Automatic Transmission Control Module Problems of Ford F-150 - part 2

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked extremely hard and then the vehicle lost motive power. Additionally, the contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred several times within two weeks however, the check engine warning light recently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the diagnostic test was performed, and the dtc code: p068a was retrieved. The contact researched the diagnostic code and determined that the code indicated the pcm failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,155.

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A recall was issued for an intermittent failure of the transmission speed sensor (oss), campaign 16s19. I took the truck to a Ford dealership, mike reichenbach Ford, in florence SC. The technician reprogrammed the pcm. This did not resolve the issue and the truck continues to downshift or not shift at all. I spoke with the dealership and with the Ford motor company. I believe this truck was taken to a dealership more than once without the issue being resolved. I am respectfully request Ford make good on the safety recall of a known issue.

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I received the NHTSA letter campaign number: 24v-4444 dated June 24, 2024. I took my 2014 Ford F-150 to my local dealer for service along with the NHTSA letter. The dealer told me the power train:automatic transmission:control module (tcm/pcm/tecm) was ok and did not need to be changed or replaced. Obviously I'm still concerned that a downshift to first gear could cause a major issue. How would you advise me to proceed? VIN [xxx] . [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] January 10,2025 information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted, with the transmission warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle resumed normal operation after restarting the vehicle. The contact used a code reader which determined that the speed sensor would not connect to the powertrain control module (pcm). The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 19v433000 (power train). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000.

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The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. The contact stated that after the dealer had performed the pcm software update under NHTSA campaign number: 24v444000 (power train); the power train warning light illuminated the following day. The contact stated that the power train warning light was illuminated while driving and shifting from 3rd to 4th gear. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving uphill and shifting from 3rd to 2nd gear. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 60 mph and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle unintendedly downshifted to 2nd gear. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission lead frame had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the recall remedy caused the transmission failure and had failed to correct the transmission issues. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.

My 2014 f150 XLT experienced recall s4s37. I brought the truck in for the recall after experience a sudden downshift into 1st gear while driving at 70mph. The pcm software update was installed during my first visit to my local Ford dealership (team fod in steubenville, OH). The issue occurred once more after the pcm update and team Ford dismissed me after they could not replicate the issue. The sudden downshift happened twice more and I was again dismissed as team Ford could not replicate the issue. After the downshift had occurred 4-6x, team Ford reached out to Ford support at my request to resolve the issue. They informed me I should consider replacing the lead frame. With the ongoing recall issues of the 2011-2013 f150s (which included a lead frame replacement as part of the recall), this should have been recommended at my first appointment. The sudden downshift continued over the course of 6-8months prior to team Ford recommending I replace the lead frame which then led to my transmission blowing. 1. The lead frame should be included as part of recall s4s37. 2. My transmission should be covered by Ford as the ongoing sudden downshift while team Ford failed to inform me of the correct fix inevitably resulted int he gradual deterioration of my transmission. For reference, my vehicle has 65,000miles. Ford knows the lead frame was the fix for the 2011-2013 models and cheaped out on 2014 (and potentially other years) due to the quantity of vehicles that experienced this recall.

The 10 speed transmission left the factory as a failure waiting to happen. It will up shit and down shift numerous/many gears without notice. At 45 mph will downshift to 1st gear without any warning, going around turns, in the rain and snow it will make for a hand full to drive. I have taken up numerous lanes to trying to keep from crashing and hurting anyone. To keep from overrevving the engine and kicking the rods out of it, one must immediately slam on the brakes. It will hold numerous gears at once, when this happens the trans fights itself internally and 100 % of forward motion is lost. Not fun when making a left turn getting up to speed. It will also slam into gears when up shifting and downshifting, it will startle you and you will have to stop accelerating to let it hunt for a single gear ( hopefully not first ). Ford suggests resetting the tcm and ecm and removing any codes. New this wouldn't help but what did I have to loose. No better after the relearn. (I'm an ase master tech ) worked on them and built them for the past 45 years.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and accelerating, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and turned off and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to a local dealer to be diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was not determined. The dealer replaced the throttle control and the pcm; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 94,000.

