Automatic Transmission Control Module problems of the 2018 Ford F-150

After Ford performed a pcm (powertrain control module) reprogramming recall on 16 July 2025, the vehicle began experiencing repeated engine misfires, loss of power, and engine warning lights. The condition progressively worsened, leading to a leaking fuel injector, an egr valve that stuck open, and eventual internal engine damage requiring full engine replacement. These failures involve pcm-controlled systems (ignition timing, fuel injection, and exhaust gas recirculation) and occurred shortly after the recall calibration. The issue has been confirmed and documented by an authorized Ford dealer. The truck has become unsafe to drive due to stalling and shuddering at highway speeds, which could pose a risk of loss of vehicle control. Warning lamps and a wrench icon appeared intermittently before the engine shuttering and loss of power. The vehicle and all repair documentation are available for inspection upon request.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle was jerking abnormally. The contact stated that the transmission was shifting hard. The contact stated that while driving with the transmission shifting from 9th gear to 10th gear, the transmission shifted to neutral, and the vehicle started to coast. The contact stated that the wrench symbol was displayed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer on five occasions, where it was diagnosed and determined that the tcm needed to be reprogrammed, and the transmission needed to be replaced or rebuilt. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed there was no recall coverage for the failure, but would attempt to assist with the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.

Transmission: sluggish upshift (vehicle feels like it is being pulled backwards), hard shifting and sudden downshifts at speeds in excess of 35 mph. Narrowly avoided getting rear-ended during rush hour traffic. I have not taken the vehicle to the dealership due to being afraid to drive it. No warning lamps, but symptoms started about two weeks ago but were very intermittent and easily resolved with a tcm relearn. Symptoms are similar to the known issues with the Ford 10r80 cdf drum issues. I will be having the vehicle towed to the service center next week for a diagnosis and way forward. On 18 June 2025, I was traveling home from work. I stopped at a red light and waited for the light to turn green. The light turns green and the line of cars (roughly 20, with the lead car approximately 5 ahead of me) begin to proceed through the light. As I passed through the intersection and began to pick up speed, my vehicle shifted into 6th gear at about 40 mph. Less than 2 seconds after shifting into 6th, it shifted down to 1st gear, lost all power to the drivetrain, and almost caused a collision between me and the car behind me in a busy residential area. Pressing the accelerator only revved the engine. I turned my hazards on and shifted the vehicle to manual and was able to get it going again but the same symptoms happened at my next stop and have persisted since.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to properly shift into gear as needed. The vehicle would downshift to 3rd or 4th gear intermittently. The contact stated that the transmission was shifting rough, causing the body of the vehicle to shake abnormally. Additionally, the vehicle hesitated before accelerating as needed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle with transmission failure. The dealer reprogramed the tcm; however, the failure persisted. The dealer determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 149,873.

Background: I’ve had my f150 for 7 years. For 6. X years though, the truck was operating with improper software in the powertrain control module (pcm) that managed the emissions system’s control and monitoring. This is according to the Ford recall notice in Feb 2025 (2e14) stating the above. To address the recall, a Ford technician came to my house, performed the software recall update, and immediately afterwards, my check engine light came on. Days later, back at the Ford dealer, they charged me a $200 diagnostic fee, and concluded my catalytic converter was bad and needed replacement. And the $2000 repair would be my responsibility since my mileage was (now) over the emissions warranty limit. My question to them was: “when did the catalytic converter fail”? dealer answer: not sure. The old/incorrect software couldn’t detect when it went bad. My comment: so the converter may have failed in year 1 ,2, 3, 4 or 5 (still in warranty term) and just not flagged it back then? dealer answer: it’s possible, no way to know for sure. Point there’s a good chance the part actually ‘failed’ during the warranty period. How can Ford logically assign responsibility to me when the software was ‘incorrect’ for 6 years?? I don't like driving a truck that's polluting more due to a failed catalytic converter, but the dealer wasn’t able to explain why it failed after the warranty period. I feel that Ford should replace the converter at their cost since the point of failure was most likely during warranty, but never triggered due to the defective/recalled software that the truck had for it's entire life. There are online people saying similar. Got the recall done, then was told they needed a $2000 repair to the converter. I suppose many will just continue to drive with the non functioning catalytic converter.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked extremely hard and then the vehicle lost motive power. Additionally, the contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred several times within two weeks however, the check engine warning light recently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the diagnostic test was performed, and the dtc code: p068a was retrieved. The contact researched the diagnostic code and determined that the code indicated the pcm failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,155.

