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

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.

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.

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.

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.

When driving transmission has issues in low gears specificially when starting from a stop and accelerating, often shifts very hard, or shifts into neutral and engine just revs. Very unsafe in all aspects as normal accelration does not take place. I have taken it to my local mechanic who advised that this is just how these transmissions are, and my next step will be to take it to Ford directly. "check manual" light pops up w// a wrench.

I have a 2018 Ford F-150 platinum truck. The truck began hard shifting and jolting the truck while slowing down or speeding up. Threw codes p2707/p2708 (f-clutch solenoid); the cdf played part in this issue. I lost several gears (to include gears 1-3, 5, 7, and 9 in drive, and reverse) while driving. This was extremely dangerous and I needed a follow vehicle to stay at a safe distance to escort my limping truck to a safe place. Ford dealership quoted $11,800 to replace transmission. Mom/pop shop offered $9,000.

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.

Cdf drum failure which is a known issue by Ford on these trucks. It causes the truck to shift on its own no matter the speed and sometimes randomly come to a complete stop. Year model trucks from 17-22 are all at risk of this issue before reaching 100k miles. My issue was diagnosed by the Ford dealership and I called a transmission shop for a second opinion and they immediately knew what I was referring to since it is so common. No warnings or check engine lights when the issue is occuring.

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.

Slams in reverse and when shifting in some gears with the 10-speed transmission. The cdf drum is a major issue with the 2018 Ford f150 due to the design defect in the drum. Ford recalled some trucks for the drum issue, but my VIN # shows no recall. This is a major expense issue due to Ford's design, and I feel should be a recall issue.

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.

218 Ford f150 5. 0l 4x4 with 10r80 transmission. While accelerating from stop light and attempting to merge into highway traffic flow, transmission shifted to 4 gear and failed to actually change gears resulting on a massive loss of momentum and causing a dangerous situation for myself and other motorists. This was an unknown problem to me, but after doing some research, a very well known problem to Ford. The company has used this transmission in many models of their vehicles and generally results in a full rebuild of the transmission to properly correct the issue. As of today, there are class action cases for this. Ford has correct the know deficiency in the latest (2025+) versions for the transmission, so there should be a recall to correct the problems with previous versions. Ford motor company has known about the defect with the lack of lubrication on the cdf drum, as well as other issues, and sold the defective parts anyway. This incident did not result in an accident, but only because traffic was light enough that other motorists were able to swerve around me. This particular highway access does not offer an emergency lane until after the bridge the the onramp spills onto.

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.

I recently had the 10r80 rebuilt due shifting issues and it was discovered that the cdf drum and the outer shell were defective. The transmission would shift erratically and sometimes would shift into a lower gear that should not do causing immediate high engine rpms and throwing passengers forward. In wet conditions this would cause a loss of control. I retained the defective parts and documentation of the rebuild.

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.

Truck has 80,000 miles on it. For the last few thousand miles, the transmission has started to lurch during gear shifts from low speeds causing the vehicle to feel as if it is stalling out. Dealer states it is designed to do this, but due to power loss a collision is a possibility while trying to enter onto a highway with faster speeds. Dealer states the vehicle is learning the driver's driving behavior. After 80,000 miles the vehicle already has learned the driving behavior and there is something else taking place. The vehicle does not throw any warning codes when attaching an osbii reader to the port. Taken to an independent shop and was told this is a known issue with the 10 speed transmission in the 2018 F-150 vehicles that Ford has not fixed until 2025 and up year models. This is a safety issue at the very least.

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.