general problems of the 2018 Ford F-150 - part 1

This vehicle has been into the Ford dealer multiple times for transmission slipping type issues. From before the 60,000 mile powertrain warranty ended and after. The dealer said the only thing needed was an update and reset. Today a different Ford dealer has informed me that during the transmission flush, there are tiny specks and slivers of metal. The engine issue in regard to cam phaser repair recall/customer service bulletin has been leaking due to issues with proper sealant. The rear camera goes out and screen turns white at times.

On xxx at approximately 5pm my passenger and I were traveling west on the xxx from [xxx] to [xxx]. While driving at highway speeds with cruise control on at approximately 75/80 miles an hour, my 2018 f150 3. 5ecoboost with the 10r80 10-speed automatic transmission suddenly without any input from myself, the transmission jerked out of gear causing the rear end to shudder violently. The vehicle briefly went into limp mode, after I pulled over and stopped, I turned the vehicle off and let it sit. When I turned it back on the limp mode went away but the transmission felt like it was slipping gears. My vehicle has only had light city and highway driving and never towed anything. With the known issues and on going class action lawsuits against Ford motor company regarding the 10r80 transmission, evidence shows my vehicle is also suffering from the known dangerous 10r80 10-speed transmission issues. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Approximately four months ago, my truck started shifting hard going into second gear, then it quickly became jerky shifting in other gears with slippage, dangerous hesitation and engagement problems. It was so bad that I was almost rear-ended 3 times. Then the hesitation happened more often and a few times lost all power to transmission, and I had to stop in moving traffic for the transmission to find a gear. Very dangerous situation! a few weeks later, sudden downshifts for no reason were happening. I am the second owner of this truck that had 24,000 miles when I purchased it, and now it only has 49,500 miles with major transmission issues that are unsafe for me and my passengers, and the vehicles around me. The Ford dealer in my area has had my truck for a week, and nobody has called me, only making things worse. Hesitation or delayed engagement sudden downshifts clunking noises occasional loss of power.

Typical 10r80 transmission problems you’ve guys seen a million times and have yet to force Ford to issue a recall . I can’t even make it through an intersection without it stopping suddenly and putting me in danger . Please do something. This is gonna cost me a lot of money to fix .

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered intermittently and had occurred on several occasions. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact researched and was made aware of an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 111,000.

Component; likely the transmission safety revs went to almost zero on highway. Transmission seemed to stop the truck. Then intermittent on and off transmission. Seriously struggled to get the truck off the highway momentarily no ability to control speed: then on and off with the acceleration. Very scary! sudden drop in speed on the highway could have caused an accident with no brake lights on problem been reproduced: not to my knowledge. Its at a dealer now. Not safe to drive been inspected: at dealer now prior warning - lamps etc: none whatsoever oil lamp came on, then the check engine light came on well after the initial scare.

I believe this was a cdf clutch drum failure on the 10r80 transmission. Caused me to loose power midway through a signalized intersection. It is currently at the shop being diagnosed, but may be available for inspection upon a timely request. This issue put me and my family at risk because it caused my vehicle to stop in the middle of the road. No warning lamps, but the truck will no longer shift past 2nd gear.

I am submitting this complaint regarding a serious and ongoing transmission safety concern with my 2018 Ford F-150 3. 0l diesel. The vehicle has repeatedly exhibited unsafe and unpredictable transmission behavior, including harsh downshifts at highway speeds, delayed gear engagement, slow transitions between gears, and abrupt jolting that can forcefully move occupants forward. These issues create a safety risk because the vehicle does not shift predictably during normal driving, including at highway speeds and during acceleration or deceleration. The vehicle was previously taken in for service due to these transmission concerns. At that time, the transmission fluid was found to be approximately 75% low. The dealer performed a software update; however, the transmission problems have continued and may have worsened since that repair attempt. Today, the vehicle displayed a transmission-related error stating: “the transmission control module has detected a concern when trying to shift to 4th gear. A failsafe logic disables 4th gear for the remainder of this key cycle. ” this warning indicates that the vehicle’s transmission control module detected a fault during operation and disabled 4th gear as a protective measure. This is a significant escalation from rough or delayed shifting, as the vehicle is now entering a failsafe condition that removes a gear while the vehicle is being driven. The condition presents a safety concern because the transmission may downshift unexpectedly, hesitate, jolt, or fail to provide expected acceleration or power delivery. This could be especially dangerous while driving at highway speeds, merging into traffic, passing, towing, or navigating traffic where predictable power and gear engagement are necessary. The abrupt shifting and jolting are severe enough to physically move the driver and passengers forward, creating concern for loss of vehicle control or a crash. The prior service action did not resolve the problem.

Ford F-150 have a known transmission failure problem which causes them to have to be replaced with low mileage due to the cdf drum. This causes the transmission to hit hard while the operator is driving which could cause them to lose control. Ford is aware of the problem and has refused to fix it.

