general problems of the 2016 Ford F-150 - part 1

My Ford f150 randomly won't start. It also randomly down shifts while driving. There have been times I've been driving 50mph and the transmission starts down shifting on its own.

Today I was driving my truck at 55mph on a local highway and all of the sudden I felt/heard/experienced a massive clunk out of nowhere - almost like the truck tried to downshift into 1st or something similarly jarring. It only lasted a second, and then I got a dash light on that said service advancetrac. Based on the service codes I'm seeing (two of them that are both uo100 codes which indicate loss of communication), I did some research and found out about the oss sensor issue and think that's what is going on with my truck too. Unfortunately I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get a Ford dealership to do anything about it since there isn't an official recall, and I'm afraid to keep driving it as this is likely going to keep happening - but fixing it myself is going to be expensive I think. It is available for inspection upon request. I felt that my safety was and continues to be at risk - downshifting into 1st gear, or whatever that was, while driving high speeds is dangerous and could potentially significantly damage my vehicle and myself. I have not taken it anywhere yet to be reproduced or confirmed - just plugged my scanner in and did a bit of research. No one has inspected it.

I’m reporting a serious transmission issue with my 2016 F-150. While driving, the 'wrench' light suddenly pops up on my dash and the truck starts shifting erratically. Sometimes it feels like it’s searching for a gear or jerking unexpectedly. I had the codes scanned and found p0706, p0707, and p1921. These are all related to the transmission range sensor (trs) signal. I know the NHTSA is currently investigating this exact failure under ea26001 because it causes the truck to lose track of what gear it’s in. Even though my tires haven't locked up yet, the erratic shifting is making the truck unpredictable and dangerous to drive in traffic. It’s clearly the same lead frame defect that is being investigated for a recall.

2016 f150 5. 0l 6 speed transmission. Lead frame failure, output shaft speed sensor failure/lost communication with pcm. Truck had poor shifting, poor driving, eventually locked in 5th gear and went into limp mode. Only downshifted into 3rd when slowing to a stop. Continued limp mode. Dealer replaced lead frame after diagnosis of the failures.

While driving at approximately 55 mph the vehicle began to behave strangely. The "d" light for drive and the gear indicator began to flash. Then the transmission abruptly down shifted to 2nd gear from 5th then lost all power before returning to somewhat normal operation for a short period of time before happening again. The issue occurred multiple times in a 5 mile trip. If there was anyone close behind me it could have resulted in a crash, or it could result in myself losing control of the vehicle. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by a mechanic. There were no warning lamps or any messages prior to, during, or after the issue.

My truck has had multiple issues with randomly downshifting while on the freeway, I'm getting a code that leads back to the "lead frame" wiring every now and then. The code comes and goes without having it cleared. I've had this issue before and have replaced it with the Ford manufactured part. Its now doing it again but now more frequent not even a year and a half after replacement. I have been almost rear ended multiple times due to it locking up the rear tires and once it locked up the tire on ice and it caused me to slide into the median. There are multiple reports of this issue currently on many Ford truck forums. I am currently in the process of contacting Ford again as last time they said to just replace the wiring. My truck is equipped with the 6-speed transmission.

I was driving home and the truck started to shift very harshly and had died at a stoplight , I put it into park and restarted it and the engine light came on tried to put it into drive and it had jumped forward very rough as soon as I did, started driving again and then the truck shifted into 5th gear and would not shift out of 5th gear at all was very slowly leaving from stop signs and the high speed fans had turned on and ran the entire rest of the time. Causing very irratic shifting where at times it would down shift and skid the tires.

Turn signals, speed control radio functions, windsheild wipers stopped working! it effects people in front ,back or side knowing what I am doing so they can react like turning in any direction , my vision is blocked during rain or snow and will cause an accident harming me or others . ' no warning lamps came on when problem happened ! ' problem has been confirmed by a qualified mechanic !.

Transmission downshifting and electrical issues.

