What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the transmission (22 reports), the valve body (5 reports), the clutch (4 reports) and the torque converter (3 reports).
Recalls and investigations
One recall on the transmission and drivetrain covers the 2020 model year. A recall on the same system isn't always the same failure, so read the defect text.
20V-197Apr 3, 2020
Power Train:Automatic Transmission:Gear Position Indication (Prndl)
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2020 Ranger and F-150 vehicles equipped with 10-speed automatic transmissions and certain 2020 Expedition vehicles equipped with a "police" package. The transmission shift cable lock clip may not be fully seated, allowing the transmission to actually be in a different gear than the gear shift position selected by the driver.
Risk and remedy
Risk: If the transmission selection does not match the indicated gear selection, and the parking brake is not applied, unintended vehicle movement can occur, increasing the risk of injury or crash.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and correct the shift cable locking clip installation, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began April 27, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S18.
NHTSA investigations into the transmission and drivetrain on the F-150
EA26-001opened Jan 30, 2026
Transmission and drivetrain · model years 2015 to 2017
Unintended transmission downshift and rear wheel lock-up. Open, led to recall 26V-237.
NHTSA summary
On March 21, 2025, NHTSAâs Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE25002) to investigate instances of unexpected transmission downshifting without driver input in model year (MY) 2015-2017 Ford F-150 vehicles (subject vehicles) manufactured by Ford Motor Company (Ford). The complaints allege that, without warning or driver input, the subject vehicles experienced a sudden and rapid deceleration often accompanied by temporary rear wheel lockup, seizure, or skidding, resulting in a loss of vehicle control that increases the risk of crash and injury to all motorists, including those not within the subject vehicles. The MY 2015 and MY 2016 F-150 vehicles were equipped with the â6R80â transmission, while the MY 2017 vehicles were equipped with either the â6R80â transmission or the â10R80â transmission. This investigation was limited to MY 2015-2017 Ford F-150 with the â6R80â transmission. ODI identified 329 Vehicle Owners Questionnaires (VOQs) related to this investigation and sixty percent of these consumers were interviewed to confirm the details of their allegations. Consumers reported that their vehiclesâ transmission suddenly downshifted to a lower gear, often to 1st or 2nd gear, without driver input or advance warning. Consumers described the downshift events to be regular and repeated occurrences, with some consumers stating that they no longer drive the vehicle due to safety concerns. Forty-three percent of consumers repo
PE25-002opened Mar 21, 2025
Transmission and drivetrain · model years 2015 to 2017
Unintended transmission downshift and rear wheel lock-up. Closed jan 30, 2026.
NHTSA summary
On March 21, 2025, NHTSAâs Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE25002) to investigate instances of unexpected transmission downshifting without driver input in model year (MY) 2015-2017 Ford F-150 vehicles (subject vehicles) manufactured by Ford Motor Company (Ford). The complaints allege that, without warning or driver input, the subject vehicles experienced a sudden and rapid deceleration often accompanied by temporary rear wheel lockup, seizure, or skidding, resulting in a loss of vehicle control that increases the risk of crash and injury to all motorists, including those not within the subject vehicles. The MY 2015 and MY 2016 F-150 vehicles were equipped with the â6R80â transmission, while the MY 2017 vehicles were equipped with either the â6R80â transmission or the â10R80â transmission. This investigation was limited to MY 2015-2017 Ford F-150 with the â6R80â transmission. ODI identified 329 Vehicle Owners Questionnaires (VOQs) related to this investigation and sixty percent of these consumers were interviewed to confirm the details of their allegations. Consumers reported that their vehiclesâ transmission suddenly downshifted to a lower gear, often to 1st or 2nd gear, without driver input or advance warning. Consumers described the downshift events to be regular and repeated occurrences, with some consumers stating that they no longer drive the vehicle due to safety concerns. Forty-three percent of consumers r
RQ24-005opened Mar 27, 2024
Transmission and drivetrain · model years 2014
Unintended transmission downshift. Closed jul 29, 2024, led to recall 24V-444.
NHTSA summary
In September 2016, Ford Motor Company (Ford) issued safety recall 16V-248 which included certain model year (MY) 2011-2012 Ford F-150 vehicles equipped with 6-speed (6R80) automatic transmissions. This recall was in response to allegations of unintended, unexpected vehicle transmission downshifting to a lower gear without warning, often accompanied by temporary rear wheel lock-up, increasing the risk of a crash and/or injury, and included approximately 153,581 vehicles. Ford identified the root cause of the unintended, unexpected vehicle transmission downshifting to a lower gear to be intermittent signal loss from the transmissionâs Output Shaft Speed (OSS) sensor due to solder joint cracks on the OSS circuit board as a result of manufacturing process issues. The OSS sensor is mounted onto the molded lead frame and transmits changes in transmission shaft speed to the Powertrain Control Module (PCM). The remedy program described in safety recall 16V-248 involved reprogramming of the PCM to prevent unintended vehicle transmission downshifting from occurring. In December 2017, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Recall Query (RQ17-010) to assess the scope and remedy effectiveness of safety recall 16V-248. As a result of this ODI investigation, Ford issued safety recall 19V-075 to expand the scope of 16V-248 to include MY 2011-2013 Ford F-150 vehicles equipped with 6-speed (6R80) automatic transmissions and included approximately 1,263,051 vehicles. The remedy pr
RQ17-010opened Dec 25, 2017
Transmission and drivetrain · model years 2011 to 2013
Unexpected transmission downshift. Closed oct 22, 2019, led to recall 19V-075.
