2004 Ford F-150: transmission slipping

Filed Jun 16, 2022 · Transmission · 260,000 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

The contact owns a 2004 Ford F-150. The contact stated while starting his parked vehicle, he found that the vehicle would not start. The contact self-diagnosed and bypassed the starter solenoid using a screwdriver and started the vehicle. The vehicle slipped out of the park and rolled backward. The contact was backed over by the vehicle and had received injuries to his ribs and stomach. He had lacerations and abrasions to his back and chest. The contact was able to get out from under the vehicle and attempted to stop the vehicle which was rolling. The contact jumped into the passenger side and attempted to brake but could not. The contact attempted to push the shift lever into "park" but the gear would not engage. The vehicle rolled and crashed into the rear end of a parked vehicle. The contact's vehicle had damage to the rear bumper and the rear end of the other vehicle had the bumper and trunk crumpled. The police were not called and the contact did not seek medical attention. The contact was able to start the vehicle and drove it to his residence. The contact then examined the undercarriage and determined that the transmission linkage cable had been resting on the doughnut of the exhaust system. The contact stated that the outer cable shell had melted and the metal cable was exposed. The contact diagnosed that the exposed cable had contributed to the vehicle slipping out of gear. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 260,000.

Filed Oct 15, 2016 · Transmission · 190,000 miles · GU

Takata recall : truck is slipping in forward gears and the reverse will not move even if u you rev it up it's like it's in neutral. All this happened when I was leaving work to go home

Filed Apr 27, 2014 · Transmission · 121,100 miles · MI

Had the same problem as mentioned multiple times in this list. Accelerating past 40 MPH, the truck slipped out of gear and rev'd up to about 4000rpm. Did the same thing repeatedly after the first incident. Apparently a broken snap ring. Hard to believe this is not considered a safety hazard, and something that should be fixed via recall??

Filed Mar 19, 2013 · Transmission · 87,250 miles · IA

Driving up a hill at about 35mph , and noticed the transmission slipping . It keep going in and out of gear . Finally the od shut off and was able to get it back to my house . Luckily I was only 4 blocks away .after diagnosis from the dealership , it turns out that the od retainer clip went out ,took out my 2nd gear and cracked the housing . From looking online this appears to be a common problem that ford is not aknowledging .

Filed Feb 21, 2010 · Transmission · 90,168 miles · MA

Transmission failure, driving to work, transmission shift into neutral , again and again, lost of power in traffic while driving ,all fluids were normal, will not shift into 3rd gear, slips into neutral at 34 MPH, 80,176 miles on od. I drove to ford dealer in 2nd gear, $450.00 just to look at, 3- rings +valve body need replacing, total of $2,468.00 cost of repair. Safety issue == loosing all drive power in traffic, this should have been a recall after seeing all the complaints on this website this is my second big repair with drive train. At 60,000 mile a had to replace the rear differential at $1,600.00+ , I do not tow anything and do not use the truck for work, 4.6l , 2-wheel drive.

Filed Dec 27, 2009 · Transmission, Visibility · 47,000 miles · NC

Window failure in my 2004 f150 ford pickup. Window just falls down & tape will not even hold it up. This is a well known failure by ford & no recall. Also, my automatic transmission is slipping for the second time. It only has 47k miles with these well known & documented pervasive problems.

Filed Nov 4, 2009 · Transmission · 33,800 miles · NC

2004 f-150, 4x4, 4.6l engine. Transmission keeps slipping. The vehicle only has 33,800 miles on it, but the time has expired for the factory warranty. This occurs approximately every fifteen miles or so. It started one time about three months ago and quickly went to the ford shop for repair. They "fixed it" they said, but about five hundred miles later, you guessed it, it started again. I have read a ton of forums specifically about this happening to hundreds of other vehicle owners of the same make and model. Please assist with getting this problem fixed and some help is holding them responsible. The same dealership that fixed the problem (lol) stated that they fixed it and that they are not responsible for fixing it again, despite it only being three months ago. Please help.

Filed Feb 5, 2009 · Transmission · 112,800 miles · TN

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford f-150. While driving approximately 40 MPH on normal road conditions, the overdrive switch was activated and the transmission slipped between gears. When the overdrive was deactivated, the vehicle operated normally. There were no warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing and they stated that the failure was related to the computerized system. The vehicle has not been repaired. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 112,800.

Filed Jan 20, 2009 · Transmission · 46,000 miles · PA

My 2004 ford 150 heritage pick-up has serious transmission slippage- it also wont go into reverse at times- I mentioned this at the ford deal while under warranty, and they nothing was wrong with the truck- the transmission starting banging into when 1st put into d- and now has severe slippage in it- the list ed incident date below- is when I 1st started to notice erratic transmission behavior.

Filed Aug 22, 2008 · Transmission · 82,000 miles · SC

2004 ford f150 with numerous problems. Now at 82000 miles the transmission is slipping badly. The transmission slips when accelerating and the engine revs until the transmission kicks in. I am afraid when it decides to jump in gear it is going to cause an accident. From what I have read on the internet many other f150 owners are experiencing the same problem with the transmission. Our truck was purchased new but has been in the shop repeatedly for brake problems (7 times), tire problems (2 times), rear end (2 times), broken drive shaft (2 times), electrical (1 time), electrical is starting to have problems now too. We replaced a 98 mazda truck with this 04 f150 because we thought the f150 would be safe and reliable. The 98 mazda, sold to my brother-in-law, is still running great. What a mistake!!!!

Filed May 21, 2007 · Transmission · 61,000 miles · WI

I bought the 2004 fx4 f-150 super cab in late 2005 with 25000 miles on it. I purchased a $1400 extended warranty from an independent company through the ford dealership. After the first few months I noticed a grinding sound under the truck that sounded like a few ball bearings rolling around quickly in a metal bowl. It would last about 5-10 seconds and then I would not hear again for a few months. After about the 5th time this happened I took vehicle to the ford dealership, and they could not duplicate the problem, so nothing was done. The next time this noise was heard I quickly turned on the 4x4 high via the switch on the dashboard and the noise went away immediately. I could do this every time after. This was telling me it was somewhere in the transfer case. So, last week around 60000 miles the transmission started grinding in traffic, slipping, and giving me a transmission fail indication where the odometer was located , and a flashing overdrive off. This happened for about 10 minutes until I could get off the expressway, and exit into a gas station parking lot. I thought for sure the transmission was going to blow out at any moment. I turned off the truck, which reset the transmission fail alarm, put the truck in reverse, which made a loud slamming noise. I then put it in drive and was able to drive home with only grinding noise in first gear. I waited 2 days ,and then drove the truck to the dealership 40 minutes away without any problems . After a day in the s repair shop they pulled the pan and it had metal shavings everywhere. They called and told me they couldn't figure out how I was able to drive to the repair shop. They found some bad seals and a vacuum pump/solenoid in the transfer case, the transmission was gone and was completely replaced. All the software has been updated, which I have heard can cause the majority of the problems. It would have cost me around $6000 if I didn't purchase the complete warranty.

Filed Apr 6, 2007 · Brakes, Transmission · 3,000 miles · TX

2004 f-150 supercrew 2wd automatic. Transmission requires rebuild at 54000. Bought new all seals replaced within 2-3 months due to fluid leaks. Slipping began less than 40,000. Fluid flush alleviated the issue, but slipping returned. At 60 MPH trasmission slipped into neutral momentarily at random times. Power rear sliding window does not work; failed within first 2-3 months; no computer code to detail the issue so ford will not fix regardless of confirmed failure and warranty coverage. Rotors had to be replaced on first break maintenance.