The 10 speed transmission left the factory as a failure waiting to happen. It will up shit and down shift numerous/many gears without notice. At 45 mph will downshift to 1st gear without any warning, going around turns, in the rain and snow it will make for a hand full to drive. I have taken up numerous lanes to trying to keep from crashing and hurting anyone. To keep from overrevving the engine and kicking the rods out of it, one must immediately slam on the brakes. It will hold numerous gears at once, when this happens the trans fights itself internally and 100 % of forward motion is lost. Not fun when making a left turn getting up to speed. It will also slam into gears when up shifting and downshifting, it will startle you and you will have to stop accelerating to let it hunt for a single gear ( hopefully not first ). Ford suggests resetting the tcm and ecm and removing any codes. New this wouldn't help but what did I have to loose. No better after the relearn. (I'm an ase master tech ) worked on them and built them for the past 45 years.

Transmission misses gears, causes truck to rev and then bang into gear. Accelerating onto highways or to pass the vehicle alternately loses power or over revs then the truck jerks around and slams into gear. Accelerating to enter a highway is dangerous because you cant be sure it will continue to accelerate, avoiding other cars is not always possible when the transmission is slipping. We have had it to a shop, we have had the tcm reprogrammed, we have had the transmission valve body replaced, nothing makes it better. There is a light that looks like a wrench that eventually came on after a few weeks of the above. Then the light randomly went off and the transmission acted ok for about 2 weeks, then it came back on and its worse than ever now.

Power train light came on a busy highway, transmission disengage from engine ,vehicle stops in the middle of traffic. Towed truck to the dealership on the on the 08/21/23. Reset pcm and tcm module. On the 09/07/23 same problem vehicle stop in traffic. Truck would not move in drive or reverse when engine running ,towed to the dealership today .

When pulling out of driveway and starting to accelerate the vehicle feels like it lurches forward from the rear as if rear ended. Dealership notes after review don’t reflect the issue that actually originally occurred and brought in for. Dealership reset the tcm and stated it resolved the reverse wnngage issue and temporarily resolved the power accelerate issue and drove fine for a day or two. Then on the third day it lurched again and lost all acceleration but engine reeves let foot off gas and then tried again to accelerate and same thing as I began to pull over the vehicle lunged forward again nearly making me drive off the road. This is a safety concern for myself as I live on a major highway and need to accelerate out of my driveway up to 65 and could pose a major accident. It has also dont this daily other times over the past few weeks while driving around town not just as I leave the house.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that during cold starts, he heard a ticking and tapping sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that after idling for five seconds, the ticking and tapping sound subsided. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed by the technician of a known issue and provided information regarding TSB: 20-2315 (replace the vct and update pcm). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was advised to call the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall and advised to call the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 70,600.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford f150. The contact stated while starting the vehicle the contact heard a rattling noise coming from the vehicle and the steering started shaking but no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the pcm was reprogramed but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer again and stated timing chain needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and did not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 100,172.

Engine makes awful rattling and consumption of oil is ridiculous even after I had them supposedly fix problem which was change the dipstick and reprogram the pcm I believe that's it and now the rear end is being changed for the 2nd time in a year. All the oil is still being consumed somewhere no leaks and my engine shakes and bogs and makes noises like driving a standard. Transmission is lacking on shifting and hard shifting for sure. It needs to be on a recall to fix transmission and engine issues. I barely got 87k and I got it at 56k and I have had all this crap. Done with it.

