Ford F-150 Complaints

39,812 consumer complaints on file.

#11650721March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving with the cruise control activated and set to 77 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear, causing the vehicle to jerk violently. The vehicle made an abnormal whistling sound, with the RPM revving high. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the contact was informed that no cause of transmission failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V075000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 172,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650740March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 40-50 MPH, the vehicle hesitated and jerked. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal, but the vehicle hesitated and lost motive power. The transmission slipped and downshifted to first gear. The contact was able to move over to the side of the road. The wrench warning light and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact turned off the vehicle and waited for a while. The vehicle was restarted and returned to normal functionality; however, the vehicle failed to get up to speed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the lead frame needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle had been taken to the dealer weeks prior the failure for service. The contact was provided with the manufacturer's recall number: 19N01 and an unknown update was performed on the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 175,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650742March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
While driving a 2016 Ford F-150 XLT Supercab with a 6-speed transmission and 5.0L V-8, the truck was acting abnormally where the rear tires locked up and chirped once, then acted normally. The following week I auto-started the truck to warm the engine up prior to leaving for work, the transmission clunked into reverse and moved, then when in forward motion the transmission lagged and heavily shifted upon acceleration. I turned around, came home, and switched vehicles. Upon arriving home after work, I took the truck for a test drive and it functioned normally, so I continued onto the grocery store. While traveling at 35mph, the transmission slammed into first gear and jolted me. The transmission began shifting on its own from 1st to 3rd back to 1st then to reverse. I was stopped in the middle of the road. I shut the truck off and waited approximately 5 to 10 minutes and tried to restart the vehicle. It wouldn't start, then it finally started and I pulled off to the side of the road. (There was no shoulder.) I gingerly pulled out and started my way back home. Luckily I made it home. There was no engine light (wrench) on the dashboard. I let the truck sit overnight. I started it the following morning, and then the light turned on. Now, if my family (wife and [XXX] ) would've been in the truck while pulling a trailer and 4-wheelers on our way out of state for the weekend and travelling at highway speeds (65-70 mph) and the transmission would've unexpectedly dropped into first gear, the truck and trailer would slam to a stop and there would be a pile up accident with death / mangling done to my family and myself. The truck was taken to a Ford dealer diagnosed with a [XXX] transmission wiring harness control being faulty, and replaced. I drove the truck for 2 months before travelling with a travel or allowing my [XXX] son anywhere near the truck. The repair fixed the issue, but we're strongly considering selling it. Repair cost ~$1800 INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650749March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
2012 Ford F-150 Platinum, 154000 miles. My truck has the problem of un-commanded transmission gear change to a lower gear. It started a couple of years ago but it took me a while to identify the problem and when it happened. Once, I was traveling at 70mph and, all by itself, it downshifted into 1st gear. The truck lurched and made a loud bang. It also caused a minor control problem due to the change is gears at that speed. I took it to my local Ford dealer and they replaced the shift motor in the transfer case (at my expense), maybe in Nov 2024. It worked fine after that until my recent road trip, Mar 2025. The un-commanded shift happened again three times during my trip to GA from PA. I'm taking it back to Ford tomorrow. When this shift happens, there is a bang followed by a sudden slowing of the vehicle. It's somewhat scary to have the truck act in this manner.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650763March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 37-39 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted from fourth to first gear. The vehicle jerked and made an abnormally loud sound. The contact pulled over and parked the vehicle. The contact waited 30 seconds before shifting the transmission into drive(D) to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: PE25002 (Power Train). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650771March 26, 2025
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. While the contact’s wife was driving approximately 60 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear, causing the vehicle to abruptly slow down. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the transmission lead frame was faulty and needed to be replaced. The lead frame was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the rear driver’s side door failed to open from inside or outside the vehicle. The message "Door Ajar" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the internal door wire, and the vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 66,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650772March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Truck downshifts and the won't change gears.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650781March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:ENGINE CONTROL MODULE (ECU/ECM):SOFTWARE
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle inadvertently downshifted into a lower gear and the speedometer stopped working. Additionally, the check engine and power train warning lights illuminated sporadically. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and restarted each time. The contact then received notification of an unknown recall and the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the ECU needed to be reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired but the failure became frequent. The contact stated the on one occasion during a failure, and pulling over to the side of road, the contact opened the hood and observed two parts sitting on the frame rail. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission and blower motor/HVAC parts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650782March 26, 2025
