2012 Ford F-150: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Sep 1, 2022 · Electrical · MS · fire

Unsure of how fire started but truck was in garage at repair facility and the dash spontaneously caught fire and burned. The truck had been parked for over 48 hours and keys were not in ignition . The truck can be seen on security camera video with a small flash starting in the dash then larger flames inside the cab. It burned for about 3 minutes then the fired died out but not before completely burning the dash . There is security camera footage which was too large to upload.

Filed Feb 24, 2022 · Visibility · TX

There was frost on the rear window. While the car was in park and warming up I turned on the rear defroster. I started to smell a burning smell. There was a loud bang and back left window panel completely shattered. No one was injured thankfully, but if the glass would have blown out and we had our baby or passengers in the back there could have been injury. I am not only concerned about the glass shattering, but the fact that there was a burning smell. I have found several forums where people report the same issue across many years of F150s (2010-2019). Defroster is turned on and the back window shatters. I contacted Ford and they will not do anything because the vehicle is out of the warranty period. Sounds like there is something faulty that they need to fix or issue a recall. I reached out to my insurance company and after I get a few quotes I may file a claim depending on the replacement cost and my deductible amount. Only other "symptom" was the smell of burning right before the glass shattered.

Filed Jul 23, 2019 · Electrical · 77,802 miles · MD · fire

What driving and A/C cut on and off and had smoke coming from the vent and not long after passenger side dash caught on fire

Filed Dec 16, 2017 · Electrical · 59,870 miles · PA

My 2012 f150 rear drivers side window section suddenly shattered after turning on the rear defrost function. Rear defrost went on then I smelled something burning g. The rear drivers side glass section then shattered. There was absolutely no trauma that caused this. The rear defrost will no longer operate since. I contacted ford service and there is no recall at this time. I searched online and found close to 150 similar complaints. When the glass shattered the temperature was near 30 degrees and the vehicle was not in motion.

Filed Nov 13, 2017 · Electrical · 53,000 miles · IL · fire

Started my vehicle on a cold morning turned on the window defrost and rear defrost. Came back to it a few minutes later and the back window was smoking and the gasket had caught on fire. It shattered the window and burnt and melted the gasket. This seems to be a big problem with the f150 with rear defrost and power sliding window it either breaks the window or catches fire mine did not even blow the fuse. Have seen many cases of this thru f150 forums and ford has not come up with a solution. It is also a very expensive fix . My vehicle was stationary in my driveway had I not caught it in time this would have destroyed my truck and caught my house on fire too

Filed Dec 21, 2016 · Electrical · MI

This is not a defective glass or frame issue. This is strictly an electrical issue on the defroster. From what I've learned about it, it seems to be a widespread problem, not just freak coincidence. If more people lived in colder climates there would be more complaints. Friday dec. 16, 2016, around 8 pm. I started my ford f150 and tried to turn rear defogger on. High that day was 32, low 22. At that time of day I would expect it was closer to 22 than 32. The indicator light light for the defroster flashed on, then went out. I tried again, this time it stayed on for 15 or 20 secs. I backed out of the driveway and when shifter from reverse to forward I noticed indicator light was off again. I drove 50 to 100 yards when I heard a loud pop. The street in my subdivision are asphalt and have no potholes, it was replaced last summer. I thought I smelled something burning, and realized the rear window on passenger side was shattered. The window was still in frame, no holes and there were no chips. Just a shattered piece of glass in the frame. Nothing hit the window or there was no other reason the window would shatter, other than the rear defroster heating the window to a point it cracked. I talked with a shop about repairing the window, and owner told me his supplier said there are roughly 500 of these units that get replaced every week in michigan alone. I believe this is a far more widespread problem but only those states that have freezing temps and it only affects vehicles in 2-3 months a year.

Filed Dec 13, 2016 · Electrical, Visibility · 48,583 miles · MD · fire

Was driving vehicle at 55mph heard a loud bang. Sounded like an explosion! The sound startled me almost causing an accident. The rear window had shattered. Pulled over and got out, the bottom right corner of the window was on fire. Not realizing what was happening I attempted to pour water on it. It continued to burn, then I quickly took a rag from inside the truck and began to try an put out the fire. Between that water ,rag and a screw driver the fire was finally out. The fire that was burning was very odd in nature nothing I had ever seen before. I immediately looked the incident up online and saw that this has happened hundreds of times ford motor company is fully aware but will not cover it unless entire vehicle is still under warranty. This is totally a danger to society! This almost caused an awful accident.