10r80 transmission disengages. 2018 f150 with 136,000 miles, transmission began intermittent shifting at approximately 120,000 miles. Reported to dealership, asked for tcm/ecm update. Dealership refused, saying there was no update for this vehicle. Replaced the valve body and shift solenoids at 134,000 no change. At roughly 135,000 miles called a different Ford dealership in my area, service writer stated there is still no software update for this vehicle, & casually said it's probably a clutch problem. The transmission 'works' properly when it is gear, it does not select or shift properly. At times, the transmission disengages and throttle control is lost, sometimes during these events the engine races, other times it goes to idle. Either way, throttle pedal is ineffective. Contrary to the service writer's assumption, this is not clutches, it is software. This condition is dangerous as the transmission often disengages when accelerating onto the roadway, during these episodes, the driver has to take evasive action to avoid being hit from behind or worse, in cross traffic, from the side.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 20 mph, the vehicle hesitated during acceleration and made an abnormal rattling noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the failure was related to customer satisfaction programs: 21b10 (cam phaser replacement) and 21n08 (pcm reprogram due to engine shudder) however, the warranty had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the previous owner was mailed notification of customer satisfaction program: 21b10 (cam phaser replacement) and provided no further assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

My 10-speed transmission in my Ford F-150 is experiencing gear slipping, harsh shifting, jerking, sudden accleration, hesitation problems, and general loss of power. It started doing this at roughly 60,536 miles and Ford and the dealer refuse to assist with the current issue due to the vehicle being out of warranty. The dealer told me it would cost an out of pocket fee of $8,000. I have changed the transimission fluid my self and the vehicle continues to run above 245 degrees with a check engine light. The fault that I continue to see is a powertrain failure. After taking it in for a service to get my tcm updated, the technicians said it was up to date and there was nothing else they could do for it. My service history is as follows: March 15, 2022 when the dealr told me I needed a new front differential, November 28, 2022. Dec. 10, 2022.

The 10r80 10-speed automatic F-150 sport XLT exhibits a loud bang (metal on metal sound) noise when starting engine, shifting into reverse or drive during cold or warm operation. Transmission will stall in between gears (particular 3, 7 and 10), lose of power, not accelerating or shifting while operating. Once power is regain, shifting become jerky (whiplash like) making vehicle propel harshly and operating unsafely on highways. I've made dealer aware of mishaps in 2019 and several times in 2021. The vehicle did not present warning lamps in 2019, but presented warnings in 2021. Dealer has re-calibrated/reprogrammed the pcm or tcm module on each service and commented that problem didn't reoccur during diagnosis. July 5th 2021, I've requested for a test ride with mechanic, immediately in front of dealership on route 7 we noticed the grinding of gears, harsh jerky shifting and loss of acceleration in heavy traffic area, which put our life along with others who where on the highway that day in jeopardy. Mechanic requested to perform a thorough diagnosis for sharing with Ford customer care in two weeks (July 20, 2021). This has changed due to truck unable to shift gears properly on July 9th on route 29 (heavy traffic area during rush hour) problem worsen and vehicle was not able to sustain power in between gears. Vehicle is now with Ford dealership in warrenton va, awaiting a thorough transmission diagnosis. My first report of hard shifting, my vehicle had less than 15k miles and was under the 30,000 miles mechanical warranty. Per the koons Ford mechanic, Ford is aware of this problem but do not have a fix at this time. Per reports, Ford has been aware this problem since 2017, but didn't make their consumers aware nor fixed the issue. Overall this model is unsafe to operate and attention is needed before their are critical accidents on major highways. Ford has to take action, either buy back these models or fixed the problem.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the gear shifter engaged independently. No warning light was illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The first time the failure had occurred the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the pcm software needed to be updated and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.

