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

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 mph, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road, shifted into neutral(n), and restarted the vehicle. The message "see owner’s manual" was displayed, and the transmission warning light illuminated. Additionally, the transmission skipped from fourth gear, slammed into tenth gear, and then stalled. The contact switched the vehicle from automatic to manual mode to accelerate normally and drove to the residence. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. Dtc: p20703-00 and p2704-00 were retrieved, indicating the cds drum and clutch had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.

Vehicle is experiencing hard shifts pretty regularly in various gears. Look up and read several other owners experiencing the same issue regarding the hard shifts.

While cruising on the highway at 55 to 60mph, the transmission will suddenly and without warning rapidly downshift resulting in unstable and dangerous conditions. This has occurred multiple times on icy or frosty roads and the vehicle becomes difficult to control. My safety and that of oncoming traffic was compromised. A "wrench" light comes on in the dash following the event. Once the vehicle is power cycled, the wrench disappears.

My 2018 Ford F-150 experiences harsh, erratic, and unpredictable transmission shifting. The truck frequently hesitates during acceleration, followed by sudden and violent gear engagement. It also makes abrupt downshifts while driving, causing unexpected deceleration that can be dangerous in traffic. The truck will shift from 8th, 9th, or 10th gear down to 1st at highway speeds. This causes abrupt deceleration and significant loss of speed on the highway. On multiple occasions, the transmission has delayed engagement when shifting from a stop, creating hesitation when entering intersections or merging, followed by a sudden surge of power. This creates an unsafe driving condition and increases the risk of rear-end collision or loss of control. The shifting behavior is inconsistent and unpredictable, occurring during both in traffic and highway driving. The problem is worsening over time. Given the frequency and severity of these events, I believe this transmission behavior represents a significant safety defect that should be investigated for potential recall or corrective action.

We were driving on the interstate and suddenly the truck increased rpms rapidly with no acceleration when pressing the gas. The vehicle began to decelerate quickly on its own. We turned on our flashers to warn drivers around us. The truck suddenly gained back some acceleration, enough for us to move to the right, and lost full power again, and we coasted to the shoulder. If the vehicle had not gained back some acceleration after the initial deceleration, we may have been rear-ended. We had it towed to the nearest Ford dealership. They confirmed the transmission had a total failure. They quoted around 4500 for a rebuild, or 9500 for a new transmission. The truck has only about 53,000 miles on it. I wanted to report this concern because I’m now aware there are many reported issues with this 10-speed transmission, and the sudden complete loss of power as we were driving was extremely dangerous for us and the people around us. We did sometimes experience slightly rough shifting when the truck was “cold” upon starting, however we noticed this since we bought the truck new, and we thought this was normal for it. The failure itself was sudden and unexpected.

My 2018 Ford F-150 equipped with the 10r80 10-speed automatic transmission is experiencing severe slipping, delayed engagemen (1-2, 3-4), and erratic shifting. Upon inspection, I found significant gold glitter-like metal shavings in the transmission fluid/oil pan, indicating internal wear or failure of components. These symptoms create safety concerns including hesitation or loss of power during acceleration, potential sudden surges or jerks, and risk of the vehicle not responding properly in traffic or when merging, which could lead to crashes, injuries, or being stranded. I have not repaired this yet but will be replacing the transmission soon.

Recently noticed sharp downshifting of auto transmission. Usually going up or down grade when I take foot off accelerator. Last week someone behind me needed to brake hard and change lanes in an emergency manner. The transmission change it hard and drops two or three gears. Very scary.

About the safe issue I have the transmission when you wanna have the throttle you wanna pass a car the transmission had don’t go down and make a limp control and I scanned the transmission. It’s no code. It’s not safe when you in the highway you want a best truck or best car and switch down shift to limb control.

Cdf drum - transmission transmission unable to find gear, repeatedly skips when downshifting. Slips when engine braking. Unable to safely exit traffic on the highway. Problem is reproduced at dealer. A common issue nation-wide. Hefty repair bill on a young truck. (90,000 miles) no warning lamps, messages, or symptoms.

Vehicle is at 88k miles. Vehicle has hard shifting/delayed shifting between 1-3 and 5-7 gears. At highway speeds, vehicle tries to downshift from top gear. Have lost rpm's while driving-lasting about 3-5 seconds before engaging the gears again. Took to a dealer, was informed it was a "known" issue and would need the transmission replaced. Extended warranty will not cover since it is a known issue. No warning lamps or messages in the display center. The loss of rpm's and delayed shifting issues could cause stalling and put me and others at risk with possible loss of power/motion while moving. Especially while driving on the highway.

