Hello, everyone, just joined up today, this is an awesome site .... Well, I have owned my 2012 F-150 4x4 3.7L 6 cylinder truck for about 3 weeks. I purchased it used from a Ford dealer with 4600 miles on it. I drive it every day to work. In the 3 weeks I've had it I have put on not quite 1000 miles.
Well, it does a wierd thing. Sometimes when I start it, it will start up and die instantly, then I turn the key again and it usually starts and continues to run just fine. It is completely random when it chooses to do this. Most recently it started and died Sun pm and also Tues am. It has never yet done it the first start , usually it is the second start 3 or 4 hours later. In 3 weeks it has probably done this 12 or more times. Everything else is fine with it. At first I thought maybe bad tank of gas or moisture in the fuel system or condensation. I did put one bottle of Heet in the gas tank. Yesterday, I took it to my Ford dealer and had them check it over. Unfortunately for me it did not start and die while it was there, nor did it show a code of anything wrong. So now I am at a loss. This should not be happening. It is frustrating when it starts and dies.... so, just wondering if anyone else had anything like this happen and was the issue resolved ? Thanks in advance LOVE FORDS LOVE

 

First off Welcome to the Forum!

From what it sounds like it could be a short somewhere. Start by checking your fuses and make sure they are seated all the way, next make sure the battery terminals are secured tightly. Start with the simple things and let us know what you find.

 

Take it to the dealer, describe the problem. No way a truck with that mileage should do that.

 

our work truck does that and its a 2013 chevy 2500 series with under 5000 miles on it does it almost everytime it wants to start then theres no power but if you turn the key back she starts right up did this from new i hope my new ford dosnt do it i have the same truck just a 2013

 

If it does, take it to the dealer and figure out WTF.

 

its not my truck my foreman drives it for roof systems and he dont care about it cause it still starts ..i was just letting him know cause he asked if anyone has had that issue ...and yes but a chevy

 

Hi,
A little speculation ( sounds better than 'guessing')

It could possibly be that sometimes the computer isn't getting the word that the engine has started. Then it won't restart the fuel pump.

I don't know what signal it uses, could be oil pressure, rpm, or maybe a combo of the cam and crank sensors.

The dealer can probably scope out whichever one it is to see if it looks at all flaky, but that will cost you. Or you could just ask them which one it is and see if you can find any clues.

I certainly don't know if that's the issue, but it kind of fits the symptoms.

Good Luck,

hj

 

Take it back to the dealer. Arrange for them to keep it and give you a loaner until it is fixed. No way this should be happening, nor should you accept this behavior from your new truck. Thats what your warranty is for. Keep us posted in case someone else has the same issue

 

Well, I took the F-150 into the dealer last Wedsesday 3 -27-13 and they checked it out and of course it did NOT show anything wrong nor did it do anything. It had acted up Sunday pm and again Tuesday 3-26-13 am. So I took it home again, and it has started right up just fine all week until this morning. I was done at work so this was the second start of the day. I turned the key and it started and immediately died twice. It was on the third start up that if finally stayed running. So I promptly called my Ford dealer and they had me bring it in and gave me a loaner vehicle. I am getting really frustrated with it doing this. I told them if they are unable to ever find out what is causing it and fix it I DO NOT want to keep it! It is really random when it won't start. I drive it every day aprox 40 miles total and it gets started probably 4 - 6 times per day , but it always seems to have start up troubles at least once or twice per week. I have only owned it 4 weeks now. It has 6000 miles on it. So I will have to wait and see what if anything the dealer finds. BTW the loaner vehicle is a
07 Mercury Mariner .... It's ok, but I miss my F-150 I hope it gets well soon ...... I will post again when i find out more ...
LOVE FORDS LOVE

 

