general problems of the 2020 Ford F-150 - part 2

10 speed tremic transmission, the same one covered by NHTSA #24v-208. Transmission hunts for gears, and has dropped from a high gear to first gear without warning. The advisory says that it could drop out of any gear to first gear without warning possibly causing a crash. For some reason, my vehicle with the same transmission and same problems is not covered by the recall.

Vehicle is showing symptoms similar to common reported problems from people who owned Ford F-150 with eco-boost. Symptoms such engine had difficulty starting transmission shifting rattling noises coming out from the engine compartment oil leaks coming out the tail pipe gauge is showing engine is over heating turbo is having a hard time accelerating.

My truck is a 2020 f150 3. 5 eco-boost four-wheel-drive, 41,000 miles I’ve owned the truck since November 20th 2021, the mileage at time of purchase was 28,211. Less than 30 days later I had taken it to the Ford dealership to have the iwe’s replaced and wheel bearings, which is the four-wheel-drive locking hub assembly. It took them over six months to fix it. Now, December 1, 2025 the same problem has returned the iwe’s have failed, when they fail metal shavings goes into the wheel bearings. Mind you this is less than 13,000 miles since the first repair. Upon picking my truck up from Ford on a Friday afternoon at 5 pm, January 9, 2026. Upon start up now, my cam phases are rattling. . I even asked Ford. I lost over seven months of driving my pick up and not being able to use my warranty because it’s set up the dealership for so long. Now it’s out of warranty and I’ve left looking at over $6500 to fix the cam phaser issue that they knew was bad and they didn’t recall them. So as of today, January 11, 2026 my truck has 41,000 miles on it. I have driven it less than 13,000 miles in five years. And I’m not looking forward to having to fix the transmission as well because it has a major issue and that should’ve been recalled as well. Ford is leaving us hanging out there with these trucks that cost over $50,000 and in the end it’s gonna cost us another 20 to 30,000 to fix them. Ford still hasn’t fixed the recall that is presently out as well for the sync and back up camera.

Problematic transmission shifting with lower gears causing significant hard shifting and jerking motion while driving. The problem was confirmed by my local Ford dealership on 11/26/2025, who recommended an overhaul to the transmission and tear down to determine if further damage is present or if a new transmission is needed. There were no warning lamp indicators showing any earlier related matters.

The transmission has the potential to shift erratically most recently when crossing a divided highway, trying to get in them median, the truck switched gears, causing the truck to stop blocking oncoming traffic. It was only momentarily and shifted back to the correct gear. It has the potential to hard shift pretty consistently.

Transmission unexpectedly downshifting to first gear at speed. It sounds like shift cable locking clip problem.

Transmission failed. Pulling into traffic the transmission failed to shift from first gear into second, instead not going into any gear at all, putting my entire family at risk of being struck by oncoming traffic! engine revved and truck would not move. Then suddenly shifts into third gear jerking violently. Currently in shop for transmission replacement. After a bit of research I found that this is a common issue with the transmission.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph on the interstate, while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle decelerated to 2 mph. The messages to “schedule maintenance” and “powertrain - reduced power” were displayed on the instrument panel and the mobile app on the cellphone, and the vehicle went into limp mode. The contact pulled over to the right side of the road and researched the failure. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the dealer would be contacted, and then the contact would receive a callback. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000.

Once the vehicle is in drive and starts shifting through the gears, the truck losses all acceleration for 3-5 seconds and then experiences a harsh shift into gear. This causes the vehicle to "stall" in intersections and other hazardous locations if it does not shift properly. The 2020 f150 3. 5 ecoboost has been serviced at local Ford dealerships since bought. Most recently, it was taken into a Ford dealership for routine oil change, transmission fluid change, spark plugs and coils, and 100k inspection due to the vehicle being at 94k miles. I advised the service technician of the concern for the shifting issue that started between the last oil change, which got significantly worse during day-to-day operation.

Oil consumption takes several quarts of oil before next oil change. Erratic and harsh shifting and sudden hard downshifts.

The transmission was already rebuilt under warranty, had 49,700 miles. While traveling between 70-80(while passing)open road the transmission tried going into 1st gear happned a few times until went into limp mode. Just me, no trailer, nothing in the bed. The dealership nor corporate would do anything since I had turned off the truck. Even though the codes were stored.