Filed Dec 8, 2016 · Visibility · 55,000 miles · ME

While driving I heard a loud pop followed by a strong smell inside the cab of the truck. Earlier in the day I had used the rear defroster and when I tried to use it just before this loud pop, the light on the dash button would not come on. Unbeknownst to be at the time, as it was dark out, 1/3 of my rear window had shattered. The next day in the light I found the window damage. The window clearly exploded outward, as the remaining glass was pushing outward and the broken glass was in the bed of the truck. Ford refuses to repair the issue, as it says it is glass, but it seems clear the defroster has a role in causing the glass to break, evidenced by the no longer functioning button and the burning smell when it happened.

Filed May 12, 2016 · Visibility · 18,500 miles · MO

Back passenger side back glass just shattered this am. Temperature was about 60, raining, humid in the cabin, with rear defroster on. After parking the truck, I shut it off, then heard a very loud pop, like a rock hit my glass. I got out and viewed the glass from the outside, and there appeared to be smoke coming from the mid-line, lowest point of the glass. The frame was dry in only this area, and the shatter webs out from this area.

Filed Apr 15, 2016 · Electrical · 92,000 miles · PA · fire

Started the truck to warm up, as tempeture was 17 deg. F.. Went inside to lock up house and when I came out there was smoke coming out of doors. Upon opening, the cab was filled with black smoke and there was a flaming mass on passinger side floor on a floor mat I had purchased for truck. I pulled mat out with melting pile of plastic and put fire out with snow on ground. Had to make arrangements for someone to pick us up and get home because I had my 8yr. Old granddaughter with me and she had to attend school the next day and we were 275 miles from our home. This happened april 3rd 2016 in millport, pa. 16748 and my residence is ivyland, pa. 18974. Rented a car at home 4/4/16 and got ion touch with ford dealership in coudersport, pa. 16915, kightlinger motors. Truck wasto be ready 4/13 and I was going to return rental car to mansfield, pa. Location and had a ride to coudersport to pick up truck. Received a call thursday 4/14 that truck wouldn't be ready until possibly 4/20/16. The vehicle was stantionary warming up with fan on low when fire started and had been warming up (no pun intended) less than 5 minutes as we were ready to leave. Truck is a company vehicle.

Filed Mar 2, 2015 · Electrical · 65,920 miles · PA

I was driving on residential street during light snow conditions. I turned the rear window defrost on and after 2 minutes I could smell a burning smell and heard a crackling/popping sound coming from the back seat area of my truck cab. I sensed it may be something wrong with the rear defrost so I switched it off. Approximately 30 seconds later I heard a loud bang which sounded like it hit the roof of the cab. It sounded like someone dropped a large brick onto my moving vehicle. I was startled and stopped to check if something hit or was thrown at my truck and then I noticed the rear passenger side of the rear power sliding window was shattered. I felt the glass and it was hot even though outside temperatures were about 30 degrees f. There is no way ford should be letting this defect go without a recall and I am shocked that the federal safety agency has not put more pressure on ford to make this right. I didn't even know this was a possible problem with using the rear defrost until I checked online and there are thousands of complaints about this issue. My child sits in that rear seat all the time and there are no recalls or notices of the potential for injury, fires, etc. Please make ford own up to this problem so people can have peace of mind. Ford will not even admit there is a problem and is telling me I have to pay $1100 to fix this safety issue and my vehicle is still under warranty.

Filed May 14, 2014 · Electrical, Visibility · 45,000 miles · MD

May 13, 2014, 0630 hrs. Temp 55 degrees f. While I was leaving for work, I pressed the rear defrost button as the morning dewpoint was high and condensation was heavy on the glass. The light on the defrost button did not illuminate, so I pressed a second time. There was a delay, but the light finally came on as advertised. I drove approx 5 miles to the local fuel stop when I noticed a slight burning smell from the rear cabin area. I parked the truck, and looked around but found no evidence of something burning. I stepped out of the truck and as I started to walk away from the vehicle, I heard a loud "bang", which scared me. It sounded as if something fell from the sky and hit the top of the truck. I looked around, and then opened the right rear door. The burning smell was more prominent, and I then noticed that the 'bang" was my right rear window pane shattering. The whole right rear pane had become extremely hot, and it shattered. There seems to be an issue with this heating/defrost system that needs rectified immediately. My youngest child could have had this window blow right into her had she or anyone else been sitting in the rear cab at that time. In addition, the possibility of the window blowing outward into oncoming traffic could also be a major issue for many different reasons. This needs addressed as soon as possible.