2016 Ford F-150: jerking or lurching

Filed Aug 27, 2026 · Transmission · 88,000 miles · FL · crash

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle hesitated to maintain acceleration while the accelerator pedal was depressed, which caused the vehicle to jerk forward into the rear bumper of another vehicle in traffic. The front bumper struck the rear bumper of the other vehicle. A warning message reading "Cannot Exceed 80 MPH" and an additional unknown warning message were displayed. The air bags did not deploy. No injuries were reported. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the front bumper was replaced at the contact's expense. The vehicle was later repaired under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 26V237000 (Powertrain); however, the repair failed to prevent the failure from recurring. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer, where it was determined that the vehicle needed further diagnostic testing for a possible transmission repair. The vehicle was not repaired due to cost and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000.

Filed Aug 6, 2026 · Transmission · VA

dangerous, unpredictable transmission behavior Violent Downshifting Sudden jerks and Deceleration and Power Loss: heavy jerking loud clunks gears making noises following the forced downshift, the truck will experience a massive, unexpected drop in speed, sluggish and difficult maintaining speed like limp mode driving in normal speeds then loss of power engine stalling in the middle of rush hour traffic The Orange Wrench Light and check engine light will come on with codes p0720 I went did the reprogramming as recommended Ford dealer performed Safety Recall 26S28, which immediately aggravated the transmission failure and left the vehicle completely disabled. in the highway the dealer's recall software update directly caused a total transmission failure the next day, and i feel unsafe driving the vehicle due to the severe unprompted downshifting risks outlined in the federal safety agency Campaign 26V237 Felt unsafe to drive truck and also it became undrivable and had to have it towed to the Ford dealership that did recall.

Filed Jul 29, 2026 · Engine, Transmission · PA

I was driving on the highway speed limit 65, and all of the sudden it down shifted to first gear, jerking the truck almost to a complete stop, very scary and unsafe. I pulled over to recoup myself . It is now happening more frequently, wrench light on the dash . Not sure what I need to do , my truck is my life support for me and my family! Help me please! Thank you,

Filed Jul 23, 2026 · Acceleration, Engine · TX

Vehicle suddenly seemed to shift while driving causing a loud sound, jerk and caused a loss of control suddenly.

Filed May 27, 2026 · Acceleration, Engine · WI

Low idol sputters then dies down shifts clunks and stays stuck in 3rd gear cruse control fails different modes stop working wrench light on dash truck is lurching on takeoff basically just destroying itself while in operation rendering it undriveable

Filed May 26, 2026 · Transmission · 126,000 miles · MI

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle intermittently shifted to a lower gear, including jerking motions. The wrench warning light illuminated after the incident. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was unable to completely diagnose. The dealer was also contact but he vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 126,000.

Filed Apr 12, 2026 · Transmission · AR

The Transmission Started suddenly, downshifting from high gear to a lower gear at speed, non-sequential and unexpected. I.e., not regular accelerations shifting from 6th to 5th, but a hard, sudden, unexpected shift from 5th to 1st. causing jerking and high rpms. Subsequently, it has not downshifted and has remained stuck in a higher gear at a complete stop, like at a traffic light in 5th or 6th gear, increasing the risk of being unable to accelerate from a stop if needed.

Filed Apr 7, 2026 · Electrical, Transmission · MO

Saturday 4/4 I took the truck to get a tire repaired. It would not initially start. 5 minutes later it finally did. Then a few blocks away the trucks internal lights started flashing and it jumped from drive into a lower gear. I thought my drive quit working. I pulled over and had reverse and low so I attempted to put in drive, still wouldn't go. After about 5 minutes I was able to get the truck back into drive and get it home where it sits today. I just bought it 1 1/2 months ago. It happened to my son also on Thursday 4/2 but I just found out about it. He was going highway speeds when lights started flashing and truck jerked from drive into a lower gear. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS. I want to know what you are going to do about it? I just paid $22,000 for this truck. I shouldn't have to deal with this. My son looked it up and says it is P0707 lead frame failure or output shaft speed sensor. Whatever the case, it would be nice to know what can be done about it other than switching to manual dirive.