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The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission experienced rough shifting and unintended downshifting into first gear. Additionally, the transmission inadvertently shifted to fifth gear while idling from a stop. The transmission warning light was intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who updated the pcm software, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to technical service bulletin: 13-6-8 (transmission high gear engagement from a stop); however, the vehicle was not covered under the TSB. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle independently decelerated. The accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the speed odometer went from 75 mph to 0 mph in several seconds. The contact stated that the engine was making an abnormally loud sound. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with powertrain control module and powertrain control module (pcm) software failure. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for the repair. The contact was informed that the powertrain control module needed to be replaced and the powertrain control module software needed to be reprogrammed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was informed that NHTSA campaign number: 19v075000 (power train) had expired, and the repair could not be covered under the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 119,920.

Powertrain control module (pcm) software reprogrammed under recall 19v-075. The software used to reprogram the pcm did not have the necessary updates to prevent the transmission from unexpectedly downshifting into first gear, regardless of vehicle speed. This is caused almost have and accident in the free way went you driving, and Ford it should be changed the trasmition because now I have this F-150 making payment and I can use and we pay all the fee and this is a lemon if Ford don't want to be responsible.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear. The contact also stated that the transmission shifted to the incorrect gear while driving, causing the vehicle to fail to respond as needed. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was sluggish while driving with the power train warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 24v444000 (power train); however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the pcm had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

Transmission misses gears, causes truck to rev and then bang into gear. Accelerating onto highways or to pass the vehicle alternately loses power or over revs then the truck jerks around and slams into gear. Accelerating to enter a highway is dangerous because you cant be sure it will continue to accelerate, avoiding other cars is not always possible when the transmission is slipping. We have had it to a shop, we have had the tcm reprogrammed, we have had the transmission valve body replaced, nothing makes it better. There is a light that looks like a wrench that eventually came on after a few weeks of the above. Then the light randomly went off and the transmission acted ok for about 2 weeks, then it came back on and its worse than ever now.

My 2013 f150 downshifted abruptly from 5th to 1st gear going 55. This caused me to stop dangerously and abruptly. It then got stuck in 1st gear. I turned off truck and restarted and it was stuck in 3rd gear. I did have a check engine light read which were codes: p0720/p0721/p0720 pointing to the output shaft speed sensor. I had Ford dealership TSB performed in 2020 to reprogram pcm to prevent this from happening, wrench icon showed a long with airbag light and dashboard quit working all except rpm gauge. The first time this abrupt downshift occurred was today February 21, 2024. Seems like a very dangerous safety issue and the dealership has no regards to it and said they are booked out and it would be $150 to look into it.

The contact's husband owns a 2015 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 60 mph, the vehicle independently downshifted and the rpm surged to 6,000 rpm. The failure persisted while depressing the accelerator pedal and the vehicle failed to accelerate and shift out of first gear. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. After restarting the vehicle several times, the contact drove the vehicle to a dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a defective powertrain control module (pcm). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact recently discovered that the 2014 model year Ford F-150 was recalled under NHTSA campaign number: 24v444000 (power train) and the contact linked the failure to the recall. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

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The contact owns a 2022 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at various speeds on several occasions, the transmission would only shift from first through fourth gear and the vehicle was hesitating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the tcm software update needed to be performed. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to another dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted in second gear. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 9,271.

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My truck will downshift on its own, I. E. , I’m doing 65 mph on the highway in 6th gear and it will suddenly downshift to 1st, 2nd or 3rd gear, causing my back tires to spin out, I almost lose control of the truck and I lose speed quickly when other vehicles all around me are still doing 65 mph or more. The truck has also failed to shift out of first gear at all, the speedometer needle does not move at all and the truck will not shift up when I’m trying to accelerate. This is a danger to me and to all drivers around me. Ford is aware of this problem, the issue is a faulty lead frame assembly and it needs to be replaced. They issued a recall that called for a pcm reprogramming - a reprogramming of the pcm module was supposedly going to fix the issue with a faulty lead frame assembly! crazy, it clearly did not as I had the pcm reprogrammed and the truck is still acting crazy due to the faulty lead frame assembly that Ford refuses to replace at their expense. It’s a $200 part!!.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted from seventh gear to first gear, nearly causing several crashes. The contact stated that the transmission warning light was illuminated. The contact stated the failure had been reoccurring. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was determined that an update of the tcm needed to be performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to an unknown recall; however, the manufacturer confirmed the vehicle was not included and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.