Three separate times vehicle shuttering and jerked, and wouldn’t engage into certain gears left my son and I stranded on the freeway. Unable to drive, it started and drove fine hours later after it cooled. Weeks after this happened leaking fluid, overheating, and unable to shift into gear. Shop said it fried 3 gears. Currently having to replace the entire trans which costs half of what the vehicle is worth.

Truck was traveling at 30 mph and slowing down for stop sign and shifted from 4 th gear to 3rd gear so hard the trucks engine turned off and had to come to a stop and shift into park to turn truck off and back on again. Truck was traveling at 30 mph and slowing down for stop sign.

Transmission will not shift into gear. No recall on this and dealers option is for service and repair. Transmission was serviced and problem shifting still continues. I have received alerts from Ford pass app indicating powertrain malfunction/ reduced power — what is happening? the transmission control module has detected a concern when trying to shift to 7th gear. A failsafe logic disables 7th gear for the remainder of this key cycle. What should I do? have your vehicle checked by an authorized dealer as soon as possible. This loss of power is a huge safety issue as when I accelerate into traffic the lag in shifting causes the truck to not get up to speed and you’re basically a sitting duck. Transmission was serviced and this did not resolve the issues. Replacement is now scheduled and will cost a minimum of $9000. 00. This is a known issue with the 10-speed transmissions and should be recalled for repair &/or replacement by Ford. This truck has only 116,000 miles!!.

10rd80 transmission cdf drum failure. A known design defect on 2020 f150 that Ford should issue a recall on. Ford finally fixed the design issue in August 2022. My truck is out of warranty so I will be out over $6000 that I do not have to fix. Extreme financial problem as I do not have the money to fix and this is my only vehicle.

Transmission issues. Random hard shifting. Random over revving due to improper shifting. Multiple components are being replaced. They are all heavily reported as issues in the transmission. The dealer refuses any remedy. No warnings show prior to the issue.

I had just replaced the transmission (r1080; 6 cyl 3. 5l turbo) on September 3, 2025 due to p0734-00 (gear 4 incorrect ratio and p07f7-00 (gear 10 incorrect ratio). The transmission matter can be referenced on NHTSA id # xxx. On September 30, 2025, while driving down the parking deck ramp (at 3-5mph) my check engine light came on with code p0022 (camshaft timing); resulting in replacement of the camshafts. The camshaft had a hole in it (photo supplied). The camshaft issue is another issue many Ford f150 truck owners are experiencing. Again, Ford has continued to give "band-aid" fixes with TSB's and no real fix to a continuing issue with these trucks. On December 3, 2022, this used truck was purchased from a Ford dealership in raleigh, nc (77,100 miles) and was Ford gold/blue certified per my purchase information. The gold/blue paperwork even included that the "customer satisfaction repair" (not a true recall mandated by NHTSA) had been performed by a TSB (along with the unintentional tailgate opening also a customer satisfaction repair). There are no recalls issued on this vehicle. Ford has offered no assistance towards repairs. As evidenced by the number of complaints filed on the NHTSA website for this particular engine, at what point will the NHTSA open an investigation and mandate that Ford issue a recall for the known problems with the r1080 3. 5l and the camshaft/phasers. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Like most people with the same model and year. My transmission stopped shifting, and stalled. I was fortunate since I was sitting in the intersection. You need to look into the 10speed transmission they are faulty and need to be investigated!.

Like a lot of F-150 owners, my 10speed transmission stopped working not allowing me to accelerate or shift into reverse. I was stuck in the intersection luckily I didn’t get into an accident. The truck was stuck in 7th gear! this is dangerous and happens far too commonly, please investigate, this is dangerous and expensive for the average consumer. Please help.

Transmission shifts hard looses power. I reported it to Ford before my warrenty ran out. They said it was fine and just needed an update. It did not fix it took it and got second opinion and the transmission was bad and needed to be replaced. I had to pay out of pocket because they did not take care of the issue while it was under warrenty. Now im out 7000 because of a faulty transmission and Fords lack of addressing the issue.

10 speed transmission, started slipping. And then slamming into gear while it would down shift. We have had 4 rebuilt transmissions put in with Ford. And now the truck just went into the shop again for the same issues. This last time before going into the dealership, felt like the transmission was just going to drop out. It was hard. Do not feel safe in this truck any more. It is not reliable. No warning lights at all.

