
Customer Assistance 357
Reporting safety defects (U.S. only) 364
Reporting safety defects (Canada only) 364
Cleaning 365
Maintenance and Specifications 374
Engine compartment 376
Engine oil 379
Battery 381
Engine coolant 383
Fuel information 390
Air filter(s) 408
Part numbers 413
Maintenance product specifications and capacities 414
Engine data 418
Accessories 422
Ford Extended Service Plan 424
Scheduled Maintenance 428
Normal scheduled maintenance and log 433
Index 448
All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means, electronic or mechanical
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval
system or translation in whole or part is not permitted without written
authorization from Ford Motor Company. Ford may change the contents without
notice and without incurring obligation.
Copyright © 2011 Ford Motor Company
Table of Contents
3
2012 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

Vehicle Symbol Glossary
Power Windows
Front/Rear
Power Window Lockout
Child Safety Door
Lock/UnlockInterior Luggage
Compartment Release
Panic AlarmEngine Oil
Engine CoolantEngine Coolant
Temperature
Do Not Open When HotBattery
Avoid Smoking, Flames,
or SparksBattery Acid
Explosive GasFan Warning
Power Steering FluidMaintain Correct Fluid
LevelMAX
MIN
Service Engine SoonEngine Air Filter
Passenger Compartment
Air FilterJack
Check Fuel CapLow Tire Pressure
Warning
Introduction
13
2012 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

If you calculate your average fuel economy by dividing distance traveled
by gallons of fuel used (liters of fuel used by 100 kilometers traveled),
your figure may be different than displayed for the following reasons:
•Your vehicle was not perfectly level during fill-up
•Differences in the automatic shut-off points on the fuel pumps at
service stations
•Variations in top-off procedure from one fill-up to another
•Rounding of the displayed values to the nearest 0.1 gallon (liter)
1. Drive the vehicle at least 5 miles (8 km) with the speed control
system engaged to display a stabilized average.
2. Record the highway fuel economy for future reference.
It is important to press the RESET button (press and hold RESET for
two seconds in order to reset the function) after setting the speed
control to get accurate highway fuel economy readings.
MPG (L/km)
This displays instantaneous fuel economy as a bar graph ranging from↓
poor economy to↑excellent economy.
Your vehicle must be moving to calculate instantaneous fuel economy.
When your vehicle is not moving, this function shows↓, one or no bars
illuminated. Instantaneous fuel economy cannot be reset.
TIMER
Timer displays the trip elapsed drive time.
To operate, do the following:
1. Press and release RESET in order to start the timer.
2. Press and release RESET to pause the timer.
3. Press and hold RESET until the timer resets.
TBC GAIN (if equipped)
Displays the level of trailer brake gain or if the trailer is not connected.
EXHAUST FILTER (diesel only)
Refer toDiesel exhaust system: oxidation catalyst/diesel particulate
filter systemin your diesel supplement for more information.
Instrument Cluster
24
2012 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