Well, the F-150 is still in the shop since I took it there on Tuesday ... yesterday I called the dealer to ask them if the original owner had any trouble with it and the dealer said that he " checked the trucks warranty history report and it didn't show anything so it should be fine. " He was nice enough to give me the owner's phone number so I called them to talk with them and GUESS WHAT ..... THEY HAD TROUBLE WITH IT STARTING TOO ! they bought it in July of '12 brand new. It was ok until winter came and it was cold. we are in WI then sometimes it just would not start at all. they had it in the shop too. In Januray of '13 they had to have it towed into dealer as it wouldn't start at all. Dealer couldn't find for sure problem, but came up with bad starter ?? so the put in a new starter. So this owner traded it off a few weeks after that. and now I have it. So now I am really not happy with the whole situation.... i told my dealer that I do NOT want it as it must be a lemon since it had problems early on with only few thousand miles and I got it at 4600 miles. the starting trouble is a bit different now, with it starting and dying, but no matter, it shouldn't happen anyhow... So I don't know what the dealer has in mind. I told them I have only owned it not quite 30 days, and would like to exchange it because of problems with it and I don't want to lose money either. yeah, I know, that is probably not likely .... meanwhile I am gathering evidence so if I have to take legal action. I contacted the first dealer where it was serviced and they are sending me the records of its warranty work.... so that should be a start for proof that there was DEFINITELY something wrong with it when the dealer sold it to me. I just wish I knew if it is required for a dealer to list a known problem / warranty work at time of sale... Because I was under the impression I was buying a almost new problem free vehicle. I asked why the first owner sold it and I was told they traded it in for a car.... which when I talked to them they did, but partly because this truck had issues of not starting..... I wonder why my salesman told me the truck's warranty service history record was clean, when it wasn't ? was he lying, or is it possible that it did not show up ? The starter was replaced under warranty Feb 1, 2013 and I bought it about 4 weeks later.....

 

Seriously, you are freaking out. Not starting can and will be sorted out. It's under warranty and its not rocket science. No matter how new, it's all about spark, fuel, compression, air.

 

What! A salesman LYING to make a sale??? Unheard of!!

 

well, the F-150 was back to the Ford dealer and they kept it 13 days to try and figure out the problem of why it starts and dies ... they claim it did not act up while they had it. But they told me they put a new throttle body in it. So I picked it up from the dealer on Monday 4-15-13 . I drove it all week and it started just fine every time. I was starting to think maybe they fixed it. I also have been recording every time I start it , but didn't get a good recording when it happened again. So this Monday 4-22-13, I went out to start it and it did the start up and die thing just like it did all the previous times..... Then I started to wonder about ONE thing all the incidents have in common. The key has been already in the ignition every time it does the start and die thing. I have horses at another place and when I go there I leave the key in it and I also work at a farm so when I am there, I just leave the key in the ignition too. I know that should not make a difference, but that is one common factor. The other thing I just noticed yesterday too was that when I first put the key straight into the ignition, I CAN HEAR THE HUMMING SOUND OF THE FUEL PUMP CYCLING. Now, as far as I know, the fuel pump should cycle when the key is turned to on, but NOT when the key is just placed straight into the ignition with no further movement. I called my Ford dealer service dept and talked with them about it and they agreed that it should not cycle until the key is turned... I also called Ford motor company to talk with them about it ... I am going to drive it a day or two yet and then maybe when I take it there this next time they will be able to find the problem. I am just fed up with it..... any thoughts or anyone ever had their F-150 fuel pump cycle without key being turned on?

 

My 5.0 does that too...I think Ford may have set the newer ones up to pressurize the fuel system when the key is inserted. I know for a fact with my 08 that it would act like you're describing if I didn't put the key to "On" and wait about a second before starting it. Check a couple of others on the lot, and I bet your dealer/service writer will give you a really sheepish grin when the fuel pumps cycle.

Yours may be timing out, shutting off, and your fuel system depressurizing a little if you leave the key in it all the time.

 

Thanks for your input .... I will see what they have to say, I am taking it in again to the dealership in the morning...