The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission shifted hard between gears. The contact stated an unknown warning light was illuminated and then went off. In addition, the contact stated that the transmission hesitated while shifting between gear and then unexpectedly downshifted. The contact stated that the transmission seemed not to identify the intended gear. The contact stated that the failure had become persistent. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The vehicle was scheduled for a diagnostic test. The contact stated that when the failure started, the vehicle was taken to the dealer several times, however the failure was not duplicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.
2020 Ford Expedition transmission complaints
Page 5 of 10: complaints 101 to 130 of 270, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the transmission unexpectedly downshifted from tenth gear to first gear. The contact's wife drove the vehicle to the shoulder of the road. The contact's wife was almost rear-ended by a tractor trailer. The vehicle was driven to the residence with the hazard lights activated. The contact test drove the vehicle and the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the contact stated that in 2024, two transmission software updates were performed by the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact was advised to contact the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
i bought a 2020 ford expedition with the 10r80 transmission last july. They have used this transmission since 2017 and continue to put it in vehicles depite having many issues with them. When i was sold this vehicle i was told it had a new transmission just put in it (by another dealership than who i was buying it from) and the carfax (that i still have) shows that the transmission had been replaced. In the last month or so ive been having a hard shift at 4th and 8th gear. i figured it would be covered under warranty so i take it back to the dealership that did the work. They said it didnt have a new transmission only the cdf clutch was replaced. now when i look at the carfax it only shows the tranmission was rebuilt. Thats Fraud. a dealership shouldnt be able to change a entry. i was only 2231 miles over the powertrain warranty and ford will not help. the part that was fixed only had a year warranty and it just a month past a year since it was repaired. Ford knows this tranmission has problems and should be held accountable. i look forward to hearing from someone.
Transmission has extremely hard downshifting which has required the tea be replaced. Vehicle will downshift so hard it feels like you have been rear ended. Vehicle has to be put into neutral and then back into drive. This is very hazardous.
My check engine lights comes on and off reading that it is a failure with the catalytic converter. Check engine light had been on for 2 weeks I had already called Ford to set up appt. The evening before taking truck in check engine light went off. I called Ford 5/13/25 that light had gone off do I still take truck in. Since I received letter for recall, I took truck in for service . They say they only need to reprogram the PCM but now they are saying that the Catalytic Converter is bad and needs to be replaced costing $5000. What is Ford thinking this truck has been nothing but problems. I told tech that truck has been running accelerated for a few weeks when driving. Problem with check engine light could not be reproduced since it turned off the day before I had appt set. Rep told me that they just needed to see if they could read that it was the recall issue and they would just reprogram it.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated the transmission was slipping while driving at an undisclosed speed. The contact stated that on one occasion, while her daughter was driving 60 MPH, the transmission started slipping and the vehicle failed to accelerate above 60 MPH. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to TSB: 23-2120. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle needed to be test-driven. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.
At highway speed 70mph, I accelerated and the vehicle downshifted to 1st, followed by loss of gear with a loud clunk. Then alarming for transmission. After coasting to about 30mph the teansmission clunked again and powere cane back. Happened while passing a semi truck. This was reproduced multiple times, on demand and I have video documentation. Dealer eventually rehauled the transmission. But now its starting to miss gears / have hard shifts. This transmission is a Huge safety risk.
This suv has 10 speed transmission that has faulty harsh shifting hesitation, acceleration problem when shifting on highway or in situations when you need to slow down and or accelerate. This has happened many times while trying to get on the highway and switching lanes. I have almost been run over because it stalled someone is going to get killed. I have had the Powertrain control module pcm reprogramed twice and it keeps happening. Ford is aware of this. They need to get this trucks off of the road!
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle turned off and downshifted independently. The vehicle was not diagnosed by a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 20V197000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 88,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that occasionally, while putting the vehicle into drive or attempting to accelerate from a stop, the vehicle first hesitated or jerked before shifting into gear. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the CDF drums and seal in the transmission were faulty and needed to be replaced. Additionally, a transmission strategy download and transmission shift adapt tables needed to be performed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 71,000.
When accelerating quickly, such as to pass, the truck feels as if it is in neutral. when the gas pedal is pushed down, the RPMs jump up, but the truck doesn't accelerate. After letting off the gas, the RPMs will drop, there is a loud "clunk" in the rear end and then power will be restored. No codes are being stored to diagnose issue. Happens intermittently and all speeds.
At 45000 miles the transmission started slipping gears, we took into our local ford dealership for a warranty repair. They had it for a month and a half stated the computer just needed reprograming. Well now we sit at 72000 miles and the vehicle needs a WHOLE new transmission. They are stating that due to axial movement of the CDF clutch cylinder bushing it has caused failure of the transmission. My vehicle has came to a complete stop no warning multiple times in the middle of the roadway, I have been stopped at a red light and when I hit the gas, the car rolled backwards. There were ZERO warning lights, only a hard shift every now and than. The car is currently at the dealership and ford is refusing to help even with multiple other vehicles with this same issue. They have sent me a 10k bill. From my understanding this same transmission has already been recalled in other ford vehicles.