ENGINE
Truck will on occasion downshift into a low gear out of nowhere and feels like the rear axle is going to rip out of the truck.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650801March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the transmission started to upshift and downshift erratically. The wrench warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that while driving, the extension train connector was not shifting into the correct gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a subframe frame connector failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650815March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
While driving at highway speeds in my 2018 Ford F150 with 3.5 liter engine and 10-speed transmission when I would need to accelerate to pass or going up a hill the transmission downshift (as expected), but would "jerk" repeatedly until I let up on the accelerator. During light acceleration the transmission still "jerks", but not as bad. No "check engine" light illuminates.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650819March 26, 2025
ENGINE
These vehicles with the 5.0L engines have a problem with cam phaser timing which causes a rattle in the engine it also causes the engine to stall sometimes it causes the engine to stutter, in my forum I have saw this complaint from guys with vehicles ranging from 2015 up to 2019, this is a problem Ford knows about but haven't done anything about it, they have since developed a new cam phaser timing set but, they didn't not do a recall on this, this is a problem that occurs several times a week.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650831March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while exiting the driveway driving approximately 20 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted. The vehicle failed to accelerate or move forward. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a transmission specialist who determined that a transmission replacement was needed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that there was no recall coverage on the VIN. The failure mileage was unknown.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650835March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
driving down the road and the transmission stopped driving at stop light, forced the gas pedal down, and finally kicked itself into gear to jerk the truck hard into another lane. had a horrible smell afterward
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650838March 26, 2025
ENGINE, POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 5-70 MPH, the transmission was shifting hard. There were no warning lights illuminated. On a separate occasion, the transmission was shifted from drive to reverse and shifted very hard. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but not diagnosed, and the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 22,500.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650840March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
Transmission downshift without warning
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650843March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
My transmission automatically downshifts sometimes which could cause me to lose control and is a big safety hazard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650844March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The contact owned a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly shifted into second gear. A local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was not provided. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V075000 (POWER TRAIN); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 58,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650845March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
I bought pre owned 2019 f150 5.0 with the 10 speed transmission. The truck didn’t even make it home from the dealer. Transmission was leaking fluid and lights came on. Shift would go from 10th to 1st gear.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650846March 26, 2025
POWER TRAIN
On the afternoon of [XXX], my son and his fiancé were driving home from college (Lamar University) when my sons 2020 Ford F-150 suddenly downshifted from 10th gear to 1st gear. This sudden unexpected downshift through them both violently forward in the truck and almost caused them to be rear ended by an 18-Wheeler. They immediately pulled off to the side of the Interstate ([XXX]) to gather their thoughts and inspect the truck. My son notified me of what had just happened and that he received a service engine warning on the trucks instrument cluster along with a notification on his cell phone of a Powertrain Malfunction. I suggested he try turning the truck off and restarting it to see if it would resolve the issue. He resumed driving home and experienced the same unexpected sudden down shifting from 10th gear to 1st gear multiple times as they continued their drive home. Fortunately, he was able to limp his truck back into town and immediately took it to Cook Ford in Texas City where we had purchased the truck. I met them at the dealership and my son reported the problem they had experienced on their drive home to the Cook Ford Service person and we left the truck with them to be diagnosed. On Wednesday March 26th 2025, Cook Ford called to inform my son and informed him that he needed a new transmission and that both his catalytic converters needed to be replaced for a cost of approximately $11,500. He asked them if these items were covered under warranty and they acknowledged an error in their quote and that the catalytic converters would be covered, but not the transmission. During the conversation the Ford Service person did acknowledge knowing of issues with the 10 speed transmission (10R80) but said there were no current recalls, nor were there any Ford Customer Satisfaction Programs for the trucks transmission. We are now waiting for a response back from Cook Ford with an updated and formal breakdown of costs for the trucks needed repairs. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION A
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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