Vehicle is having ecm module errors and sensor issues just like other Ford models. It throws a code and then will not go above 5th gear or go below 3rd gear until vehicle is shut off and restarted. Once it restarts it is fine for a bit. It can go a few days in between malfunctions or can happen multiple times per day.

Our 2016 Ford F-150 experienced a sudden, forceful, uncommanded lane deviation while traveling at highway speed. Without warning or driver input, the vehicle abruptly jolted into the left lane. The steering was corrected and returned to our lane, but shortly afterward the truck again forcefully veered left. The movement felt comparable to being struck by another vehicle. There was no oncoming traffic at the time; however, had there been oncoming traffic, this would have resulted in a head-on collision. Weather conditions were calm, roads were dry, and visibility was clear. Prior to this incident, the vehicle exhibited no warning signs, including no pulling, steering issues, warning lights, or diagnostic codes. We immediately pulled over and had the vehicle towed to a mechanic who inspected the truck but could not replicate the issue. Although the vehicle was later driven approximately 120 miles home and short distances locally without recurrence, we believe it remains unsafe due to the unpredictable nature of this failure. A vehicle should never abruptly and forcefully change lanes without driver input. We have also experienced ongoing issues with the key becoming stuck in the ignition and intermittent starting problems, raising concerns about potential electrical or mechanical defects. This incident involved two uncommanded lane deviations under normal driving conditions with no identified cause or warnings. Due to the risk of serious injury or fatal collision, this remains an unresolved safety concern requiring investigation. We are requesting that NHTSA review this complaint, evaluate whether similar incidents indicate a pattern or defect involving the steering, transmission, or electronic control systems in the 2016 Ford F-150, and take appropriate action to protect public safety. Once we receive the NHTSA complaint number, we will also be submitting a formal complaint to Ford motor company requesting a thorough investigation and resolution.

Vehicle: 2016 Ford F-150, 5. 0l v8, 6r80 automatic transmission mileage at time of failure: approximately 118,000 miles approximate date of occurrence: late 2025 (late October to early November) while driving at speeds above approximately 40 mph, the transmission would randomly and unexpectedly downshift, causing a severe and sudden jerking motion accompanied by extremely high engine rpms. After several seconds, the transmission would violently upshift back into the original gear. Most occurrences involved the transmission downshifting one or two gears; however, on multiple occasions it downshifted from 6th gear directly to 2nd gear while traveling at highway speeds. This caused the rear wheels to momentarily lock up, creating a dangerous loss of traction and loss of vehicle control. These events occurred frequently, including during short trips, and were not related to driver input, braking, or road conditions. During these incidents, the check engine light and wrench warning light would illuminate. Diagnostic trouble code p0720 (output shaft speed sensor circuit) was consistently stored. This pointed to a failure within the transmission molded lead frame, which houses the output shaft speed sensor and related circuitry. Due to the severity of the symptoms and the known issues with the Ford 6r80 transmission molded lead frame, I replaced the molded lead frame myself. After replacement, the erratic downshifting, wheel lockup, warning lights, and fault codes were completely resolved. The vehicle has operated normally since the repair. Ford has a documented history of issues related to molded lead frame failures in 6r80 transmissions, including erratic shifting and loss of speed sensor data. This failure presented a significant safety risk, particularly at highway speeds, due to sudden and uncontrollable deceleration and momentary wheel lockup.

While driving the instrument cluster would flicker and then the truck would down shift gears. The first time it did, it dropped from 6th gear to 3rd gear at 70 mph, and the next time it dropped from 6th to 1st around 65 mph. It also occurred at lower rates of speed.

Rear view camera dows not function correctly, black screen, distorted screen, or no visibility. I indicated 9/1/2025 as the date but has been like this for longer.

2016 f150 lariat - backup camera warning system is not working. Safety issue - when the vehicle transmission is placed in reverse the backup camera does not function. The touch screen in the cab displays a blue screen with the words "please check surroundings for safety". The camera image displaying the rear area behind the vehicle should be displayed in the touch screen in the cab. This backup camera warning system malfunction has recently been reported and included in a large recall including 2017 vehicles but does not include the 2016 vehicles.