Filed Mar 17, 2026 · Electrical, Transmission · WA

I’m reporting a serious transmission issue with my 2016 F-150. While driving, the 'wrench' light suddenly pops up on my dash and the truck starts shifting erratically. Sometimes it feels like it’s searching for a gear or jerking unexpectedly. I had the codes scanned and found P0706, P0707, and P1921. These are all related to the Transmission Range Sensor (TRS) signal. I know the federal safety agency is currently investigating this exact failure under EA26001 because it causes the truck to lose track of what gear it’s in. Even though my tires haven't locked up yet, the erratic shifting is making the truck unpredictable and dangerous to drive in traffic. It’s clearly the same Lead Frame defect that is being investigated for a recall.

Filed Feb 11, 2026 · Transmission · VT

Over the past few years, I have experienced sporadic issues with my transmission. I am aware of an investigation into 2015-2017 F-150's with 6-speed 6R80 automatic transmissions which is what I have. According to articles I have seen, there have been reports of sudden down-shifts at highway speed from 6th to 2nd or 1st gear. While I have not experienced anything that drastic yet, I am concerned that it's just a matter of time. I have experienced slipping out of 6th gear or what I would describe as the transmission "hunting" to find a shift point between 4th and 6th. I first became aware of this while trailering an RV on the highway using cruise control in the summer of 2023. Periodically, I would notice a "lurching" sensation as the vehicle seemed to have difficulty maintaining 6th gear. As time has gone on, I've had this happen even when not trailering but when going up hills at times (transmission under load). Additionally, I have experienced sudden loss of power under acceleration like entering an on-ramp to a highway. Twice (at least) I have had this happen, the check engine light will begin flashing and I lose the ability to accelerate. After stopping, shutting off the vehicle and then starting again, the CEL turns off and I can resume driving. I have brought this issue up with my local dealer twice, but they have not been able to diagnose anything because of how sporadic the problem is.Their advice was to simply wait until the problem got worse and more predictable. Since my F-150 is not a daily driver for me, it has largely just sat in my garage since 2023 and rarely used. But on the handful of occasions I have driven it since this issue first appeared, I am constantly concerned I will run into a major problem.

Filed Feb 8, 2026 · Electrical, Transmission · MI

Vehicle: 2016 Ford F-150, 5.0L V8, 6R80 automatic transmission Mileage at time of failure: Approximately 118,000 miles Approximate date of occurrence: Late 2025 (Late October to Early November) While driving at speeds above approximately 40 mph, the transmission would randomly and unexpectedly downshift, causing a severe and sudden jerking motion accompanied by extremely high engine RPMs. After several seconds, the transmission would violently upshift back into the original gear. Most occurrences involved the transmission downshifting one or two gears; however, on multiple occasions it downshifted from 6th gear directly to 2nd gear while traveling at highway speeds. This caused the rear wheels to momentarily lock up, creating a dangerous loss of traction and loss of vehicle control. These events occurred frequently, including during short trips, and were not related to driver input, braking, or road conditions. During these incidents, the check engine light and wrench warning light would illuminate. Diagnostic trouble code P0720 (Output Shaft Speed Sensor Circuit) was consistently stored. This pointed to a failure within the transmission molded lead frame, which houses the output shaft speed sensor and related circuitry. Due to the severity of the symptoms and the known issues with the Ford 6R80 transmission molded lead frame, I replaced the molded lead frame myself. After replacement, the erratic downshifting, wheel lockup, warning lights, and fault codes were completely resolved. The vehicle has operated normally since the repair. Ford has a documented history of issues related to molded lead frame failures in 6R80 transmissions, including erratic shifting and loss of speed sensor data. This failure presented a significant safety risk, particularly at highway speeds, due to sudden and uncontrollable deceleration and momentary wheel lockup.

Filed Aug 11, 2025 · Transmission · 158,000 miles · MI

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear with the gear shifter indicator light flashing. The vehicle was jerking while depressing the accelerator pedal, and the contact was forced to shift into neutral(N) before shifting back to drive(D) to resume normal driving. The failure persisted until arriving at the intended destination. The dealer was notified of the failure, and the contact was informed that there were no recalls on the VIN related to the failure. The contact was referred to the manufacturer and was provided with the same information. The manufacturer referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 158,000.