The vehicle's transmission shutters upon rapid acceleration, especially at high speeds. It feels like it goes into neutral while trying to shift and jerks into the next gear. The RPMs shoot up and back down when this happens. You can also feel the car lose power (decelerate) when this happens.
We have replaced our transmission twice and sending the truck in for a third replacement. The transmission does not run smooth and when it shifts from 3rd to 4th gear it drops into gear very roughly. The last time it did this the TCM also faulted which stuck the truck in 7th gear while driving on a highway. Ford will only replace with the same part in a manufactured condition.
A 2020 vehicle with 80K miles is in need of a new transmission, after having hard shifting problems a few months previous. Rarely used for any towing. Appears to have a defective transmission.
My 2020 Ford Expedition was repaired by Ford (under the power train warranty) in early 2024 for down shifting and loss of power when attempting to accelerate. That repair took multiple weeks. Last week (March 2025), while driving on the highway at 75mph, the vehicle lost all acceleration and the power train warning light came on. We pulled over since we could not accelerate. The vehicle was brought to the same Ford dealership where they diagnosed another transmission issue. The vehicle remains at the dealership until Ford determines an exact diagnosis and how they will proceed. The vehicle has now had two major transmission issues, the second of which occurred at highway speeds. The vehicle was purchased new in June 2020 and currently has 56k miles.
The Shift Cable is not seating correctly causing the vehicle to slip out of gear. This mostly occurs if you are at cruising speed and then accelerate to pass a slow vehicle. The Transmission slips out of gear and then you have to decelerate to allow it to find gear. It also makes a hard clunking noise when shifting out of park into drive. This is the same exact issue that was recalled for the police versions. However, my vehicle has the exact same issue and concern, verified by the Ford Technician. Mine is not covered under the recall as it only covers Police versions. So I was asked to pay $9,859 for a new transmission. I am 6,000 miles outside of warranty and have no vehicle to drive now as my 4 year old vehicle is basically totaled over a transmission. Ford Corporate declined any financial assistance even though it is a known product issue.
First my vehicle kept saying service shift system fault, then when the dealership did something to repair that, the next week they told me I need a new transmission. This put my family of seven at risk because the transmission started stalling while we were going on a trip and also had a hard time shifting to different gears and would make a clunking sound. We also started rolling backwards down a hill and barely made it up the hill. The car also started stalling while I was driving it on the interstate which almost made us get into a multi car accident at night. When I took my vehicle to one ford dealership they told me it was the transmission but when I took it to a different one they told me something else just for them to fix it and then a week later tell me it’s the transmission. My Expedition has been at the Ford dealership for over two weeks now because I’m trying to get goodwill assistance from the Ford corporate office. The warning sign that came on was service system fault and a wrench light.
My vehicle without notice just pops into neural and i get a warning on my dash it has happened several times and every time it has happened it has been on a busy freeway. Very dangerous conditions . I have taken into the ford place to get checked out. also my Ford app had notifications.
While driving on a highway at approximately 40mph, attempted to pass a slower vehicle. I accelerated and the vehicle dropped down in gear, started shuddering, lost power and the MIL light started flashing. I pulled to the side of the road and the vehicle shifted into another gear and seemed to operate normally. Vehicle is currently at the Ford dealership, where they say that I need a new transmission.
Transmission, it is available for inspections. Loss of acceleration power while at interstate speed, the otr driver behind us could barely stop quick enough. Two more occurrences happened same trip while driving from New Orleans to Lake Charles. Driving 75 in left lane, took foot off accelerator to coast and navigate into right lane and while transmission was supposed to be downshift, I lost power again and watched my RPM’s rise suddenly. Ford dealership ran diagnostics, and told me the valve body needs replaced at roughly 2k, I am 15000 out of warranty and they acted like they knew but wouldn’t help me. An independent transmission dealer in Lake Charles told me to trade the vehicle in or put a 2025 ford transmission in at 7k, the problem is, I don’t have that kind of money, and this should absolutely not be happening at 85k miles. He insisted the transmission was damaged and dangerous to be driving, and this is prevalent with the type of transmission in fords and chevy’s from 2019-2024. No warning lights or alarms came on at the time of these incidents that I recall, honestly I was too busy making sure I didn’t kill my wife and 4 kids. Apparently, this is a well known issue with these transmission, but now I’m faced with having to either trade in a vehicle that I am most likely upside down on, to no fault of my own, having to purchase a new vehicle that fits my family, or purchasing a 2025 ford transmission at the recommendation of local transmission dealer, there is no history on ford 2025 transmissions so idk if this the way to go. While I will get this figured out, I am taking the time to express my personal concern and experience in this matter and hope there are no future casualties related to this issue, which I’m afraid Ford will only address if there is, sadly.