SHIFT DELAYED PULL FORWARD (if equipped)— May display
when shifting to or from 4X4 LOW. For more information, refer to
Four-wheel drive (4WD) operationin theDrivingchapter.
HILL DESCENT CONTROL READY (if equipped)— Displayed
when the hill descent control switch is turned on.
HILL DESCENT CONTROL FAULT (if equipped)— Displayed when
a hill descent system fault is present.
HILL CNTRL OFF SYSTEM COOLING (if equipped)— Displayed
when the hill descent system is cooling due to overuse.
HILL DESCENT CONTROL OFF (if equipped)— Displayed when
the hill descent system is deactivated.
FOR HILL CNTRL 20 MPH OR LESS (if equipped)— Displayed
when the vehicle speed requirement for hill control mode entry has not
been met.
DRIVER RESUME CONTROL (if equipped)— Displayed when the
hill control and off-road mode require the driver to resume control.
FOR HILL CNTRL SELECT GEAR (if equipped)— Displayed when
the driver is requested to select a transmission gear to enable operation
of the hill mode and off-road mode.
ENGINE WARMING PLEASE WAIT XX (diesel engine only)—
Displayed in extremely cold weather, typically below –15°F (–26°C), if
the engine block heater is not utilized. The engine will not respond to
accelerator pedal movement for 30 seconds; this is done so the engine oil
can be properly circulated to avoid engine damage from lack of
lubrication. A timer will begin a countdown from 30 seconds. Once the
counter has reached 0 seconds, OK TO DRIVE will be displayed and the
engine will respond to accelerator pedal movement. Refer to your diesel
supplement for more information.
OK TO DRIVE (diesel engine only)— Displayed when the time
counter has reached 0 (zero) and the engine is sufficiently warm enough
to drive in extremely cold weather (refer to the engine warming please
wait message description mentioned previously). Refer to your diesel
supplement for more information.
WATER IN FUEL DRAIN FILTER (diesel engine only)— Displayed
when the water separator has reached a predetermined capacity and
needs to be drained. Refer to your diesel supplement for more
information.
Instrument Cluster
35
2012 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

ENGINE IDLED SEE MANUAL EXHAUST FLUID SYSTEM FAULT
(diesel engine only)— Displayed when the SCR system detects a
fault. The engine will enter into an idle only mode. Refer to your diesel
supplement for more information. Contact your authorized dealer as soon
as possible.
ENGINE OIL DILUTED (diesel engine only)— Displays once the
engine oil has become diluted and needs to be changed. Refer to your
diesel supplement for more information.
ENGINE OIL CHANGE SOON— Displayed when the engine oil life
remaining is 5% to 1%. Refer to thescheduled maintenance
informationfor more information.
OIL CHANGE REQUIRED— Displayed when the oil life left reaches
0%. Refer to thescheduled maintenance informationfor more
information.
LOW FUEL PRESSURE SEE MANUAL (diesel engine only)—If
this message appears during a cold start or during cold operation 32°F
(0°C) up to 10 minutes after the initial cold start; monitor the message
center and if it disappears and does not re-appear after the engine has
fully warmed up, the low fuel pressure message is most likely caused by
waxed or gelled fuel. To prevent this, use an anti-gel additive. Refer to
your diesel supplement for more information. The customer warranty
may be void from using additives that do not meet or exceed Ford
specifications. If the low fuel pressure message persistently appears after
re-fueling during the cold start and cold operation conditions defined
previously and then disappear when the engine has fully warmed up,
consider different fuel sources.
•Low Fuel Operation: If the message appears when the vehicle is warm
and during low fuel tank level operation, i.e. the tank level is at or
very near empty, refuel the vehicle and operate the vehicle. If the
message reappears after fueling, see below. If the message does not
come back, the low fuel pressure condition was due to low fuel levels
in the fuel tank.
•Normal Operation: If the message appears during normal operation
when the vehicle / engine is fully warm, and fuel level is not low, the
fuel filters must be changed regardless of the maintenance schedule
interval. If replacement of the fuel filter does not remedy the low fuel
pressure message during normal operation as defined above, please
take the vehicle to your authorized dealer.
Instrument Cluster
39
2012 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

Main menu
From the main menu screen you can choose the following:
•Gauge Mode
•Trip A/B
•Fuel Economy
•Truck Apps (if equipped)
•Settings
•Information
Scroll up/down to highlight one of the options, then press the right arrow
key or OK to enter into that menu option.
Gauge Mode
In this mode, the following options are available in different graphical
formats:
•Engine Oil Temperature (diesel only)
•Transmission Temperature
•Compass (see Compass following for compass options)
•Exhaust Filter (diesel only). Refer toDiesel exhaust system:
oxidation catalyst/diesel particulate filter systemin your diesel
supplement for more information.
•Blank
Compass:The compass orientation can be changed between fixed north
or rotating north. To change the modes, press OK when the compass
display is shown. Use the right arrow to choose the mode. Press and
hold OK to set the mode.
Trip A/B
In this mode, Trip A or B registers the following:
•Trip Time — shows the elapsed trip time. This timer will stop when
the vehicle is turned off and will restart when the vehicle is restarted.
•Trip Distance — shows the accumulated trip distance.
•Fuel Used — shows the amount of fuel used for a given trip.
Instrument Cluster
41
2012 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