NHTSA summary
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened an investigation based on consumer allegations of transmissions unexpectedly downshifting to a lower gear without input from the driver on model year (MY) 2011-2013 Ford F-150, Expedition and Navigator vehicles. ODI has received 455 unique reports related to the alleged problem that were not covered under a previous recall for this issue (16V-248).Expedition and Navigator complaint rates are lower than F-150 complaints. Of those 455 reports, 34.7% claimed that the rear wheels locked up when the transmission downshifted. There were 4 accident claims with no injuries. There are many instances where drivers report leaving their lane or the road because of this issue.In response to ODI's Information Request (IR) letter, Ford Motor Company (Ford) responded with 783 unique reports related to the alleged problem. There were 6 accident claims with 3 injuries. Ford also submitted 1206 warranty claims related to transmission downshifting failures. The failure can occur at any time, but typically at higher speed, and include symptoms such as sudden transmission downshifting, loss of speedometer, erratic shifting of transmission, and transmission stuck in one gear. The failures typically occur without warning and may result in the rear wheels momentarily locking up. The driver often had to fully stop the vehicle and restart it to get the vehicle to shift properly.On February 2nd, 2019 Ford notified ODI that it would conduct a safety recall
RQ98-005opened Mar 13, 1998
Transmission and drivetrain · model years 1997
Automatic transmission control. Closed aug 27, 1998, led to recall 97V-147.
NHTSA summary
ON SEPTEMBER 4, 1997, FORD FILED A DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT CONCERNING APPROXIMATELY 15,000 1997 MODEL YEAR F-150 TRUCKS, MANUFACTURED FROM FEBRUARY 16 THROUGH MARCH 4, 1996, AND BUILT AT THE NORFOLK OR KANSAS CITY ASSEMBLY PLANTS.THESE VEHICLES COULD HAVE INCORRECTLY MANUFACTURED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION CONTROL CABLES INSTALLED WHICH CAN RESULT IN A SEPARATION OF THE CABLE END FITTING FROM THE CABLE CONDUIT AT THE TRANSMISSION END OF THE CABLE.IF THE TRANSMISSSION END FITTING WERE TO SEPARATE FROM THE SHIFT CABLE ASSEMBLY, THEOPERATOR WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SHIFT THE TRANSMISSION FROM ONE OF THE DRIVE GEAR POSITIONS INTO THE PARK POSITION EVEN THOUGH THE GEAR SHIFT SELECTOR WOULD INDICATE PARK.ODI HAS RECEIVED 6 REPORTS ALLEGING TRANSMISSION FAULT SHIFTING RESULTING IN 3 CRASHES.THE REPORTED VEHICLES WERE IDENTIFIED AS FOLLOWS:THREE WERE MANUACTURED OUTSIDE OF THE RECALL BUILD DATES; TWO WERE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE RECALL AND THE REMAINING VEHICLE WAS UNKNOWN DUE TO MISSING VIN.THE PURPOSE OF THIS INVESTIGATION IS TO EXAMINE THE SCOPE OF RECALL 97V-147, IN PARTICULAR, THE BASIS FOR LIMITING THE RECALL TO THOSE BUILT WITHIN A SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD AND WHETHER THE CABLE IS USED ON OTHER FORD VEHICLES.
PE97-019opened May 6, 1997
Transmission and drivetrain · model years 1997
Failure transmission park engagement/loc. Closed sep 16, 1997, led to recall 97V-147.
NHTSA summary
BY LETTER DATED SEPTEMBER 4, 1997, THE MANUFACTURER ADVISED NHTSA THAT A SAFETY-RELATED RECALL ACTION WOULD BE INITIATED TO CORRECT A POTENTIAL FAILURE OF THE TRANSMISSION SHIFT CABLE IN APPROXIMATELY 15,000 OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.THE SUSPECT CABLES WERE SUPPLIED TO FORD BY TELEFLEX AUTOMOTIVE AND INSTALLED IN THE SUBJECT F-150 TRUCKS BUILT AT FORD'S NORFORLK AND KANSAS CITY ASSEMBLY PLANTS BETWEEN FEBRUARY 16, 1996 AND MARCH 4, 1996.A COPY OF THE FORD'S LETTER TO NHTSA REGARDING THIS RECALL ACTION IS ATTACHED.BASED ON THE PENDING SAFETY RECALL (97V-147), THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION HAS BEEN CLOSED.
PE91-064opened Apr 9, 1991
Transmission and drivetrain · model years 1991
Transmission fluid fires. Closed jul 5, 1991.
NHTSA summary
There is no summary currently available
None of these investigations covers the 2020 model year.
What owners paid
25 of the 187 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $6,000 to $9,800.
$0k$2k$4k$6k$8k
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 38,000 and 90,400 miles, from the 83 reports that gave a mileage.
220
621
922
1923
3124
6125
5926