I was driving my vehicle at 48 mph and went to accelerate; the car slips out of gear and drops into neutral, started smelling smoke. This is the 5th occurrence. Previous occurrence happened while traveling in dark, rainy weather on the interstate. I am lucky that no accident occurred. I had car serviced for this same issue in 8/2024, but they did not fix the transmission issue. The vehicle is currently at the dealership service department. The dealer has been unable to reproduce the issue as it has happened a handful of times and does not give the service department a diagnostic code upon diagnosing. The dealer service department inspected the vehicle and is saying that I need a whole new transmission, although the first time I took it in for the same issue they fixed the throttle body, which is completely unrelated to the transmission. At the time of all of the incidents, the car flashes a "system fault/failure". It happens so quickly I cannot remember exactly what it says. When service department tries to diagnose there are no diagnostic codes. No warning symbols appear on dash after car is shut-off and restarted. This seems to be a known issue with Ford 10-speed transmissions (10R80). Why have they not had to recall these? I am lucky that I have not injured in these incidents. Are they waiting for someone to get critically hurt??
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred, and the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact returned the vehicle to the same dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that a hose on the transmission had not been installed correctly. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred two more times, and the vehicle was returned to the same dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 99,000.
Several times per month, At normal highway speeds, vehicle slips out of gear into first gear. Vehicle also grinds through gears when searching for correct gear. Transmission shifts hard under normal conditions when up shifting to third gear.
Hello, my name is [XXX] and I’m writing in regards to the transmission issues with my Ford expedition. I have reached out to the customer service line and currently my vehicle is at confidence Ford in Norman, OK. I’ve had issues with this vehicle since I bought it New and I’ve tried multiple times to have the transmission repaired. It has been to Patriot Ford in Purcell, OK(No longer in business), Zeke Ford in Purcell, OK (No longer in business) Woody Ford in Madill, OK.I’ve tried multiple times to get it into other dealerships, lastly it has ended up at Confidence Ford, Norman, OK. Due to the nature of the transmission, it has caused multiple problems and almost deadly situations. This vehicle has been stalling out and losing power since the day we bought it. CUSTOMER SERVICE said that they cannot help us because it is over the hundred thousand miles mark, but I have continued to seek Support and Repair Services since I bought it new in 2021. If you recall during this time, it was after Covid when there was limited resources for repairs and dealerships to offer loaner vehicles or to even rent loaner vehicles. So in the situation of not being able to keep it in service they would give it back. Before I bought this vehicle new, I owned the exact same vehicle that I had bought preowned from Seth Wadley Ford in Pauls Valley, OK. The previous vehicle had the exact same issues and was a Complete LEMON. The previous vehicle had to be traded in for a new one. We thought that buying a new one hoping It would not be a lemon, and with a warranty that we would not have a problem and that the previous one was a fluke. Sadly it was not. I have almost been T-bone, rear ended and hit head on with my 3 young children in the car on multiple occasions, too many to count. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The transmission on my Ford Expedition is "slipping" and causing safety concern when there is a need to accelerate or decelerate, but the transmission is struggling to shift into 8th gear and then when it finally does, it causes an abrupt jerk. This has put my family in at risk several times, but we had an incident this morning and I decided it needed to be reported. The dealer was able to inspect, diagnose, and confirm that the issue was that the "CDF drum that holds the gears in the transmission." The issue was repaired under the existing powertrain warranty, however, the exact same issue is now occurring again for a second time a few months after the initial repair. This leads me to believe the parts are faulty and need to be replaced with a different/better part. I also want to share that this issue is being experienced by other people that I know who drive newer Fords. There were no warning messages or lights the initial time or this current time.
While driving on a highway at approximately 70mph, attempted to pass a slower vehicle. I accelerated and the vehicle dropped down in gear, started shuddering, lost power and the MIL light started flashing. I pulled to the side of the road and the vehicle shifted into another gear and seemed to operate normally. Vehicle is currently at the Ford dealership, where they say that I need a new transmission, due to the CDF drum failure.
The transmission has been having problems for a year. Ford changed the valve plate in transmission due to hesitation and then jerky gear shifting. Problem is still happening. Car hesitates when shifting gears and then jerks. Sometimes the car will no shift gears and go when needed. Almost got in a wreck because it would not accelerate.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving at approximately 5 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle was hesitating and then hard shifting into gear while gaining forward momentum. The contact stated that the hard shifting and hesitation had occurred at various speeds. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle had started to hesitate while shifting into drive(D) or reverse(R) after a cold start. The contact stated no warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failures were intermittent but were occurring more frequently in the past several months. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the TCU needed to be re-flashed. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Expedition. The contact stated while driving 60-65 on the highway, changing lanes, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the transmission unexpectedly downshifted from eighth gear to first gear. The vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The message to “Service Immediately” was displayed and then turned off. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and the computer was reset. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
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