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

When driving my vehicle, 4 and 5 gear shift very jerky and harsh and sometimes seem to slip. Multiple times now I have had it go to shift into 4 gear to then drop in neutral and stop taking throttle causing me to suddenly stop going forward. Many times when trying to cross an intersection or go from a stop light I have a missed shift in those gears causing a high chance of injury from being rear ended because suddenly I stop moving forward with no reason. I haven’t had any warning lights for this issue and I’ve had a shop look at it and have all the same issues happen. When towing it’s much worse causing it to slam into gear at very high rpms. When very cold out it happens every time and I have to let my truck warm up for 15 minutes before leaving because it will drop out of gear. I’ve seen many reports of the 10 speed having many problems and I’m afraid one of the times it doesn’t shift right I will end up rear ended because of something I can’t control. The location I will put in when I was towing, crossing a 2 lane highway and trying to get up to highway speeds with the transmission slamming into gear really worry’s me for not only my safety but others driving on the road.

The vehicle has 57000 miles and I am reporting a commonly known issue with the transmission. Despite multiple service appointments with Ford explaining the issue, I was informed there was nothing wrong. Now, 10 months post extended warranty, Ford is telling me it needs a full transmission replacement. Thoroughout, the vehicle shifted eradically up and down, including on the interstate, quickly dropping speed. It was particularly bad a lower speeds when the engine was cool. Sometimes, at low speed or at a stoplight, the vehicle would disengage the drive train and roll in neutral while the rpms revved when the throttle was pressed. The vehicle was not operating safely, would roughly bounce around gears, when reported to Ford, told that there was nothing wrong and now being told post warranty that the transmission is a total fail that will require replacement. The latest service appointment one month ago, where I was again told that an oil topoff was all that was needed. This is a well reported safety issue by numerous owners and Ford has failed to take any action or initiate a recall.

Issue with cdf drum in transmission. Having transmission rebuilt due to failure.

10r80 transmission has started to go bad like all the other complaints. Cdf drum walking, valve body leaking pressure, torque converter bearings are whining and getting louder. Flaring between gears and now at highway speeds from 9th gear to 10th gear is has a flare then goes into "neutral lockup" and tries to go back to 1st gear. Thankfully, it hasn't actually locked into 1st gear but this happens frequently and is a major life threatening defect now. I am afraid to drive the vehicle and Ford motors knows there is an issue (for years) and has not created a recall for my VIN.

Transmission failing caused me to almost get in a collision on multiple occasions. Most recent incident failed to go into gear and was almost tboned.

I was on spencer street at the light about to cross on saint rose park way. When the light turned green my truck wouldn’t let me proceed and the it went into a low gear and make a lot of noise until I crossed and stoped at the horizon ridge light. At the light I turned off the truck like I have done every time this had happened after Ford said they did the recall but after they did the recall I’ve been having all these issues. I turned the vehicle back on and put into into drive and it went into reverse I immediately pressed my brakes knowing there is a car behind me. Thankfully the guy saw the truck with the hazards and going into reverse he immediately went into the next lane. I couldn’t move I was stalled. Had the shut the truck off again and then turn it back on and then I was able to go into drive and sit on the side of the road. Meanwhile I can smell like this burning smell. Now this had happened 2 days after they came out to supposedly fix the recall that was on the truck. I didn’t work the next day after they came out to fit it at my job but driving home that day it drove sort of ok I felt a little lack of going into gear. When I went to work it did a hard jerk while driving like if the transmission was going to fall out. I parked at work for my 10 hour shift and when I went to go home I turned on my truck and out it into drive and it went into reverse. Thankfully I was in park and no cars was behind me. I called Ford to tell them what had happened after they came and fix it and they told me it was not part of the recall. But yet when I looked up the recall when my insurance let me know if it people was saying they was having issues going into gears and possibly stalling. This is a serious matter and they keep brushing it off and telling me that I need to pay them to look at it. I don’t feel I need to pay if it is their mistake. I took it to my warranty company and they tried to fix it and found nothing on their end. At this point I gor into almost 5accident.

Sudden transmission downshifts to 1st gear during highway speeds. My truck wasn’t included in transmission recalls by Ford. This problem is known but Ford won’t replace. The downshift happens without warning. No engine lights or messages appear before or after the downshift. The transmission shifts harsh no matter what - this has been confirmed by multiple mechanics and the mechanics say it’s a known issue with this year transmission - 18’ - 10r80.

Transmission failed at 52,120. 0 miles. Erratic shifting and power loss. Cdf drum failure.

The transmission shifts very hard into 3rd gear. Now it seems to slip going into 3rd,5th&8th gear.

The truck will downshift without warning causing an abrupt slow down in speed something is wrong with this transmission Ford should recall this transmission and make it right.