10 speed transmission started to have hard shifts and dead spots. Some shifting issues happened at low speeds(1 thru 5 speeds) and then others showed at highway speeds; downshifts from 10 to 8 gears. Issue with transmission stated at around 142,000 miles but became very problematic at around 145, 000 miles. At this point I had to get a new transmission; cost was approximately $10000. 00. This was a remanufactured transmission with 3 years or 100,000 miles. Note - I really like the truck but the Ford recall plans are terrible; I've already had the cam phaser replaced, front wheel bearing, and internal water pump. This probably cost another $7000. 00. A lot of money for a truck that has pretty limited miles.

While driving this truck with just 113000 it will occasionally go into neutral. While in the drive position and causes a big safety concern while pulling out into traffic or even while going down the road and I'm afraid of being in or causing an accident. Multiple times this has happened.

The vehicle intermittently experiences delayed gear engagement and hesitation during acceleration, most noticeably when the transmission is cold. During several incidents, when pulling out from a stop onto a main road and attempting to accelerate into traffic, the vehicle failed to shift or engage power normally. The engine remained running, but the vehicle did not accelerate as expected, creating a temporary loss of forward momentum. After a delay, the transmission would suddenly engage and the vehicle would accelerate normally. This condition creates a safety risk because when entering traffic from a stop sign or side road, other drivers expect normal acceleration. The hesitation or delayed engagement creates a risk of being struck by oncoming traffic. The issue occurs most frequently when the vehicle is first driven after sitting for several hours, especially in colder temperatures. After the vehicle is fully warmed up, the condition is less noticeable or may not occur. The problem has been experienced multiple times over this winter season. The behavior is intermittent but repeatable under similar cold start conditions. The condition appears to be gradually becoming more noticeable and occurring more frequently over time. Occasionally, once the transmission begins operating and partially warms up, the transmission may shift harshly or abruptly during upshifts or downshifts. The vehicle has been discussed with independent service shops familiar with this transmission model. The issue has not yet been repaired, but inspection and repair are being scheduled. No manufacturer inspection has occurred at this time. At the time of incidents, there were no consistent warning lights or messages indicating a transmission failure. No persistent diagnostic warnings have been observed. Symptoms were limited to delayed or harsh shifting and delayed acceleration response. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

Hard clunks when shifting hesitation or delay when accelerating rpm flares between gears jerking when slowing down or taking off slipping or feeling like the truck goes into neutral shuddering.

Vehicle was having issues with acceleration. It started subtle where I could tell it was taking a little more time to catch or switch gears as I accelerated. It quickly progressed as I drove it more (within weeks of noticing the issue) that I could not safely turn on to higher speed roads from a slowed or stopped speed. For example if I turned on to a high way, whether merging or from a stop sign, I could not accelerate in a timely fashion to safely merge at high way speed and had to pull over on the shoulder to let other cars pass until the truck could accelerate. I did take it to a Ford dealership to be diagnosed and fixed. There they discovered the issue was the cdf clutch. They replaced the cdf clutch and found that a valve body had some damage as well so that was also replaced.

My 2018 Ford f150 only has 30,500 miles on it. There is a well known issue with the 2018-2022 Ford 10 speed transmissions, where the cdf drum fails and causes many transmission related issues. I started to show symptoms of this failure, very rough shifts from 1-3 gear, transmission would hesitate and not shift into the next gear, sometimes it would even aggressively downshift while just maintaining vehicle speed. The symptoms quickly got worse. I ended up stuck at a light because after it turned green, my vehicle wouldnt move, and I notcied it was stuck in 7th gear. I tried to manually downshift, but it wouldnt, as cars behind me were honking at me as I held up traffic. Eventually I started to accelerate from a stop in 7th gear, and then the transmission slammed into 1st gear. I brought my truck to Ford the next morning and they diagnosed it as a failing transmission with internal issues that needed to be replaced for over $13,000 dollars, reduced to $9800. This is at just 30,000 miles. I called around to other transmission shops and found a shop that would rebuild the transmission for $5000. I picked the truck up from the dealer to bring the the transmission shop, and it was just plain dangerous to drive. It downshifted from 4th to 1st going around a turn overrevving the engine,constant delayed shifts and rough shifts. I felt very unsafe driving this vehicle in this condition. All of these symptoms are amplified when the weather is cold and the transmission is still warming up. Ford knows about this issue, and has many technical service bulletins related to the issue and how to diagnose it. Most recent is 25-2126 which is from March 31st 2025, I actually found it on the NHTSA website. Surprisingly there were no warning lights or anything that showed up, but I know others with the same issue have received warning lights. Ford would not provide any asssistance with the repair as my vehicle was less than 2 months out of my extended warranty end date.

Engine is ticking and whistling. Drive train issues cam phasers was told beginning of the problem.