Intermittent flashing of gear selectors (prndm) and gears 1-6. When putting in park it loses what gear it is in and nothing highlighted, so then the truck will not start. While driving and this begins, it gets stuck in gear and gear selectors start flashing as it does not know what gear it is in. Lead frame problem in the 6r80 is what detect it is showing. Please help with getting this covered under a recall!.

The truck suddenly gave all kinds of warning signals like horn honking, side lights flashing, auto door locking/unlocking, etc. I had to disable the horn for not bothering the neighbors. I drove to Ford dealership without horn but with the fear from the bcm signals. The dealer service spent 5 days and eventually found the problem. It is "water intrusion causing bcm malfunctioning". Further diagnosis is that water came from heater box/ac condensation. The truck is 8. 5 years old and has only 50k miles. How could it happen? the service manager and all mechanics never saw this happened with a Ford f150. But after searching on internet and consulting chatgpt, we were told this is a known issue for Ford f150 made in 2015 to 2017 although there is no recall for it. For technical details you may reach parrish Ford at 2900 river rd. , goochland, va 23063. The service manager is jason evens. His phone # is 804-556-4444 ext 2145. Thanks.

While driving, the vehicle has been going into limp mode at varying speeds on the roadway or while pulling onto the road. The problem lies within the components of the electric throttle body. The system malfunctions and locks the throttle body closed, thus putting the truck into limp mode. Shutting the vehicle off, waiting, and restarting temporarily resolves this issue until the pcm detects a fault in the electrical components of the throttle body and sends the truck into limp mode. When this happens, it also triggers a warning message regarding hill start assist. This is an extreme safety issue as pulling onto the roadway or loosing power in traffic and not being able to pull off can lead to collisions especially around blind curves or in heavy traffic. There also isn’t always a location to safely pull off the roadway, potentially leaving the vehicle and its operator in the roadway, increasing the risk of collision and injury.

When you turn ignition off, pull key out of ignition and open driver door. The doors unlock but the tailgate will not. It won't even make the sound of it unlocking or locking. Its stuck shut, handle won't do anything.

Radio system.

On 4 separate occasions approaching stops/stoplights the engine shuddered and died leaving me without power steering or power brakes. Three additional occasions while taking off from stops the engine did the same thing and dies suddenly causing the vehicles behind me to rear end one another. The electrical system has malfunctioned while driving, leaving me without blinkers, headlights or dash lights. The dealer as well as Ford are aware of the problem and have issued reports regarding the faulty engines. This truck has been in the dealership multiple times without remedy from Ford. There is no warning prior to the engine shuddering and cutting off. These issues have been reported since the first month of ownership. We purchased this vehicle new.

Driving out of town for a trip and out of nowhere at?steering assist fail? alert hill decent alert.

While trying to backup my rear view screen camera is black and flashing on and off so fast that I can’t gauge how close or far I am away from an object. Everything works ( radio, gps, source and other things) with in the screen it self. But the problem is threatening to my safety. I ve tried to reset it by the recommendation of Ford but to no avail.

2016 f150 3. 5l eco boost v-6 was purchased recently from used dealership. Upon taking possession the vehicle would shut down while driving. I would need to get to the shoulder of road, put truck in park, turn off vehicle and then restart. It’s happened 20 times in last 30 days. I’ve taken to dealership 5x and they are unable to resolve, diagnose or offer any help. Online, many other owners have noted same issue. Doing 65 on fwy and truck suddenly dies is big deal! Ford does nothing. Error message on dash says something about stability track. When restarting engine, it turns over many times as if flooded but then starts.