Transmission failure from cdf drum. Well known issue with Ford f150 at this point. Vehicle was purchased new with standard regular maintenance. Only 56k miles. Safety issue if I hadn’t caught it early with some rough shifting.

Our vehicle has 79,500 miles and the transmission is slipping between 2nd and 3rd, and causing rpm surging. We had a diagnostic done and need the cdf drum replaced with the newly designed part as the current part has a defect. This is apparently a known issue and should be a recall so the defective part can be replaced. This will cost me 7k to 9k to either rebuild or replace my transmission.

This is the 10 speed transmission. When starting from a stop the truck will start to shift thru gears and then shift into neutral and the engine will rev very high and then slam back into a lower gear.

While driving approximately 40- 50mph the transmission randomly downshifts from 8th gear to 1st gear.

I have a 2018 Ford f150 and the 10r80 transmission has failed on my truck. It started with hard shifts and missed gears. The Ford dealership in tracy, CA quoted me $13k to replace the transmission because of known issues with this transmission. There are multiple tech service bulletins but they are making Ford owners pay for these costly mistakes from the manufacturer. I was at a 3 way intersection on a busy highway in the morning and the transmission all of a sudden had a loss of power and wasn't in a gear when it said it was in 4th gear. Very dangerous to lose power like that in the morning at a busy intersection. I had to have my truck towed home as I couldn't not make home with all the problems that started occurring.

Harsh shifting from failing clutch drum.

While driving on the interstate, the vehicle experienced a sudden hard jerk followed by erratic shifting between gears. The transmission temperature rapidly increased (over 219°f), and transmission fluid began leaking. The vehicle became unsafe to drive and had to be pulled over. This vehicle is equipped with a 10-speed automatic transmission (10r80), which has widespread reports of failure, harsh shifting, and overheating. The failure created a dangerous situation as I was stranded on the side of the road with my children.

The vehicle’s 10-speed automatic transmission is experiencing severe, erratic, and life-threatening failures at highway speeds. Erratic shifting & sudden downshifts: while traveling at approximately 60 mph, the transmission unexpectedly downshifts from 10th gear directly to 1st gear without warning. This causes violent deceleration and risks immediate rear-wheel lockup. The vehicle also cycles randomly through gears (e. G. , jumping 10-1-7-10-3) and frequently 'locks out' upper gears, making power delivery completely unpredictable. Total loss of motive power: on approximately 3/10/26, while in the high-speed 'fast' lane of the highway, the vehicle experienced a complete loss of motive power. While the engine remained running, the digital gear indicator on the instrument cluster began flashing and the transmission failed to engage any gear. I was left coasting in the flow of traffic and was forced to navigate across multiple lanes to the shoulder without the ability to accelerate. Safety hazard: these combined issues create an extreme risk of high-speed rear-end collisions and loss of vehicle control. The 'flashing' gear indicator and sudden visible on the dash 10-to-1 downshifts suggest a critical electronic, sensor or software failure that makes the vehicle unsafe for highway operation.

My 2018 Ford F-150 had 85,000 miles on it when the transmission began to slip out of gear, delays in shifting, gets stuck in neutral, and or slam back into gear. My wife was barely able to get home from work, and experienced dangerous driving conditions due to the failing transmission. Her attempts to merge onto high speed roadways became dangerous when the vehicle would suddenly lose drive during the merge. We fear what might have happened if she was attempting to make a left on green and the transmission suddenly became stuck in neutral. This truck has the infamous 10r80 Ford 10 speed transmission that thousands of people have reported as defective. Ford has refused to compensate me in anyway, and the Ford dealership has quoted me $9,000 dollars to have the transmission replaced. Ford issued a TSB on this faulty transmission, but has refused to issue a recall despite the widespread failure of this part and the safety concerns.

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.

1. 10r80 (cdf drum bushing) failure. The vehicle has pressure loss when put into gear, driving or slowing down, taking your foot off the gas, sluggish when put in first gear to drive, performance, and harsh shifting- at any speed when driving, missing gears - it' jolts hard (shifting up or shifting down) when the vehicle shifts, particularly between gears 1–3, 3–4, 6 - 8 it misses 2nd and 7th gear. While driving the vehicle it goes into to neutral despite being in gear. The vehicle has stopped on the road while driving and not able to put the vehicle into gear to drive at all. Wrench light codes p0732-00, p076f-00, p07f6-00, p07f7-00, u0252-00 yes the vehicle is available for inspection upon request. 2. Our safety is at risk since the vehicle suddenly changes gears up or down causes major jolt sitting in the seat and abruptly slows down on the rode with traffic, or if you slow down or stop it might not go back into gear. I have had back surgery (lumbar) and it hurts my back. Not to mention, the whiplash to our necks every time the vehicle jerks in and out of gear. Vehicle suddenly slows down making it dangerous for vehicle around us as well. 3. We first took the vehicle to macon auto repair 2/23/2026 (no codes at this time unable to determine the problem), 2/24/26 took the vehicle to rodney's transmission for a second opinion - they checked the transmission fluids and added one quart of oil (still no codes to determine the problem) . The wrench appeared after the problems started and is whey we took it twice to two different shops not knowing what was the problem. When the wrench appeared we took the vehicle to rodney's transmission 4/2/2026 where the vehicle was inspected and the codes are from the diagnostic test done by, rodney's transmission, thompsonville, ky 4. Symptoms yes, described above. Warming light not until after the problems continued to occur.