Ford installed parts into transmissions that are the reasons for certain years 2017-2022 models with the 10r80 transmission to fail. Ford has since remanufactured the same parts to prevent this problem with models after 2022. Ford refuses to admit it was their manufacturing defect, but will repair your transmission at a hefty cost to you when Ford vehicles with the affected transmissions fail. There are numerous tsbs (technical service bulletins) stating that Ford is aware of the problems that occur with these faulty transmissions. Ford will only post these tsbs on its website and not mail them out to consumers; the consumers have to find them for themselves. There are videos online clearly explaining the problem. I am leaving links to both of them. Https://youtu. Be/4sqjpindam0?si=k14fhcc-vv3whelg https://youtu. Be/h1rl97ouoa4?si=wo1kmxwx2jnstxmv.

Ford has issued multiple tsbs regarding the defective 10r80 10-speed automatic transmission, particularly in F-150s (2017+). The issue is around the cdf drum in Ford F-150s (and other vehicles with the 10r80 transmission) is a known issue where an internal bushing can slide, causing significant fluid pressure loss, erratic shifting, and potential transmission failure, especially in models from 2017-2023. Ford was aware of this because they released multiple bulletins, and they even redesigned the cdf drum with jl3z-7h351-b to fix the problem, but never issued a recall notice. I was leaving my house, and my truck did not move. It revved up to 5 thousand rpms, and then a loud bang noise happened, and then the truck moved. I took it to the dealership, and they said the cdf drum failed, and now they quoted me $7,000 to fix the known issue. When I called Ford to ask for some sort of assistance, they responded that I should have purchased the extended warranty. This is not right that they knowingly have a defective part and are refusing to issue a recall or offer some sort of financial assistance. I drive a 2018 Ford F-150 XLT 5. 0l that has no mods or ever been tuned or modified; mileage is roughly at 121,000.

Ford consumer affairs was sent a letter with this information, too. My 2018 f150 truck had issues with the 10 speed transmission. It’s been jumping, skipping gear, down shifting for no reason. Yesterday, 12/28/25, we were returning home from a holiday trip on I-95’s left lane of the highway when the truck down-shifted from 10th gear to around 3rd or 4th gear spiking the rpm to over 5,000 rpm’s for no reason on 3 different occasions. We had to move to the right lane after the 3rd time due to the wrench light coming on and the transmission temperature gauge maxed out at super hot and turn on the hazards due to only doing 50 mph in a 70 mph highway until we could exit. This was dangerous in so many ways due to the volume of traffic on the highway. Downshifting that much instantly was like slamming on brakes with no break lights. We were verry lucky not getting rear ended and causing a possibly tragic situation. Thankfully, we did not get into an accident. There were a lot of cars on the road, as many families were returning home. This is happening all over the USA with the 10 speed transmission and may eventually cause a tragic accident on the road. We took it to the cocoa Ford dealership on 12/29/25 and the diagnostic paper states they 'performed a koeo self test and found pq7f7 for gear 10 incorrect ratio. Verified fluid vented out of top of transmission. Tech rec overhaul. All one time use parts and rear main seal. Trans cooler. Due to parts/labor cost recommend assembly replacement. '.

On December 24, 2025 at around 2:00 pm while driving my 2018 Ford F-150 from hidalgo, texas to ciudad victoria, tamaulipas, mexico, a distance of approximately 220 miles, my vehicle experienced a sudden and dangerous transmission failure that placed myself, my family, and other motorists at significant risk. For the first approximately 130 miles, the vehicle operated normally with no warning signs. While traveling on a two-lane highway, I attempted to pass an 18-wheeler. During the passing maneuver, the transmission began harsh and jerky shifting, slipping, and delayed gear engagement, followed by an immediate and significant loss of power and acceleration. As soon as I completed the pass, the vehicle failed to accelerate properly and lost power, leaving me exposed in a dangerous situation with limited ability to increase speed. Because the road only had one lane in each direction, this created a high-risk scenario involving oncoming traffic. Within seconds, the 18-wheeler I had just passed rapidly approached from behind, forcing the driver to brake suddenly to avoid a collision. This put the truck driver, surrounding motorists, and my family at serious risk of a major accident. The failure occurred without warning and during a critical maneuver where reliable acceleration was necessary. The sudden loss of power made it impossible to respond safely, demonstrating a serious safety concern. At the time of the incident, the vehicle had approximately 72,000 miles, is well maintained, garage-kept, and has never been used for towing, heavy-duty work, or commercial purposes. Given the mileage and normal use, this type of transmission failure is unexpected and unsafe.

The truck had a horrible shift from 3-5 that makes it hard to even get up to speed correctly and when getting up to around 2. 5k-3k rpm it seems to slip makes a loud bang and the catch again and continues to go. It makes the truck annoying to drive and also feels like it’s just going to completely give out one day.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon returning to the residence in another vehicle, the contact became aware that the vehicle was missing. The contact's son soon became aware that the vehicle was in the woods by the residence. Upon locating the vehicle, the contact noticed that the doors were locked and that the vehicle was still in park(p). The contact stated that the vehicle had shifted out of gear and had rolled backwards into the wooded area. The contact called the dealer and was informed that there were no recalls on the VIN. The contact was then referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and an appointment was scheduled to have the vehicle diagnosed by a dealer. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, and after a diagnostic was performed, the dealer discovered no defects with the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

Ford f150 10 speed transmission failure. Trying to cross intersection and transmission failed. I avoided an accident. Transmission had to be replaced at dealership. No warning lights or messages. Vehicle worked perfect until time of failure.

