refer to theWarranty
Guidethat is provided to you along with your Owner’s Guide.
For a detailed description of what is covered and what is not covered by
your vehicle’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty, refer to theWarranty
Guidethat is provided to you along with your Owner’s Manual.
Special instructions
For your added safety, your vehicle is fitted with sophisticated electronic
controls.
WARNING:Please read the sectionAirbag Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS)in theSeating and Safety Restraints
chapter. Failure to follow the specific warnings and instructions could
result in personal injury.
WARNING:Front seat mounted rear-facing child or infant seats
shouldNEVERbe placed in front of an active passenger airbag.
Using your vehicle with a snowplow
Do not use this vehicle for snowplowing.
Your vehicle is not equipped with a snowplowing package.
Using your vehicle as an ambulance
Do not use this vehicle as an ambulance.
Your vehicle is not equipped with the Ford Ambulance Preparation
Package.
Notice to owners of pickup trucks and utility type vehicles
WARNING:Utility vehicles have a significantly higher rollover
rate than other types of vehicles.
Before you drive your vehicle, please read this Owner’s Guide carefully.
Your vehicle is not a passenger car. As with other vehicles of this type,
failure to operate this vehicle correctly may result in loss of vehicle
control, vehicle rollover, personal injury or death.
Introduction
6
2012 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
These are some of the symbols you may see on your vehicle.
Vehicle Symbol Glossary
Safety Alert
See Owner’s Guide
Fasten Safety BeltAirbag - Front
Airbag - SideChild Seat Lower
Anchor
Child Seat Tether
AnchorBrake System
Anti-Lock Brake SystemParking Brake System
Brake Fluid -
Non-Petroleum BasedParking Aid System
Stability Control SystemSpeed Control
Master Lighting SwitchHazard Warning Flasher
Fog Lamps-FrontFuse Compartment
Fuel Pump ResetWindshield Wash/Wipe
Windshield
Defrost/DemistRear Window
Defrost/Demist
Introduction
10
2012 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Power sliding back window (if equipped)
The control is located on the
overhead console.
Press and hold the
control to
open the window all the way to the
full open position.
Pull and hold the
control to
close the window.
WARNING:When operating the power sliding back window you
must ensure all rear seat occupants and/or cargo are not in the
proximity of the back window.
WARNING:Do not leave children unattended in the vehicle and
do not let children play with the power sliding back window.
They may seriously injure themselves.
Accessory delay (if equipped)
With accessory delay, the window switches may be used for up to
10 minutes after the ignition switch is turned to the off position or until
any door is opened.
INTERIOR MIRROR
The interior rearview mirror has two pivot points on the support arm
which lets you adjust the mirror up or down and from side to side.
WARNING:Do not adjust the mirror while the vehicle is in motion.
Automatic dimming interior rear view mirror (if equipped)
The interior rear view mirror has an auto-dimming function (optional on
the driver’s side exterior mirror). The electronic day/night mirror will
change from the normal (high reflective) state to the non-glare
(darkened) state when bright lights (glare) reach the interior mirror.
When the interior mirror detects bright light from behind the vehicle, the
interior rear view mirror and the driver’s side exterior mirror (if
equipped) will automatically adjust (darken) to minimize glare.
Driver Controls
105
2012 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Using the power lumbar support (if equipped)
The power lumbar control is located on the outboard side of the seat.
Press the forward side of the control
for additional support.
Press the rear side of the control to
reduce support.
Adjusting the front power seat (if equipped)
WARNING:Never adjust the driver’s seat or seatback when the
vehicle is moving.
WARNING:Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING:Reclining the seatback can cause an occupant to
slide under the seat’s safety belt, resulting in severe personal
injuries in the event of a collision.
WARNING:Sitting improperly out of position or with the seat
back reclined too far can take off weight from the seat cushion
and affect the decision of the passenger sensing system, resulting in
serious injury or death in a crash. Always sit upright against your
seatback, with your feet on the floor.
WARNING:To reduce the risk of possible serious injury: Do not
hang objects off seat back or stow objects in the seatback map
pocket (if equipped) when a child is in the front passenger seat. Do not
place objects underneath the front passenger seat or between the seat
and the center console (if equipped). Check the “passenger airbag off” or
“pass airbag off” indicator lamp for proper airbag status. Refer toFront
passenger sensing systemin theAirbag supplemental restraint
system (SRS)section for additional details. Failure to follow these
instructions may interfere with the front passenger seat sensing system.
Seating and Safety Restraints
167
2012 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
How does the Personal Safety System™ work?
The Personal Safety System can adapt the deployment strategy of your
vehicle’s safety devices according to crash severity and occupant
classification and conditions. A collection of crash and occupant sensors
provides information to the Restraints Control Module (RCM). During a
crash, the RCM may activate the safety belt pretensioners and/or either
none, one, or both stages of the dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints
based on crash severity and occupant classification and conditions.