Unexpected gear downshift accompanied by a temporary rear wheel lock-up. This occurs at highway speeds and has shifted from 6th gear to 2nd gear multiple times at 50+ mph. This causes substantial safety concerns to both those in the vehicle as well as other vehicles on the road in the immediate proximity. When this occurs speed is restricted suddenly/immediately by a reduction of 5-12 mph. This causes severe impact to passengers. At low speed the gears shift sporadically between all 6 gear ranges impacting drivability. The vehicle has been inspected several times by corwin Ford however they clear the codes and 'can not replicate' which correlates to the dealership deeming it safe to operate. There were multiple warning lights/lamps, messages when delivered to the dealership. Those were then cleared prior to 'diagnostics' as that was 'their process'.

Approximately a year ago I started having trouble with the shifting in my transmission. Had the fluid changed thinking this may be the problem. My engine light continued to stay on and has been on ever since. Periodically the truck will down shift or not shift into another gear without the rpms going above 3000.

Occasionally on startup will hard shift then get stuck in 5th,3rd,or 1st gear and will move slowly upon accelerating. This will also happen when driving at different speeds. Cooling fan will also be running on high speed. Had lead frame and valve body replaced($2000) but within two weeks symptoms returned. Truck is now in dealer waiting for replacement transmission to come in($7000) will add receipt when vehicle is returned.

While driving the truck jumps back and forth between drive and manual multiple times and then goes. Happens occasionally and has been going on for about a week. Then today, it did it again and all gauges flicked on and off and jumped between gears. It first happened on the highway doing 70mph and it's like it dropped down to first gear and throws you forward.

I need to report failure fixing my car recall named *faulty door latch harvard Ford texted me to rake my car to get done but they did a bad job repair instead of replace recall part they didnt they did cut out wire harness instead . Therefore that damaged tye auto now reverse cam screen is not working . Tye doors open itself while im driving it . Dash board is not also working im filling a complaint against harvard Ford dealership the solution zi need is the following they need to replace all complete new wire harness ASAP. Aldi new reverse cam and screen . Im attached all proof of the damage . .

Transmission gets stuck in 3rd or sometimes 5th gear when in drive. Shifting to 1, 2, or m does nothing; shifting from neutral to reverse or drive creates a large clunk and lunge. It seems to be the same issue as the 2014 F-150 & expedition 6r80 transmission recall and is so common that it took no time at all to find out what my problem likely is. . This is the 5th time this has happened. Two times were when pulling out onto very busy roads, once in a parking lot, once in a field, and once turning into my alley; some incidents were years apart. If it were to happen again when I needed 1st gear to avoid being hit, I would not have the power for needed acceleration or to make a proper maneuver. It also acts very funny when it happens and creates a very large distraction from driving. When I was able to get back off the main road, it seemed like there was light smoke coming from under the truck so I shut the vehicle down in the middle of a smaller road, which was dangerous enough. I have less than 30,000 miles on my truck and am very maintenance minded; this should not be a worry I should have to have. This appears to be the result of a defective part in the transmission called the "lead frame" and it is not easy to find a new one right now due to the excessive amount of them needing replacement.

When shifting the truck into gear the lights such as the parking, driving, neutral, reverse and lower gears lights as well as the lights showing which gears the trucks shifting into do not light up! therefore, you cannot tell what gear the truck is currently placed into. Also, if the lights do light up, they flicker very erratically, and the truck will change gears on its own. When driving the vehicle, the truck will just suddenly change gears and makes a hard shift into lower or higher gear or gears which is extremely dangerous. This makes the truck feel like I've been hooked up to another vehicle that is trying to snatch me backwards. I was driving on the highway the other day and the truck went from 6th gear doing over 70mph to all of a sudden downshifting and dropping down to 40mph on the highway. I thought the engine and transmission were both going to explode on me and cause an accident. This was extremely terrifying and if I didn't keep my cool it could have easily caused a wreck. Most people would have freaked out had an accident. The truck barely made it home because of the gears shifting all over the place and the truck wanting to lose power and shut down. This is extremely dangerous and the representative I spoke to from Ford agreed that considering the mileage of the truck and with the recent recalls concerning transmissions being recalled for the exact same issues that my truck is experiencing that I needed to call you guys and get my tuck added to the Ford F-150 recall list for the transmission issues Ford trucks have been having. The truck is a 2016 Ford F-150 XLT. This is the case number provided to me from Ford to give you Ford case # cxh03020325.