On thurs. , may 20, 2021, about 5:00 pm central, I was traveling south on the edens express in the chicago area, traveling at highway speed (approximately 70+ mph) when all of a sudden and without warning my power train cut out and I received an error message, check engine and drive mode not available came up after I came to a stop, turned the vehicle off and tried to re-engage the transmission to drive off. My truck stopped forward motion and I had to coast to a stop on the right hand side of the road. I was between exits 34 and 35, about 1. 25 miles north of the skokie/old orchard exit. I contacted Ford road service and they towed the truck to my local Ford dealer, napoleon Ford in libertyville, IL. Ford service indicated that the issue was caused by the powertrain control module (pcm). Service re-flashed the pcm and said that was the only fix necessary. My concern is that this issue happened suddenly and without any warning while I was traveling at highway speed. While I was lucky enough to be in the right-hand lane (of the 3 lane highway), that was only because I was planning to exit at the skokie/old orchard exit which was the next exit. Had I been away from the right-hand lane or someone was tailgating me when this happened (or going up a hill), the consequences might not have been so good for my personal well-being. I wanted to bring this to your attention in case this is happening to other Ford F-150 truck with similar pcms. When I asked Ford service what caused the error in the pcm, they could not give me a reason nor could they say what caused the error, leaving it as unknown whether this will happen again.

Clicking/grinding noise on deceleration between 1000-2000 rpm. I had the necessary TSB 18-2354 (reprogram pcm for noise complaint) completed on vehicle with no change. I've read many articles about this issue and no one has had their vehicle fixed from this issue. Ford has said this is normal but a clicking noise under deceleration is never normal especially when it started happening after driving 500-1000 miles on the vehicle. My vehicle currently has 22,000 miles on it and when I first bought the vehicle at 21,000 miles it never made the noise until about 500 miles into it. I fear that the noise could be causing debris to get into the engine and or transmission. I wish Ford would be more serious about this issue since many people have had this problem with their 2018-2019 Ford F-150 and mustangs. Ford says this is a normal characteristic but it can't be normal if the noise was never their and starts up after 500-1000 miles of driving. Many people have had this issue and it hasn't been resolved. Please find a fix. I just spent $33,000 on a vehicle and I do not wish to spend money to replace an engine or transmission.

Vehicle has hard shifts and has been reprogrammed 3 times in the last year. Pcm was reprogrammed due to a chain rattle or slapping at 1500-2000rpms, gas mileage has went to 13-14 mpg highway after last attempt to fix.

I have been having issues with my trucks transmission, it is the Ford 10r80 ten speed transmission, it has been slamming into 6th gear so hard that it feels like I'm getting rear ended, I don't even have 50,000 miles on the tuck yet and it's been doing it since it had 29,000 miles on it. My transmission has been to multiple dealerships on six accounts as of today (1-13-22) with an appointment for a seventh time on (1-24-22). The dealerships have acknowledged the problem, and reprogrammed the computer according to their TSB but that did not fix the issue and the tcm computer had been replaced as well. I was told that since the transmission is not giving a code to their scanners, they can not fix the problem. It is potentially a safety hazard because if the transmission finally failes while driving on the main roads or highway, myself and anyone around could be severely injured or killed when the truck loses all power from the trans and stops. This issue has been happening since I purchased the used truck on 6-13-2020 and has never flashed a check engine light or warning. I have seen over many social media outlets that I am not the only one having this issue with the 10r80 transmission, and that there is even a class action lawsuit on that model transmission as well.

Driving at speed, push on accelerator to pass other vehicles or enter highway from onramp, transmission downshifts so hard with a loud clunk that tires lose traction and it feels like my vehicle has been struck. This has been happening since the truck was new. The dealer has reprogrammed the pcm per recall 182274a, but the reprogramming has not fixed the issue. If anything, it has been worse and happens more frequently than before the reprogramming.

Tl the contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. While driving various speeds, the transmission downshifted on its own. The vehicle was taken to joel confer Ford (2935 penns valley pike, centre hall, bellfornte, PA) on several occasions for the same failure and the transmission control module was reprogrammed; however, the failures continued. The manufacturer was notified of the failures, but no assistance was offered. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 10,000.