Driving the vehicle when it tries to reach the 7th gear it loses power then drops to 1st gear and won’t pass 6th gear the check engine light came on and the maintenance light. Took the vehicle into the dealer to learn that the transmission is bad and I need a new one. Solenoid stuck position a. P0752.

Truck has a lag then hard catch going from 7th to 8th gear and sometimes skips gears causing burnt transmission fluid and lower rear seals along with water pump seals all seals and gaskets are bad being Ford used plastic gaskets that year and Ford recommends changing to more current seals and gaskets but don't want to cover costs , my truck is sitting in a shop with 4,900. 00 in repairs do to Ford parts for that year faulty.

At 50k miles the transmission started to have a hard time finding a gear at low speeds, often “in neutral” - between gears for 1-2 seconds and on occasion up you 5-7 seconds. During this “neutral”, the engine could still rev freely and often built revs too high for the next gear, causing a hard ‘jerking’ motion when the next gear is engaged. This proved to be moderately dangerous when merging into traffic with propulsion being cut. At 52000 miles, 10th gear would have trouble holding at highway speeds and would disengage for that same 5-7 second gap, only to eventually resort to 9th gear. Being left powerless on the highway can be extremely dangerous if you are caught traveling up a steep grade or passing another vehicle. At 53000 miles, the above mentioned 10th gear symptom arose at a steady 70 mph, and when 9th gear was engaged the dashboard illuminated a wrench icon with a message that said “maintenance required”. I could tell that the truck was operating at reduced power at this point. After researching the issue, I discovered the problem to be the cdf drum failed - an internal component that requires a full transmission rebuild. This problem appears to be an issue that plagues not some, but all 2017-2023 10r80 at some point in their life cycle. An extremely costly fix at that.

The transmission shuffles between gears and while driving down the road it will shift from 4th to 1st to 8th back to 4th gears the shift to 5th gear and it is a hazard driving this truck down the road. I can’t even drive this vehicle because I am worried when it’s going to go out and cause a accident and possibly cause severe injuries to me or someone else.

At around 68k miles, we started experiencing rough shifting and aggressive clunking into gear while driving. On getting the transmission checked, we were told we would require a new transmission in the near future. At this time, however, no codes came up on the reader, and no warning lights were on. Dark fluid and metal shavings were found by the transmission professional's inspection at both a Ford dealership and a private transmission shop. On driving home from the shop, the rough shifting and bucking became so severe, we felt unsafe completing the drive home and turned back to the shop. There were still no warning lights on, however it was determined that the transmission had failed completely and the truck was no longer drivable. This resulted in a new transmission having to be installed with the truck only having 68k miles on it.

I have a 10 speed transmission in my 2018 f150. I started noticing harsh shifting and came to fine out it is from the known issue that Ford has acknowledged. The cds clutch drum slipped do ti fault parts. I contacted Ford and they refused to help and said that my vehicle was out of warranty even though they acknowledged the service bulletin they stated that there was no recall at this time. I had to pay over $8,000 out of pocket and be without a truck for over a month.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30-40 mph, the vehicle started jerking and shifting abnormally. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was determined that the failure was related to dtc: p076f/10r80, and the dealer informed the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed there was no recall coverage for the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 102,000.

Several times in the last few years when taking off from a stop about 4 seconds into travel the transmission disengages and the engine races. If I was expecting to get though an intersection while traffic was coming into my path of travel I would be in their way and possibly struck. It happened again today. Thankfully I had full right of way and not in anyones path of travel. I had to let the engine wind down, shift to nuetral and back to drive to get going again. I was in the middle of a left hand turn and behind other vehicles that were all traveling about about 5 mph.

Transmition issues: hard bumping going into gears, loss of power to move the truck, loss of power can happen anytime the transmition seems to shift into neutral causing a dangerous issue when trying to pull out to moving traffic. Stopping at intersections and then the truck wont go forward until there is a hard bump that feels like your getting rear ended. When diving at speeds above 45 the trans is constantly looking for gears. The truck only has 103000 miles on it. Incident occurs 3 out of 5 times I drive the truck.

Replaced cdf drum, cdf support in transmission, torque converter at 87,143 miles on odometer.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The transmission warning light illuminated, and the message to "see owner’s manual" was displayed. The contact coasted the vehicle to the dealer, who determined that the transmission had failed. The transmission was replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.