The fact that the pretensioners or airbags did not activate for both front
seat occupants in a collision does not mean that something is wrong with
the system. Rather, it means the Personal Safety System determined the
accident conditions (crash severity, belt usage, etc.) were not appropriate
to activate these safety devices. Front airbags are designed to activate only
in frontal and near-frontal collisions, not rollovers, side-impacts, or
rear-impacts unless the collision causes sufficient longitudinal deceleration.
Driver and passenger dual-stage airbag supplemental restraints
The dual-stage airbags offer the capability to tailor the level of airbag
inflation energy. A lower, less forceful energy level is provided for more
common, moderate-severity impacts. A higher energy level is used for
the most severe impacts. Refer toAirbag Supplemental Restraints
(SRS)section in this chapter.
Front crash severity sensor
The front crash severity sensor enhances the ability to detect the
severity of an impact. Positioned up front, it provides valuable
information early in the crash event on the severity of the impact. This
allows your Personal Safety System to distinguish between different
levels of crash severity and modify the deployment strategy of the
dual-stage airbags and safety belt pretensioners.
Driver’s seat position sensor
The driver’s seat position sensor allows your Personal Safety System to
tailor the deployment level of the driver dual-stage airbag based on seat
position. The system is designed to help protect smaller drivers sitting
close to the driver airbag by providing a lower airbag output level.
Front passenger sensing system
For airbags to do their job they must inflate with great force, and this force
can pose a potentially deadly risk to occupants that are very close to the
airbag when it begins to inflate. For some occupants, like infants in
rear-facing child seats, this occurs because they are initially sitting very
close to the airbag. For other occupants, this occurs when the occupant is
not properly restrained by safety belts or child safety seats and they move
Seating and Safety Restraints
178
2012 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
forward during pre-crash braking. The most effective way to reduce the
risk of unnecessary injuries is to make sure all occupants are properly
restrained. Accident statistics suggest that children are much safer when
properly restrained in the rear seating positions than in the front.
WARNING:Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.
NEVERplace a rear-facing child seat in front of an active air
bag. If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move
the seat all the way back.
WARNING:Always transport children 12 years old and under in
the back seat and always properly use appropriate child restraints.
WARNING:When possible, all children 12 years old and under
should be properly restrained in a rear seating position.
The front passenger sensing system can automatically turn off the
passenger front airbag when a rear facing child seat, a forward-facing
child restraint, or a booster seat is detected. Even with this technology,
parents areSTRONGLYencouraged to always properly restrain children
in the rear seat. The sensor also turns off the passenger front airbag and
passenger seat-mounted side airbag when the passenger seat is empty.
When the front passenger seat is occupied and the sensing system has
turned off the passenger’s frontal airbag, the “pass airbag off” indicator
will light and stay lit to remind you that the front passenger frontal
airbag is off. SeeFront passenger sensing systemin theAirbag
supplemental restraint system (SRS)section of this chapter.
Front safety belt usage sensors
The front safety belt usage sensors detect whether or not the driver and
front outboard passenger safety belts are fastened. This information
allows your Personal Safety System to tailor the airbag deployment and
safety belt pretensioner activation depending upon safety belt usage.
Refer toSafety belt usage sensorslater in this chapter.
Front outboard safety belt pretensioners
The safety belt pretensioners at the front outboard seating positions are
designed to tighten the safety belts firmly against the occupant’s body
during frontal collisions, and in side collisions and rollovers. This helps
increase the effectiveness of the safety belts. In frontal collisions, the
safety belt pretensioners can be activated alone or, if the collision is of
sufficient severity, together with the front airbags.
Seating and Safety Restraints
179
2012 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)
Front outboard safety belt energy management retractors
The front outboard safety belt energy management retractors allow
webbing to be pulled out of the retractor in a gradual and controlled
manner in response to the occupant’s forward momentum. This helps
reduce the risk of force-related injuries to the occupant’s chest by
limiting the load on the occupant. Refer toEnergy management
retractorssection in this chapter.
Determining if the Personal Safety System is operational
The Personal Safety System uses a warning light in the instrument cluster
or a back-up tone to indicate the condition of the system. Refer to the
Warning lights and chimessection in theInstrument Clusterchapter.
Routine maintenance of the Personal Safety System is not required.
The Restraints Control Module (RCM) monitors its own internal circuits
and the circuits for the airbag supplemental restraints, crash sensor(s),
safety belt pretensioners, front safety belt buckle sensors, and the driver
seat position sensor. In addition, the RCM also monitors the restraints
warning light in the instrument cluster. A difficulty with the system is
indicated by one or more of the following.
•The warning light will either flash or stay lit.
•The warning light will not illuminate immediately after ignition is
turned on.
•A series of five beeps will be heard. The tone pattern will repeat
periodically until the problem and warning light are repaired.
If any of these things happen, even intermittently, have the Personal
Safety System serviced at an authorized dealer immediately. Unless
serviced, the system may not function properly in the event of a
collision.
SAFETY BELT SYSTEM
WARNING:Always drive and ride with your seatback upright
and the lap belt snug and low across the hips.
WARNING:To reduce the risk of injury, make sure children sit
where they can be properly restrained.
Seating and Safety Restraints
180
2012 F-150(f12)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)