general problems of the 2013 Ford F-150 - part 2

Truck downshifted to first gear from about 35 mph with no warning, and would not shift back, until it was shut off. I was in middle of road. No warning lights came on prior to this happening. The dealer confirmed a recall for this problem but my truck is a 2013 and recall currently is for 2014 forward. I never received a recall notice on my truck and the estimate to have it fixed is about $1700. Dealer said recall on my truck expired, in 2023. I am not safe driving this vehicle. I have had this truck since October of 2018, and bought it at toothman Ford grafton, wv. I never received a recall.

I was driving along, truck was in about 5 gear and then suddenly dropped into 1st gear. And sometimes you start out and truck will not change from 1st gear to second. You have to stop and turn off motor to get it to drive correctly!.

The transmission software update only made it worse. The transmission is deciding to shift into 5th gear wrench comes on the no speedometer no information in the information center airbag light comes on radio gets quieter or I have experienced the first shift sudden downshift at 65 mph back tires are hopping on the tar and now everyday it's stuck in first gear for a while I have to shut off the truck and it might reset or I have to turn it off for more than 5 minutes and then it might reset or go in third to start with no speedometer no information and the information center airbag light on this is a safety hazard and it should be an open free recall to replace the bad components inside the transmission from 2013 on up before somebody dies because of a sudden downshift.

Vehicle downshifts when driving similar to current recall on 2015-2017 Ford F-150. Repaired at a cost of $1,650.

The issue involves a loss of signal between the transmission range sensor and the powertrain control module, which can cause the transmission to unexpectedly downshift into second gear, potentially leading to a loss of vehicle control. I purchased this vehicle in Feb 2025 used 2013 Ford f 150 6 gear and this happened to me. I took it to the dealership, and they said the recall had expired and charged me over $1,300. 00 to repair. This vehicle was always dealer serviced with herb chambers of massachusetts and they failed to inform the previous owner of the recall. This Ford f150 2013 stx should be covered under this safety issue and they did not honor.

While towing a 5000lb camper to go camping, the vehicle spontaneously started fire. When I exited the vehicle I noticed smoke and flames coming from underneath the cab. I opened the hood and it appeared that the fire was coming from the transmission area. Attempts we're made to extinguish the fire while awaiting the arrival of the fire dept. Attempts by myself, and others were unsuccessful causing the fire to burn through the firewall and into the cab. I was in a rural area so it took approx. 15-20 minutes for the fire dept to arrive. The fire eventually burned through the dash and the front windshield. Fire dept arrived and were able to put out the fire. Needless to say the vehicle was totalled.

Vehicle suddenly and unexpectedly downshifts to first gear when driving at highway speed causing quick reduction in speed and control. No warning displays. Vehicle had also gone into limp mode about 3 months prior displaying wrench warning sign. In both cases vehicle ran fine after stopping and restarting.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the transmission abruptly downshifted from 6th gear to 1st gear, and the vehicle jerked and pulled to the right. No warning light was illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure and offered to perform a diagnostic test, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA campaign number: 19v433000 (power train). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 162,000.

When driving my 2013 F-150 it will downshift form 6 gear to 4th or 3rd gear unexpectedly. It will then be stuck in 3rd or 4th gear until I restart the vehicle. Please contact me for any other information @ [xxx] or [xxx] ask for [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission was slipping and hesitated to shift into gear. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who repaired the vehicle under NHTSA campaign number: 19v075000 (power train); however, the failure persisted after the recall repair. The contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, the vehicle experienced a loss of drive power. The speedometer went to zero without the vehicle decelerating. The transmission warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted, and the transmission warning light had disappeared. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who determined that the molded lead frame needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 167,401.

Vehicle went from 70 mph to 1st gear without driver. Pulled over restarted vehicle ran fine. Did it again. I have been told it is the lead frame assem ly and transmission sensor. Ford did not recall my year but dud a customer satisfaction. My vehicle exceeds 10 years. If this had been a recall they would fix it. Very dangerous when this happens.

Transmission shifts down to 2nd while traveling without warning. It was taken to local dealership but nothing found wrong at that time. It is available for inspection. The down shift was immediate and severe without warning, which was startling. We were traveling at regular speed when this occurred. It has been reported and was told there was no recalls, however, I now see recalls for f150s beginning year 2014. My truck is a 2013 but the recall for the 2014s is exactly what occurred with my 2013 f150.