The Ford 10 speed transmission has continued to give me issues. Delayed shifting, harsh engagements, and overheating are the symptoms. I have been to the dealer several times for the issue. They programmed the transmission, reset values, then replaced the valve body. After valve body replacement, the service manager at the dealership told me that it shifts fairly well compared to other f150s and there’s nothing more they can do. There have been several instances where I have to pull over in traffic due to overheating. The lack of predictability in the shift also makes for unsafe situations.

Component/system failure: the 10-speed automatic transmission failed prematurely at only 75,000 miles. The transmission is still in the vehicle and available for inspection upon request. The symptoms include harsh shifting between gears, particularly into lower gears, followed by significant lag and then abrupt jumping/engagement. This is consistent with numerous other complaints filed regarding the 10-speed transmission in this model year. Safety risk: the unpredictable transmission behavior created dangerous driving conditions. The harsh shifting and lag followed by sudden acceleration made it impossible to safely merge into traffic, navigate intersections, or maintain consistent speed on highways. The erratic gear engagement put myself, my passengers, and other drivers at risk as the vehicle's response became completely unreliable. The truck is currently unsafe to drive. Professional confirmation: yes, the problem has been confirmed by aamco transmission on sept 17, 2025. They diagnosed it as transmission failure requiring complete replacement. Manufacturer/other inspection: no inspection by Ford has occurred to date. Warning indicators: no warning lights, check engine lights, or dashboard messages appeared prior to or during the failure. The only symptoms were the physical driving symptoms described above—harsh shifting, significant lag, and abrupt gear engagement—which began approximately gradually over the past month and progressively worsened until the vehicle became unsafe to operate.

The transmission has harsh, jerky, clunking shifts. It also has delayed engagement and complete power loss. There is also problems with downshifting from 7th gear to first gear when coming to a complete stop. Vehicle seams to be in neutral then finally shifts to 1st gear before vehicle finally moves.

* what component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? transmission/powertrain; currently available for inspection at time of submission * how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? while stopped at stop sign/stop light, the vehicle would have long hesitation before advancing forward. I would initiate hazard lights to prevent driver behind me from crashing into the back of my vehicle. The vehicle would shift harshly and untimely as well as randomly downshift from 10th gear to 1st gear (x2 on 24aug2025). I would have to pull vehicle off the road and when attempting to resume driving the vehicle would not move. The rpm’s would rev, however the vehicle would not move. I would turn off the vehicle and then restart it and the vehicle would move forward, resuming with harsh shifting. Loss of power, delayed and harsh shifting pose a safety hazard while the vehicle is in operation. * has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? yes; by independent service center * has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? no * were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? first check engine light illuminated on August 16, 2025. (please note the check engine light disappears once the vehicle is turned off and then restarted). I took the vehicle to autozone on 25aug2025. The tech placed the code reader on the vehicle. 2 codes, p0734-00 and p07f7-00, ‘gear 4 incorrect ratio’ and ‘gear 10 incorrect ratio’ respectively were displayed. Vehicle taken to independent service center on 25aug2025 who also placed code reader on vehicle. I am not in possession of that information at time of writing. Monthly ‘my vehicle report’ has been clear with no issues whatsoever noted until report dated 25aug2025 (attached).

Transmission has on several occasions lurched when starting the vehicle. During driving, the transmission shifts hard and sometimes jumps in and out of gear as if it cant decide which gear to engage. This often happens at low speeds after first start, and between 5th and 6th gear.

The first transmission I had in my truck I had. Harsh shifting, slipping gears, delayed engagement, transmission overheating, loss of power and transmission stuck in higher gear while stopped. They replaced the transmission (at my cost ) now I have over heating issues. There should be a mandatory recall on this transmission, give me my money back and fix the issues for free.

Transmission has been skipping gears, hard shifting, getting stuck in gears. While traveling in the truck going up an on ramp and then trying to merge into traffic, the transmission got stuck in 7th gear. Pressing the accelerator would not move the vehicle and I was left without the ability to move out of traffic. Vehicles were having to put on their brakes, swerve and go around me. Prior to this time I was having some slight shifting irregularities between gears 2-3 and 7-8. I notified the dealership of issues and they said I would have to drop the vehicle off and it would take 7-10 days before they could even look at it. The vehicle was purchased in December 2020 and currently has just under 75,000 miles. I was told that it was out of warranty. For the first 4 years of ownership the vehicle has always been serviced at a Ford dealership. I was never notified of any issues with the transmission. However they did notify me that a windshield wiper arm was recalled and that was changed. Early in the ownership of the truck, I experienced the vehicle moving backwards when on an incline and taking my foot off of the brake, before accelerating. Also, experienced clanking and jarring when accelerating and then having to take foot off of the accelerator. In 2023, when having the vehicle serviced for oil change, I asked the service technician about these issues and was told that there was nothing wrong and that it was just typical for that type of transmission.