When cold: - delays in shifts, sometimes up to a few seconds, hard jolt due to revs being too high once it finally shifts (really bad in 2nd gear, pretty bad in 3rd) - slight delay in overdrive gears sometimes (7th, 8th, 9th, 10th) after warming - delay upshifting into 4th and 5th almost always, even in manual mode - slight jolt downshifting into 6th at random: - gearbox gets confused and defaults to downshifting to 1st. This happens when accelerating. Has happened upshifting to 4th, 8th, 9th. When this happens, it will actually downshift to 1st when attempting to upshift to 4th. When this happens while attempting to upshift to overdrive gears, it does not actually downshift (money shift) to 1st, luckily. - might be slipping a bit in 3rd or 4th gear.

I think that Ford needs to a recall on these 10r80 transmissions, I was driving a week ago and suddenly I went to limp mode. Went to gear one now transmission is hesitating.

Truck has reoccurring issue of shifting from 10 to 1 at highway speeds causing me to shift into neutral as to not wreck. No check engine light or trans light, which makes proving it to dealer is impossible. Only happens once every few months. Through forscan I can see the oss speed sensor drops voltage briefly then regains voltage. This is a very expensive yet very dangerous truck and Ford needs to be held accountable before someone dies. . . .

The transmission will shift from whatever gear it is to a random lower gear usually 1-4.

The transmission in my f150 sometimes will down shift harshly when coming to a stop causing a sudden jolt that is very alarming. This does not happen very often. What is very consistent are these two symptoms. During acceleration it shifts very hard going to 3rd to 5th, skipping 4th all together. When accelerating up to highway speeds and merging the shift from 7th to 8th is delayed, and the engine rpms spike. The inconsistency in the acceleration makes me wary that an unalert driver may rear end me.

The vehicle has gotten stuck in 7th gear before, it also has almost completely stopped, wouldn't accelerate and shifted down and up. It is not drivable now with only 58500 miles on it. I am afraid to drive it by myself and I would never take my family anywhere in it as it poses a safety hazard / danger.

I previously had an issue with my 10 speed f150 transmission shifting into first gear at highway speeds and locking into first gear. It was taken to the dealer and had a tail shaft speed sensor replaced. It had been issue free for a few years now, but the issue happened again this weekend while towing a loaded trailer almost causing a loss of control and crash. It was completely unexpected and required the vehicle to be stopped and restarted to get the truck out of first gear.

My vehicle stutters and hesitates as I accelerate up to 55moh. This occurs constantly not only during first startup.

The truck suddenly downshifts hard and the truck slows down significantly, without warning. When it goes back into gear, the whole truck jolts and the transmission shifts hard. It has always shifted hard, but the dealer blames the 10 speed transmission “just does that”. They don’t know why. This report tells me to enter a single date, but it happens about every 1 in of 5 times we drive it, and has for a few years now. Again, the dealer tells us nothing is wrong and they can’t recreate it.

10r80 transmission failure. Ford dealer told me that Ford is aware of the defective components in the 10r80 pre 2022, issued guidance on what updated components they designed to replace defective ones, and never issued a recall. Said this is very common but company won’t take responsibility or assist with the $10k repair.

Known transmission issue from Ford with 10-speed transmission. Transmission failed at 106,500 miles, and needing to be replaced. Ford has knowingly ignored issue, and is charging for repair.

I have been experience very hard shifts, lunging, and unexpected downshifting when driving. It happens every time I drive the vehicle. It happens at differenent speeds especially up on take off.

- master cylinder leaking into booster pump. ~lost brakes going 65mph, had to drive into a grass area to slow down. No warning lights until I lost all brakes. - transmission hard shifting and unreliable gear selection ~ this truck has missed gears when passing intersections and has almost caused a wreck multiple time. Transmission is unsafe for users to drive with.

Within the past three years of owning I have had an unfortunate circumstance where my transmission twice now; once at 90,000 and now at 110,000. My vehicle has decided to unexpectedly shift without my input from 10th to 1st resulting in the transmission needing to be serviced due to the fact it will dump transmission fluid (a quart or two) and reach temperatures of 215 to 230 degrees fahrenheit while driving at high speeds for example both instances have been on the interstate doing 75mph. I will loose all power of my vehicle but I still am in control of it. This to me is a huge safety concern due to the fact I am driving at a high rate of speed. Yes I understand it has been twice in three years but this is not a normal circumstance. I have had a local shop take a look at it and both times they have found nothing major except a loss of a quart of fluid. Due to the fact there is multiple information available out there on this similar event so it is not a fluke I believe it is more a coincidence with the 10r80 transmission by Ford. I am reporting it because in my personal opinion this is not normal or typical behavior for a transmission, I only have 110,000 on my odometer so yes I can definitely see high mileage being a factor but if that is the case why has my transmission not finally given out yet? there is practically an impending doom feeling every time you sit down and put it in drive, you don’t know when or if this can happen again.

Observed changes in transmission with lack of smooth shifting between gears and hard bang going into drive. While operating on the roadway noticed downshifts were causing issues with braking smoothly. Took vehicle to Ford dealership where diagnosis was cdf drum failure due to bushing movement which was already stated in a TSB. Current mileage on the truck is only 60300 miles.

Transmission shifted from 6th gear to 1st gear while driving on the highway. Unpredictable hard gear shifts at times.