On two separate occasions, the vehicle downshifted. Once while driving on the interstate at 70 mph, the vehicle downshifted to 3rd gear and locked up the tires. The rpms went up to 6000. The driver was nearly rear ended. In another instance while driving at 45 mph, the vehicle downshifted to 1st gear. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The issue cannot necessarily be reproduced on demand as it does not happen every time you drive the vehicle but it has happened more than once. The vehicle has been inspected by by a repair shop and the resolution appears to be a system update. There were no warnings, messages, or other symptoms prior to the events. The first event was in approximately January 2026 and the most recent incident February 22, 2026. The vehicle has not been driven since the last incident as we feel it is unsafe.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while accelerating from a stop, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted while driving at 15 mph. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed by the dealer that the vehicle had previously experienced a similar failure, and the transmission control module had been reprogrammed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 130,318.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact then became aware that the VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 19v433000 (power train). The vehicle was taken to a dealer, and the vehicle was repaired under the recall. The contact stated that recently, while driving 60 mph, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle; however, the failure returned soon after restarting the vehicle. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to the dealer, but was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle remained with the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 199,000.

While driving, the transmission deaccelerated into first gear while going 65 mph.

I will have random downshifts while driving my car. Sometimes on the highway at high speeds driving 65-70mph the Ford f150 trucks down shifts to a very low speed. Will also do it at 45 mph and downshift to a very low speed. Has almost caused accidents putting the safety of everyone in the truck and everyone behind the truck at risk of injury or death. From what I know, there are no warning lights on my truck I have already taken it for the recall on the 19s07 transmission sudden down shift(recall 6173).

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to 1st gear and nearly caused the contact to lose control of the vehicle. The vehicle was stopped, turned off, restarted and driven normally. The vehicle was driven back to the residence and has not been driven since. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

The vehicle continuously goes into limp mode caused by a bad sensor in the transmission, this is a known issue and Ford has not taken adequate responsibility causing an unnecessary financial burden to vehicle owners including myself. This likely affects millions of vehicles with this powertrain and they need to be held accountable.

While driving at a 40+ mph speed the truck suddenly downshift to 1st gear and all gauges stop working. 3rd will downshift to 1st and 5th to 3rd.

While driving the truck it suddenly shifts down gears, and shoots up rpms, causing the truck to slow down drastically and causing a loss of control in the truck. Potentially causing a severe accident. This issue could seriously cause harm to myself and to others especially going at highway speeds. When turned off the truck won’t start up again without clearing codes.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the transmission shifted improperly and became stuck in third gear. The vehicle went into “service mode” and the powertrain warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the speedometer became inoperable and remained at zero. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and remained stuck in third gear. The vehicle was then shifted into park(p), and there was a loud sound coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was turned off and restarted, and the failures ceased. The vehicle was then taken to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.

Transmission shift from 6th gear to 1st gear while on the highway. I nearly wrecked due to the sudden shift in gears. Once I pulled over and restarted the vehicle, it let me shift up to 3rd gear then went to some sort of safe mode and stayed between 3-5 gear. This is a known issue with Ford 2013 trucks. They issued a customer satisfactory letter, but you needed to have the error codes before they would fix it. It is now a couple outside of their "extended warranty" however I am way under their milage and now I am experiencing the issue. They will not fix the issue since their internal program has expired. According to their website this effects numerous Ford models over several years. This should be a safety recall.

Truck would randomly go into limp mode while driving. Highways, country roads, middle of town, making it difficult to pull off the road with no ability to accelerate to safely merge off the roadway. The cause was from the lead frame in the transmission which was under an “expired” recall 19n01. Dealership charged me $1,500 to fix this. How is this not a safety issue that should have been taken care of by the dealership at no charge. I just bought the truck mid December 2025 and am not happy to have to shell out $1,500 to fix a known issue like this.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 35 mph, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. In addition, the contact stated that during the failure, the transmission shifted extremely hard. The contact drove the vehicle to the shoulder of the road. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that an unknown recall repair was performed in 2021 on the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximately 185,000.

2013 f150 ecoboost ,cam phasers Ford truck and timing chain are known to go out on these trucks have not been recalled and yet should be.

Driving on the intetstate, the truck lost speed and went down to 5th gear. I have since been told that it is a problem that Ford has with 2013 f150s. It is a “molded lead frame”. It is a $2000 repair that is now out of warranty by 3 years. It has since done this twice while driving down the road, it just loses speed and the last time to almost a complete stop on the highway.

While driving around 45 mph, the truck down shifted into first gear without notice and almost caused the vehicle behind me to hit me as my vehicle decelerated quickly with no break lights. This happened two other times until I searched to see what the problem was to find out that Ford had a recall on this but it wasn't labeled as a safety one. How is that not a safety recall? Ford only had the recall for a 10 years from year of purchase or 150,000 miles. My truck is beyond the 10 years but not the miles. This seems there should be no limit due to the issue it forces. It seems many owners are experiencing this. The recall is called: campaign: 19n01.