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The contact's wife owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 75-80 mph, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted from 6th gear to 3rd gear. The power train warning light was illuminated. The contact shifted to neutral(n) and pulled to the side of the road. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle operated as needed while driving. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer several times; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the transmission failed to shift from third gear to first gear. The contact was able to continue driving. Additionally, the contact stated while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal until the engine revved to 80 mph, and the vehicle responded, but then failed to exceed 5 mph. The contact pulled to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to another dealer, where the transmission control module and the crankshaft pressure sensor were replaced. The vehicle was repaired, and the contact was provided a two year warranty for the tcm. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact attempted to shift from park(p); however, the vehicle hesitated to shift out of park(p). In addition, the contact stated that while driving 10-25 mph, the gears felt abnormal during acceleration. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that when the failure occurred while driving, he would merge over to the shoulder of the roadway and shift to park. The vehicle would then resume to normal. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000.

Power train light came on a busy highway, transmission disengage from engine ,vehicle stops in the middle of traffic. Towed truck to the dealership on the on the 08/21/23. Reset pcm and tcm module. On the 09/07/23 same problem vehicle stop in traffic. Truck would not move in drive or reverse when engine running ,towed to the dealership today .

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 30 mph, the vehicle downshifted from 4th gear to 1st gear. The power train warning light and the check engine warning light were illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle; however, the check engine warning light remained illuminated. The contact turned on the hazard lights and continued driving 10 mph. The contact parked the vehicle at the residence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the failure was related to the transmission. The contact stated that the pcm was reprogrammed in 2021 under NHTSA campaign number: 19v075000 (power train) however, the repair failed to fix the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that recall repairs were a onetime free repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shifted into an improper gear unintendedly. The pcm warning light was illuminated during some of the failures. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the leadframe connecter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.

When pulling out of driveway and starting to accelerate the vehicle feels like it lurches forward from the rear as if rear ended. Dealership notes after review don’t reflect the issue that actually originally occurred and brought in for. Dealership reset the tcm and stated it resolved the reverse wnngage issue and temporarily resolved the power accelerate issue and drove fine for a day or two. Then on the third day it lurched again and lost all acceleration but engine reeves let foot off gas and then tried again to accelerate and same thing as I began to pull over the vehicle lunged forward again nearly making me drive off the road. This is a safety concern for myself as I live on a major highway and need to accelerate out of my driveway up to 65 and could pose a major accident. It has also dont this daily other times over the past few weeks while driving around town not just as I leave the house.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that during cold starts, he heard a ticking and tapping sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that after idling for five seconds, the ticking and tapping sound subsided. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed by the technician of a known issue and provided information regarding TSB: 20-2315 (replace the vct and update pcm). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was advised to call the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall and advised to call the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 70,600.

Beginning 3 months ago, intermittently during in-town traffic driving, the vehicle will shut off. It happened about once a month. Three weeks ago when it did this, it said low charging system, so I took it to the dealer where purchased it. The alternator tested low, so it was replaced. Two weeks later, it died at a stoplight again & at idle, then the dash message said disengage auto-shut off and restart engine. I called the dealer where purchased it & they came and got it. They tested it for a couple days & also had several people drive it, and they said it did fine with the auto-shut off turned on. Well this afternoon I drove it local around my own town, and it's still runs rough. It idles rough and is acting like it wants to die again at stoplights. I only way to be comfortable driving it is with the auto-shut-off disabled. In traffice at a redlight that turns green, and if you're stalled out, it's going to cause a rear-end collision. Not to mention it's hard on the battery and alternator having to keep restarting at intermittent intervals in traffic. The dealer said they drove it around their lot area, however, it doesn't do it unless drive it for 45 minutes or an hour. When discussed this with 3 area Ford dealers, they all said it's going to be hard to find. There's no check engine light or any sort of code that can be used. They also stated it's probably something small causing it. One specific dealer stated that something else is causing this issue, and until that is found and fixed, it's going to keep doing it. The dealer that's been handling this and purchased from, did a factory reset on the pcm.