The contact's son owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while his son was driving on the interstate at 70 mph, the vehicle downshifted into 4th gear. No warning lights were illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who confirmed there were no recalls. The failure mileage was approximately 8,100.

Made an appointment with a Ford dealership to take a look at my 2018 Ford F-150 10 speed transmission on 12th may of 2026 they said everything checked out. I brought it in because the transmission was slipping and shifting very hard . They said everything checked out and was fine on the 12th of may and two days later my truck didn't want to start up. I had a notification from Ford on my Ford app saying I had a malfunction powertrain or transmission issue and a wrench symbol lit up on my dash. I took it back to Ford dealership on the 14th and they took a look at it and they could not get anything to come up on their history check so they did a hard reset after they had it for about a week . I got it back on the 19th of may and it was still continually slipping and shifting hard so I made an appointment with a local transmission shop and they inspected it and told me to transmission was shot so they installed a rebuilt transmission. At that time this said transmission only had 42,668. 8 mi on it and truck does not do any towing or hauling.

The 2018 f150 I purchased started out a good vehicle like most vehicle do. The problems then began to come one after the other. Routine oil changes on the vehicle at the dealership with no hiccups turned into “your motor is low on oil”. The tech tried to find a leak. The motor wasn’t leaking anything, so naturally the tech told me the motor was burning the missing oil. The tech told me “they all burn alittle oil” and topped it back off. I had another “incident” where I was driving on the highway a few weeks later and my engine light came on, and I lost oil pressure. The red “low oil pressure” message came on the dash and I promptly limped my truck to the dealership once again. The tech diagnosed the truck and found a plugged pcv valve. It was changed for a brand new one from the dealer, followed by another oil change well under the recommended interval naturally, due to the motor burning almost all of the oil. The truck still burns oil, and the issue seems to be impossible to remedy. The issue that followed the engine burning oil is the 10r80 transmission installed from the Ford manufacturer. Once again everything seemed fine when I purchased the truck. After driving it for 20-30k miles, the transmission has developed a flare shift between the 3rd-4th gears. The transmission is getting more and more hesitant to upshift and maintain and gain speed. This is considerably noticeable when attempting to get on the highway. This is unacceptable. It puts me in a very vulnerable spot because it doesn’t happen all the time. So I have to be extremely aware and prepared for the truck to become inoperable while merging into the flow of traffic. On two occasions now, while merging onto the highway with traffic, I have had to pull over to the shoulder of the road and put my hazards on to allow traffic to go around me due to my 2018 f150 with the 5. 0/10r80 combination not increasing speed, and reving close to 5k rpms. These issues must be addressed.

Transmission suddenly jerks into another gear and has randomly downshifted at highway speeds to lower gear including 1st gear, then fails to get back into 10th gear.

Transmission began shifting very hard into 3rd gear. Later the transmission got stuck in 4th gear and would not shift out of it, even at a complete stop. Was able to manually shift down to 3rd gear after a few minutes, then it started to shift normal. Lately the transmission has shifted from 7th gear to 1st gear and back to 7th gear, from 8th gear to 1st gear back to 8th gear, and twice it has shifted from 10th gear to 1st gear back to 10th gear. This happen while on a major roadway going 30-50 mph. I lose all throttle response for a few seconds during this process. It is a frightening experience. Not being able to control the speed of the vehicle or being able to accelerate is not safe. Many times at stop signs/crosswalks the vehicle will lunge ahead abruptly while shifting up gears. The truck is currently at the Ford dealer, they say that it needs a new transmission. They said the Ford 10 speed transmission is known to have issues and they are backed up with this type of work. No warning lights or messages ever appeared. The hard shifting into 3rd gear started in the late fall, but the other shifting issues began early spring.

I am experiencing a severe safety hazard with my 2018 F-150's 10r80 transmission. While accelerating, the transmission unexpectedly drops into neutral during the 2nd-to-3rd gear shift. The engine revs to the redline, then violently slams into gear, causing the truck to jerk forward unpredictably. This creates a terrifying, uncontrollable moment in traffic. A mechanic diagnosed the issue and stated it requires a complete transmission replacement using the newly updated, redesigned parts to prevent a recurrence. I am the second owner and the previous owner did a transmission flush and filter at 120k miles, currently at 140k miles and the transmission has failed. The previous owner had a detailed service history thats why I bought the vehicle because it was in such good shape.

Vehicle shifts hard and sometimes goes to high rpm before it finds a gear. It also slams into gear once it finally does go into gear. It also shudders when downshifting to pass and feels like the truck is about to fall apart while shaking.

Hard/delayed shifting up and down shifting. Transmission slipping, jumps into neutral with high revs, no movement. The warning light illuminated yesterday, shifting/neutral was worse. Turning into traffic, transmission went into neutral for seconds then hard shift squealing the tires.

My trucks transmission is not shifting right. One time I pulled out and I wouldn’t shift almost causing me to get rear ended. Another time it just randomly went down like 5 cars cause me to almost get rear ended on the freeway.

Transmission started shifting erratically, clunking, downshifting from 10th gear to 3rd gear driving at 50 mph. Jumps from 1 to 3 then hesitates every gear after.