Determine which magnetic zone you
are in for your geographic location
by referring to the zone map.
Vehicle (cont’d)
Compass
(cont’d)Calibration (When choosing Calibration, follow the
on-screen directions to calibrate the compass)
Easy Entry/Exit On/Off
DTE Calculation
(distance to
empty)Normal History Used
Towing History Used
Locks Autolock, On/Off
Autounlock On/Off
Unlocking One Stage or Two Stage
Maintenance Coolant (if
equipped)Hold OK if coolant maintenance
performed
Fuel Filter
(diesel only)Hold OK if Fuel Filter Changed
Menu ControlStandard: with standard set, pressing the up/down
arrows from a lower level menu will escape to the
main menu.
Memory On: with memory on set, pressing the
up/down arrows will navigate to the previous lower
level menu.
Oil Life Reset (if
equipped)Set to XXX% (Press and hold OK to set).
Remote StartDuration 5, 10 or 15 minutes
System Enable/Disable
Windows Remote Open On/Off
Wiper Control On/Off
1 2 3
4
5
6 7 8 9 101112 13 14 15
Instrument Cluster
46
2012 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)

ENGINE IDLED SOON EXHAUST FLUID EMPTY (diesel engine
only)— Displayed when the SCR system detects low exhaust fluid. The
engine will eventually enter into an idle only mode. The diesel exhaust
fluid must be replenished to resume normal operation of the vehicle.
Refer to your diesel supplement for more information.
ENGINE IDLED - SEE OWNER’S MANUAL EXHAUST FLUID
EMPTY (diesel engine only)— Displayed when a problem exists with
the SCR system. The vehicle will enter into an idle-only mode. If the
exhaust fluid is empty, it must be replenished to resume normal
operation of the vehicle. Refer to your diesel supplement for more
information.
IN XX MILES, SPEED LIMITED TO 50 MPH EXHAUST FLUID
SYSTEM FAULT (diesel engine only)— Displayed when the SCR
system detects a fault. The vehicle’s top speed will become limited in the
displayed distance starting at 50 miles (80 km) and count down from
this point. Refer to your diesel supplement for more information. Contact
your authorized dealer as soon as possible.
SPEED LIMITED TO 50 MPH UPON RESTART EXHAUST FLUID
SYSTEM FAULT (diesel engine only)— Displayed when the SCR
system detects a fault. The vehicle’s top speed will become limited upon
restarting. Refer to your diesel supplement for more information. Contact
your authorized dealer as soon as possible.
SPEED LIMITED TO 50 MPH EXHAUST FLUID SYSTEM FAULT
(diesel engine only)— Displayed when the SCR system detects a
fault. The vehicle’s top speed is limited. Refer to your diesel supplement
for more information. Contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible.
ENGINE IDLED SOON EXHAUST FLUID SYSTEM FAULT SEE
MANUAL (diesel engine only)— Displayed when the SCR system
detects a fault. The engine will enter into an idle only mode. Refer to
your diesel supplement for more information. Contact your authorized
dealer as soon as possible.
ENGINE IDLED - SEE OWNER’S MANUAL EXHAUST FLUID
SYSTEM FAULT (diesel engine only)— Displayed when the SCR
system detects a fault. The engine will eventually enter into an idle-only
mode. Press OK to override the idle mode. Refer to your diesel
supplement for more information. Contact your authorized dealer as soon
as possible.
FUEL FILTER CHANGE REQUIRED (diesel engine only)—
Displayed when a fuel filter change is required. Refer to thescheduled
maintenance information.
Instrument Cluster
53
2012 F-250/350/450/550(f23)
Owners Guide, 1st Printing
USA(fus)