Transmission is mis-shift and jerk while shfting. There's a lag between 6 and 8th gear.

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.

I was accelerating from a red light and felt like I had lost power. The rpm's of the engine increased, but I was slowing down. After about 5 seconds, the transmission engaged harshly and the wheels started spinning/squealing like burning out. I almost lost control of the vehicle. If the road would have been slippery, I would have lost control, in heavy traffic. I took my f150 into the Ford dealership to be inspected. Afterwards, I was told I need a new transmission. The cost would be over $11,000. 00 with tax for a new transmission! my truck had 75,000 miles on it, just out of warranty. There is no reason for my transmission to go out at such low mileage. I have not hauled or pulled anything heavy. I take care of my vehicles and have scheduled maintenance performed. As I researched this problem, I discovered it is a known issue on the 2018 Ford f150 vehicles. I found where people documented the same problem on youtube and the internet. I went through dozens of cases by people with the same problem. There are probably 100's but I stopped after confirming the issue. Even Ford personnel said they were aware of it. When a customer walked up and stated they had a problem with their 2018 f150, their first thought was the transmission. This is an extreme hazard. Like in my case, the issue reveals itself while driving. There are no warning lights or indication. It is known to happen in lower gears, so usually on takeoff. There are so many scenarios where people are depending on the vehicle to accelerate, like when turning and other vehicles are approaching. If the vehicle stalls in front of the oncoming traffic, or if you lose control, the results could be catastrophic. I hope this is addressed before someone is severely hurt or killed.

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.

See attached document for complaint. In November 2024 I received a letter regarding a transmission recall related to my truck. This came almost 1 year after I had to have my transmission replaced for the reason stated in the recall letter. I have now reached out twice to the Ford motor company to try to receive reimbursement for the out-of-pocket expense I incurred to replace the transmission without any response from the company. I’m not sure where to go from here and am requesting assistance from the ntsa. Please feel free to contact me with any further questions. As you can see, I paid an initial $7000. 00 to order the transmission. The total amount after installation was $9425. 38. Please see all attached documents.

The vehicle skips a beat when shifting and it jumps from 10-8 gear for no reason causing the vehicle to lag or shift rough and break.

The vehicle experienced repeated transmission malfunctions involving the automatic transmission system. Symptoms began occurring consistently and included failure to properly shift between gears, particularly failure to engage 3rd gear, resulting in high engine rpm followed by a sudden and harsh engagement into gear. The transmission would also fail to downshift when coming to a stop, at times remaining stuck in higher gears such as 4th or 9th, creating hesitation and delayed acceleration from a stop. Additional symptoms included erratic and delayed shifting between 1st and 2nd gears, with high rpm and abrupt engagement. The issue was reproducible during normal driving conditions and became more frequent over time. Using tow/haul mode temporarily reduced the severity of the issue but did not resolve it. These conditions created a potential safety concern, as delayed or incorrect gear engagement could result in hesitation when accelerating into traffic or when attempting to merge, increasing the risk of a collision. The issue was discussed with a dealership service advisor, who indicated that based on the described symptoms, the transmission likely required rebuild or replacement. The vehicle was subsequently inspected and repaired by an independent transmission specialist, who confirmed internal transmission failure. The transmission required a full rebuild, including replacement of major internal components such as the cdf drum, torque converter, and servicing of the valve body. No consistent warning lights were present prior to the failure, and the condition developed progressively with increasing frequency and severity. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by an independent service center and required significant repair to restore normal operation.

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.

The transmission failed. It is available for inspection but the transmission was replaced at my cost. Traveling on the highway the vehicle bogged down and could not respond to pressing gas peddle. I had no control of the vehicle. All transpired on major highway route 95. The problem repeated again while I was driving and it was identified by the independent service facility that the transmission failed. The vehicle was inspected by the repair facility and the fault was determined to be the failed transmission. New transmission was installed, we have all receipts. No warning lamps prior to the fault. The problem first appeared when I was traveling home on the highway from the facility I purchased the vehicle. After 1st incident the warning light appeared.

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.