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My truck started to throw codes p0240 and p0430 when my truck hit 81000 miles. I am now at 141000 miles. I have since replaced both of my catalytic converters, all 4 of my O2 sensors and I still have the same p0240 and p0430 codes. I also took my truck into Ford on Feb 26, 2025 for the recall on my pcm reprogramming. They claimed to have redone the programming but ever since they did that, I now have shifting problems, surging, clanking, hard shifting, random and sporadic shifting with no end in sight. This should be addressed by Ford TSB 24-2101 but again, they did nothing and claim there is nothing wrong with my truck. I have had a fluid replacement and filter replacement with no issues noted, no metal parts, no burnt smell or burnt fluid. Today I came across Ford TSB 24-2184 where they acknowledge that there is an issue with the calibration and controls sensitivity and that replacement of catalytic converters may be necessary. Ford never did any of this. The recall on my truck, which was reprogramming of my pcm also leads to dirty and fouling of the catalytic converter. I have spent over $3000 so far to fix Fords mistakes and not only in nothing fixed, I still have the exact same issues. When I take it to Ford, all the do is clear the codes and then the codes come back on before I get home. So Ford is aware of the issues, knows about the issue and yet will do nothing to fix it.

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While driving the transmission had a harsh engagement when shifting gears and when leaving from a stop later the same day the vehicle would no move when applying the acceleration pedal, then the transmission engaged after a few seconds. The transmission or transmission control module (tcm) needs to be addressed.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that on various occasions, the transmission was downshifting into first gear and causing the vehicle to come to sudden stops. The check engine and power train malfunction warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module (tcm) and lead frame needed to be replaced. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 19v433000 (power train). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was 56,736.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the check engine warning light remained illuminated due to the excessive oil consumption of the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that the pcm module failed and needed to be replaced. Additionally, the dip stick needed to be replaced with a longer dip stick. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound and lost motive. Additionally, the accelerator pedal floored while depressed and the vehicle service warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where code p0722 (pcm) illuminated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, however, the vehicle is out of warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 104,000.

The truck was purchased used in October 2022 with 82k miles on it, but it appeared to be operating fine from the dealership. Shortly after the purchase, the transmission started hard shifting and also hesitating between shifts. I took the vehicle into a Ford dealership and they test drove it saying it was normal, but also refused to check the pcm to see if the calibration was the most current from Ford. On February 27, 2023, as I was passing a slow moving vehicle on a highway the gears starting acting erratically, jumping from 8th up to 10th, then dropping all power (while showing that it was in 1st gear on the dash), then suddenly hard downshifting in the pass, almost causing me to lose control of the vehicle in the pass. After completing the pass, a "wrench" light came on, so I stopped at the nearest place I could to see what it was saying. My Fordpass app said it was a powertrain issue, but then as I restarted the truck, the wrench cleared. I was able to make the rest of the drive home, but with extra clunky and hard shifting. I've now taken the truck in for an inspection, but have been seeing online that this is a common problem, which is wildly unsafe of Ford to have not fixed this.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 30-35 mph, the vehicle downshifted and the rpm’s increased without the vehicle accelerating. The contact then stated that the transmission inadvertently downshifted to 5th gear. The powertrain malfunction warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and produced dtc codes: p061a, p0720, p0722. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was transferred to the NHTSA hotline and provided a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 127,500.

This began in November of 2022 as an intermittent concern. At first, it appeared that I could temporally correct by pulling over completely shutting off the truck and re-starting (re-booting) but is rapidly becoming worse and today (02/09/2023) became untenable, no matter what I did; the speedometer would not work or behaved erratically for brief periods; the information center display disappeared and then became dashes; the transmission randomly down-shits gears causing the wheels to lock up briefly or does not shift at all, causing engine rpms to spike. While thankfully this has only occurred at speeds below 40 mph, I feel that this is a safety concern for myself and others as operation of my vehicle becomes haphazard and unpredictable and I am very concerned that it may happen at higher speeds causing a crash. While I have not had the "wrench" displayed, I have read the following codes: u0401 invalid data received from ecm/pcm; p0316 misfire at start; p0722 output speed shaft sensor the local dealer sates that he believes it to be a molded lead frame issue that was recalled in previous F-150 models but as mine was a 2014, it was not covered. Obviously, the problem has not been resolved for subsequent models. Additionally, the needed replacement part is unavailable and on indefinite back-order, or as the dealer put it, on "inter-galactic back-order" so now, I have an expensive paper weight in my driveway, waiting for a part that may be months or even up to a year to arrive.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that on numerous occasions while the vehicle was idling or after the vehicle was started there was a loud rattling sound coming from the hood. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the variable camshaft time unit pcm reprogram for cam phaser rattle needed to be performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced the customer satisfaction program: 21b10 (variable camshaft time unit pcm reprogram for cam phaser rattle) however, the manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was advised to call the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 39,150.

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