The transmission failed. While driving, it shifts extremely hard and will suddenly downshift without warning. Autonation Ford of north canton, ohio, inspected the vehicle on August 13, 2025, and reported that the cdf drum clutches were likely worn. The truck is available for inspection upon request. The sudden downshifts cause the truck to jerk violently and lose speed abruptly. On multiple occasions, this has nearly caused me to lose control and creates a high risk of being rear-ended by other drivers who are not expecting the sudden slowdown. Yes. Autonation Ford of north canton, ohio, confirmed the issue on August 13, 2025. Yes. Autonation Ford of north canton inspected the transmission and stated it was likely due to worn cdf drum clutches. There were no warning lamps or messages. The symptoms began before August 2025 when the transmission started slipping, shifting hard, and then downshifting unexpectedly. The issue occurred just one month after the warranty expired. The dealer quoted me approximately $7,000 to repair it. I have read that Ford has replaced the old pressed bushings in this part with welded ones to prevent this failure, which suggests this may be a known defect in the original design.

December of 2020, I purchased 3 - 2020 Ford f150's with 5. 0l engines and 10speed 10r80 transmissions for 2 of my companies as personal drivers (non-commercial use). *vehicle 1 - at 82,000 miles - was experiencing missed shifts, and harsh engagement. Within a couple of weeks of this happening, unfortunately the vehicle was totaled in an accident unrelated to shifting. *vehicle 2 - began to experience the same problems, this vehicle would miss a shift and fall completely "out of gear" leaving no power or throttle response (roughly 78,000 miles) and had been service according to Ford specification and mileage with motorcraft factory filter, gasket, and Ford ulv fluid. Unfortunately this was the only vehicle I purchased an extended warranty for due to long highway trips out of town where a breakdown would be difficult to deal with out of town. Determined as "transmission failure" and replaced at billy howell Ford in cumming GA. (via extended warranty) *vehicle 3 - VIN number in question - at 74,000 miles vehicle is now missing shifts, jumps out of gear. 2 dangerous scenarios this week. Crossing oncomming traffic to turn onto road - 1-2 or 1-3 shift missed and complete loss of power/movement barely avoiding being hit by oncoming cars. Second occurrence, slowing to a red light on wet road. Coasting/braking as transmission began downshifting from 10th gear,. . When it got to 7/6 it downshifted to gear 4 sliding/screeching the rear tires as the rear end slid/drifted sideways causing me to panic stop with brake pedal fully depressed to avoid free sliding or losing control of the vehicle. -100% available for inspection Ford should absolutely recall all of the early 10r80 equipped vehicles. It's dangerous!! vehicle has been checked/duplicated and verified by ase certified technician, local dealer admitted to problems, there are no mil's, and no fault codes stored computer. Dealer wants almost $9000 to replace transmission. Ford do better! -- this is dangerous.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the contact heard a raddling noise coming from an unknown part in the vehicle. An independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified on the failure and offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 118,923.

The rear differential exploded while driving without warning. Immediate lose of power while traveling 70mph, the explosion blew some hot parts of the differential off the road and started a brush fire.

Transmission downshifted on the interstate and overheated. Wouldn’t go back in to gear. Was in the passing lane and ended in an accident.

This truck has the notorious 10 speed transmission. It has severely abrupt shifts, thuds, clunks. Sudden loss of power or surge of power when transmission shifts. Nhtsa is my only hope of getting the transmission repaired and safe. Not just my truck my sons 2021 had the same issue. Bad cdf drums. Ford revised the sort for 2023 and eliminated it but everyone from 2017-2021 are stuck with an erratic, dangerous transmission that needs recalled.

I’ve already had 10r80 10 speed transmission replaced once at 53,000 miles. Now I’m at 65,000 miles and I’m having issues again. Twice this past week, my truck has shifted from 6th gear down to 1st gear while driving for no reason. I’m getting rough shifts again and a lot of clunking and jerking.