I was driving on the freeway when all of a sudden my rear tires locked up and my truck started down shifting erratically. Luckily the road condition were good and I was able to bring the truck to a controlled stop. Restarted and truck is back to normal. Im having it repaired. Shop said its a known issue: transmission molded lead frame. Ford said not covered. I think I is a huge safety issue. I felt lucky I didnt crash.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that she received notice of manufacturer recall number: 19f07 and follow-up manufacturer recall: 19f19. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that the power control module needed to be reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired, but the contact stated that a year and seven months later, while driving at 75 mph, the vehicle downshifted into first gear, the rear tires locked up, and the vehicle began sliding and spinning out of control. The contact added that the gauges went to zero, and the vehicle crashed into a ditch. The contact and passengers did not sustain any injuries. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was restarted and driven to the residence. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where the lead frame needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 168,000.

My truck is associated with recall 19v-075. I had the local dealer perform the software flash however my transmission is now downshifting at highway speeds and I almost lost control.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. While driving approximately 70 mph on the highway, the transmission suddenly failed and shifted from 5th gear to 1st gear, which nearly caused a crash. The contact’s spouse pulled over at the nearest gas station. The vehicle was parked and later driven slowly to a dealer. The dealer indicated that the failure was related to NHTSA campaign number: 19v075000 (power train). The contact reported that a new oil leak was identified while the vehicle was at the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 275,000.

Four times in the previous two weeks, while driving between 20 and 50mph, the transmission has downshifted from 6th to 1st gear, locking the rear tires. Speedometer reads zero, airbag warning light illuminates, and odometer/mpg shows dashes instead of numbers. Ignition must be turned off and on to recover. Trusted private mechanic performed diagnostic: removed transmission pan, changed filter, checked electrical, and replaced fluid. Cost: $700. The issue was not resolved. Internet search suggests a known "lead frame" issue and recall. Valencia autonation Ford suggests having their technicians diagnose at a cost of approximately $350. I was quoted roughly $5500 to rebuild/replace the transmission. I reported this issue to Ford corporate "customer satisfaction" (case cxh-06529440-c7d1j5), but was offered no assistance. This complaint appears over 200(!) times in the NHTSA database just for 2013 Ford F-150 trucks. My family cannot drive this dangerous vehicle, and I cannot sell it in this condition.

I was driving about 55 mph when suddenly my 2013 truck down shifted to either first or third gear and I barely was able to control it to get off the road. The truck just bowed up and the vehicle behind me almost hit me. The speedometer stopped working and a wrench icon appeared. I tried to take off and the truck was stuck in third gear. Ford dealership said they would fix it if it was the oss sensor. I paid to have it towed and they charged me over 2,000. There was a safety recall 24s37 on the 2014 with the 6r80 transmission the same kind my truck has. My 2013 did exactly the same thing as the 2014 and I believe it should have a safety recall. There was a extended warranty or something either 10 years or 150,000. My truck has 130,000. I talked to Ford customer satisfaction but they have done nothing. I told them I was going to report it.

While taking my daughter to a friend's birthday party, we were traveling at a speed of ~50 miles per hour when the transmission downshifted from 5th or 6th gear directly to first gear for no reason. The back tires locked up when the rpms drastically increased, and the truck went into a skid. I believe my limited experience working on cars gave me the instinct to throw the shifter into neutral while applying the brakes. I was able to gain control of the vehicle prior to it fully going off into the ditch. After researching the issue, it became apparent this was a common problem with the 6r80 transmission that Ford knows about. I read numerous stories of the safety issues owners have had with this 6r80 transmission in the 12th gen f150. I brought the truck to my dealer, and they confirmed it was from the "lead frame" that Ford provided an extended warranty on. I was told the warranty didn't cover my vehicle (10 year/150k mile). This vehicle was purchased from the Ford dealership new in 2013 and has been in the family ever since. It currently only has 65k miles on it and has never had any work done to the transmission expect for a program flash at 26k miles in an attempt to prevent this exact issue. Outside of being disappointed that Ford was not willing to help with the expensive repair, my mind went to the safety aspect of what's going on. I believe Ford made the decision to not classify this as a safety recall to prevent paying for the replacement of the plastic lead frame on all 6r80 transmissions. While I understand this is costly to an auto manufacturer, I can't help but think of what the result of this safety issue would have been if my wife or an unexperienced driver was under control of this vehicle that day. I reached out to the Ford customer service rep and explained my safety concerns. I was told she would file it under safety and that I may or may not get a call. This confirms their lack of concern; hence I'm reaching out to the NHTSA.