This has happened on four separate occasions. When driving, we suddenly get a warning about hill assist, immediately followed by a warning about stability control, immediately followed by the check engine wrench light. At the exact same time, vehicle shakes very hard and loses acceleration, almost like the connection between the pedal and the engine was cut. Today, we were going about 70mph on the freeway when it happened, and all we could do was put the hazards on and let it roll in neutral. Luckily, we found a bit of shoulder to pull off on. Everyone was in danger because we lost the engine at speed. I'm scared to imagine what would have happened going up an incline. On each of these occasions, turning everything off, waiting, and then turning it back on was what it took for it to be drivable again. We have taken it to the dealership multiple times and they either sell us a 'fix' that doesn't work, or they tell us nothing is wrong with it. Looking at forums online, this problem seems to be one many people have experienced. None of them have found a solution. They suggest problems with wheel sensors and traction control systems. No one has gotten any answers from Ford. It looks like another manufacturer had a suit filed against them for the same problem. Either way, Ford is knowingly letting people drive around with vehicles that can lose engine acceleration power at any time, anywhere. We could have died today, and realistically, us and everyone around us are at risk of injury or death every time we drive this thing. We can't get any answers, and Ford dealership either can't or won't help.

This truck is plagued with electric problems that the Ford dealership cannot solve. No other local Ford dealer will even look at it. See problems below: engine light with varying codes tire pressure sensors stopped displaying on screen O2 senor codes intake camshaft position sensor codes electronic steering gear stop working left half of steering wheel option wont work (cruise control, menu, etc. ) radio stays on (even with battery disconnected at one point) taillights stop working intermittently (good bulbs, fuses, etc. ) blinkers stop working intermittently (good bulbs, fuses, relays, etc. ) windows rollup/down by themselves synch displays messages at odd times while vehicle is in motion 911 assist tries to dial out ac stopped working intermittently transmission tries to downshift by itself four wheel drive selector knob wont engage sometimes engine will run fine then continually die and rough rough (then will have periods of no issues. ).

When operating the turn signal and using the wipers on delay, I smelled a plastic like burning smell thinking it was the wiring in the controller arm. This happened several times and eventually the wiper runs 100% on the time delay with no way to turn off except by pulling the fuse. I can operate the normal speeds of the wipers when it rains if needed but I still get a smell sometimes. I have not had the issue looked at but will next week at an independent repair shop. I'm concerned maybe an electrical issue could cause a fire at some point in time.

The "service advance trac" light would come on and the vehicle would go into limp mode. Limp mode would last until the vehicle was turned off. This happened 4 times in all. Once in March and three times in June. It always occurred shortly after the initial start of the day. The vehicle is available for additional inspection if and when needed. When the vehicle goes into limp mode, a loss of power occurs. This is a safety concern as moving through intersections from a complete stop is unusually slow and lagging. The Ford dealership did not find the root cause during initial inspection, which resulted in a bad diagnosis and an unneeded repair. The second dealership visit, 3 months after the initial, resulted in finding a chafed wiring harness. It had rubbed against a frame rail near the radiator. The chafing not only rubbed through the harness insulation, but also the insulation on some of the wires inside of the large harness/bundle of wires. The warning lights first appeared in March of 2024 when the unneeded repair was performed. Three months later, in June of 2024, the chafed wiring harness was discovered and repaired by a Ford dealer in apple valley, mn. I will do my best to provide the dealer video of the issue as well as the two invoices associated with the repairs. Within the invoices there are excellent notes left by the technicians that describe their findings. With the June invoice resulting in repairing the root cause. I cannot upload the video, so I posted it to youtube. The chafed wires and rubbing on the frame rail can be seen near the end of this 95 second video: [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).