Automatic Transmission problems of the 2013 Ford F-150

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50 mph, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted from 6th gear into a lower gear, and the check engine and transmission warning lights illuminated. As a result of the failure, the vehicle crashed into bushes. The contact also stated that the air bags did not deploy during the incident. The contact sustained a left foot injury; however, no medical attention was sought. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not towed, and the contact was able to restart the vehicle. The contact further stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed on another occasion, the vehicle unexpectedly entered limp mode and remained in 3rd gear. The contact also reported that the vehicle felt sluggish when attempting to accelerate from a stop, with the check engine and transmission warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission lead frame had failed and required replacement. The vehicle was not repaired, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not eligible for warranty coverage due to exceeding the warranty limits of 10 years or 150,000 miles. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 152,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 70 mph, the vehicle inadvertently downshifted from 6th to 1st gear with the battery and powertrain warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the lead frame and speed sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the same diagnostic was provided. The contact was informed that the speed frame and the speed sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 211,580.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving on a main road at 10 mph when the speedometer began to read zero, and the vehicle would not get out of 1st gear, the contact proceeded to shift into neutral however the vehicle would not get into second gear. The check engine warning light and the service vehicle soon warning light were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and the contact was advised that the molded lead frame was faulty and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 154,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the vehicle inadvertently downshifted. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 178,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle could not able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 116,762.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, the transmission independently downshifted from fifth gear to second gear. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to a nearby parking lot and parked. The vehicle was almost rear-ended because of the failure. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, but it was not inspected. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that the transmission had been replaced twice by the same independent mechanic. The contact stated that the independent mechanic replaced the transmission with a rebuilt transmission after each failure. In addition, the lead frame was replaced by the dealer in 2025. The contact stated that the failure was a known failure with the vehicle. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle downshifted with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the same diagnostic was provided to the contact. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and referred the contact to the nhsta hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 167,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle independently shifted to first gear. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was serviced under the technical service bulletin: 19s07 (transmission 6r80 sudden transmission downshift – powertrain control module programming); however, the failure persisted. The contact stated when she received the vehicle after the repair was performed, the vehicle was in limp mode and the technician advised that it was completely normal after the repair, and it should be working properly. The contact stated the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure with the customer satisfaction program 19n01 (transmission molded leadframe extended coverage); however, the manufacturer confirmed the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

Truck speedometer goes to 0. Slows down abruptly. Rpm goes way up. Was going from 45 to less than 10mph in a matter of seconds. Feels like the transmission automatically downshifts to a lower gear. Very dangerous. Seems to be quite a few of these incidents on you tube. Truck only has 11600 miles on it.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the instrument cluster became inoperable and the vehicle lost drive power while the rpms were significantly high. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to exceed an unidentified low speed. The power train warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that he pulled to the side of the road on some occasions. The contact stated that the failure had progressively worsened, and the vehicle no longer responded as needed upon turning off and restarting the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle made an abnormal clunking sound while shifting into gears. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 19v075000(power train); however, the VIN was not included. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.

See attached document from complainant.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle downshifted to 1st gear. The contact pulled to the side of the roadway, turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle regained normal operation. The powertrain malfunction indicator light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission fluid was leaking fluid into the transmission main connector inside the transmission bounce shift and caused a short circuit in the transmission. The dealer informed the contact that there was a frame necessary to re-seal the connectors that needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included. The approximate failure mileage was 167,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford f-159 with 125000 miles. The contact was driving about 25 mph when the vehicle downshifted to 1st gear. The contact was able to pullover and put the vehicle in park to reset the transmission. This failure happened several times. The contact stated that now when the failure happen the vehicle do not get out of first gear. The contacts vehicle was not included in recall (19v433000 unexpected transmission downshift). The vehicle was taken to her local dealer but the vehicle was not repaired since it was not included in the recall.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at highway speed,her usb port had initially failed to operate as needed and that soon after, the display screen had drawn completely blank. The contact's daughter had pulled over and restarted the vehicle multiple times but the failure persisted. As she proceeded to drive the vehicle at 40 mph, the vehicle independently downshifted as the vehicle stalled without warning. Due to the failure, the contact hit another vehicle from behind. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. No medical attention was given at the scene; however, his daughter did suffer minor bruising. The whereabouts of the other driver was unknown. A police report was filed. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to a dealer where they have yet to inspect or diagnose the failure. The contact stated that his vehicle was previously placed under NHTSA campaign number: 19v433000 (power train) which he linked to his failure. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 148,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at highway speeds of 65 mph or more the vehicle would decelerate to rpms of 0 mph and accelerate. The transmission then fail to shift gears. The contact would then have to coast to the side of the road. The contact would turn off the vehicle off and attempt the vehicle. They would attempt to place the vehicle into first gear and if failed would make as many attempts till was able to successfully do so. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who stated that the lead frame within the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact was informed the repair was no longer covered under warranty due to mileage and that the part was on back order. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred them to NHTSA. The approximate failure mileage was 124,000.

Driving down the road 60 miles an hour truck will shift to first very dangerous I've had the reprogram done didn't do nothing I would like my truck to be fixed I make payments on this damn thing and I want it to run as it should.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 30 mph, the transmission remained stuck in 3rd gear. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road, where he attempted several times to switch gear until the transmission responded. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring and the vehicle would also frequently downshift to first gear while driving. The contact also stated that whenever he would attempt to reverse the vehicle, the transmission would hesitate to respond, and the vehicle would remain in neutral for a short period. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that his vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 19v075000 (power train). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000.