My 2016 ford f150 started to harshly downshift non stop no matter how fast or slow I was going and on one occasion going 40 mph getting onto the highway the truck dropped into first gear and caused my wheels to lock up and in result I spun out on the onramp. I then brought the truck to a transmission shop and was told that my lead frame had officially caused my transmission to go out and unusable until a rebuild or replacement is done. now leaving the truck sitting. This is absolutely ridiculous and an extreme safety issue especially when I have done the proper maintenance on time for the transmission for years. I was lucky to not have hit anybody or have gotten hit. This needs to be fixed my ford ASAP.
2016 Ford F-150 transmission complaints
Page 8 of 22: complaints 191 to 220 of 618, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I'm experiencing the wheel lock from downshift referenced in Investigation: EA26001. I've experienced it when downshift happen going down canyons in Utah. Additionally, I have downshift issues when going uphill. It triggers P0741-00 and P1744-00, which appears that it could be an issue with the lead frame.
My wife was driving our f150 and the wrench appeared on the dashboard, the truck lost power. She was able to pull over and shut the truck off. I drive over and plugging in my code reader and the codes I got said the transmission shifter wasn't recognizing what gear it was in. I was able to erase the codes to start the truck and get it home. I called ford and was told there are recalls for this but my truck was not affected. I called a transmission company and was able to get it to them for repair. The part they repaired is the same part that is recalled on other trucks the same age as mine. So my truck should be recalled for this issue. How do I get this recall to include my truck and how do I get reimbursed for this cost. My truck only has 88k miles on it. This needs to be covered and I need your help in making this happen please.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, the light changed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle rolled backwards unexpectedly while in drive(D). The vehicle was stopped and shifted to park(P) and then shifted into drive(D) and responded normally. While driving and close to the residence, the vehicle started to lose motive power. The vehicle responded as if it were shifted into neutral(N). The contact arrived at the residence and turned off the vehicle, and the vehicle was difficult to restart. The "WRENCH" symbol was displayed. A handheld scanner was used to retrieve DTC: P0706 and P0707 for transmission range sensor failures. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,000.
The first sign of trouble with my 2016 Ford F-150 was that the blind spot sensor failure light came on while driving. Then the engine warning light came on and the gear indicator on the dash went blank. Also, while the truck was in forward driving motion, it lost throttle control. After stopping the truck and shutting it off, it would not restart. The check engine codes were 0706 and 0707. After clearing these codes, the truck started again, but repeated the same issues three more times in one week. The truck was taken to the Ford dealership and confirmed that the lead frame needs to be replaced.
Truck down shifts randomly, causes a shutter, and has a hard time accelerating. I had a sensor replaced inside of my transmission along with new transmission fluid put in and it failed to fix my problem.
Had issue with sudden downshifting ,not changing gears ,hard shift as well. Took the vehicle to AAMCO and was told the transmission needed to be rebuilt. So i did just, at 99,000 miles. Not sure if this helps your findings.
The transmission is clunks on random shifts through gears. Changing the shift selector results in a jolt and then it pops into gear. This truck has had new tranny wire lead replaced at ford dealership because of the same issue in the past
I was driving down the road with the cruise set at 60 mph when I came over the top of a hill and I started to decend down the hill if felt like my truck had down shifted and the back tires locked up and screeched a little bit then a big bang happened and had no more drive gear as I hit the gas it just reved the motor up and didn’t move. Upon further inspection I pulled the rear differential cover off and my spider gears and the shaft holding the gears in place was snapped in 2 different places, chips in the gears. My transfer case chain was snapped in half and my transmission had hard shift from first to second gear and a loud buzzing noise. . I took the truck to my mechanic and hooked a scanner up to it and took it for a test run. As it was driving a sensor was telling the truck to shift into park as it was shifting from first to second or second to third causing a hard shift and buzzing noise and eventually losing all connectivity to the transmission and internals as well. I have sense replaced the whole rear axel, transfer case myself with used parts and is currently in the shop swapping transmissions as I needed my vehicle to continue working. Safety of myself and or others was definitely at risk when my rear tires locked up the rear end could have slid out cause me to wreck and possibly wreck into someone else. There was also no warning lights or anything on my dash before this incident occurred.
The contact's husband owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that while her son was driving 60 MPH, the driver lost control of the steering wheel and the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted, and the vehicle almost came to a complete stop. Despite the failure, the contact's son was able to drive the vehicle back to the residence, and the vehicle was parked and remained parked at the residence. The dealer was notified of the failure, and the contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.
Was traveling down the road and my truck randomly downshifted into 1st gear and caused my rear wheels to lock up and i almost went off the road..occasionally 9n way back home gear shift selector was randomly cycling back and forth and truck would seem like was neutral and would suddenly go back into a random gear.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle shuddered and stalled. The WRENCH symbol (Powertrain Malfunction Indicator Light) was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken back to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.
Gets stuck in 3rd and 5th gears randomly, on the interstate it will get stuck and won’t shift, we believe it is a lead frame issue, in town it won’t down shift out of third, we can turn it off and on and it can jump from first to third gear while not moving, sometimes it runs just fine, it does this at random
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.
While driving at approximately 55 mph the vehicle began to behave strangely. The "D" light for drive and the gear indicator began to flash. Then the transmission abruptly down shifted to 2nd gear from 5th then lost all power before returning to somewhat normal operation for a short period of time before happening again. The issue occurred multiple times in a 5 mile trip. If there was anyone close behind me it could have resulted in a crash, or it could result in myself losing control of the vehicle. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by a mechanic. There were no warning lamps or any messages prior to, during, or after the issue.
My 2016 F150 with a 6R80 transmission will randomly fail to go into gear resulting in my vehicle going into neutral and rolling. It will randomly go into neutral while driving down the road which makes my car roll forward unexpectedly, it will randomly when you shift into park it will go into neutral and roll, it will also downshift randomly at random speeds, it has caused me on more than one occasion to almost roll into another vehicle due to it unexpectedly going out of gear without notice almost causing an accident. I believe it to be the lead frame in the transmission. It has been replaced twice with oem ford parts and has failed once within a week and the second time failing the next day, all work done at a licensed service shop, inspected and has failed completely regardless of parts being replaced,
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH with cruise control engaged, the vehicle experienced transmission failure. The contact stated that the engine seized, and the vehicle abruptly stopped. The “Service Transmission Soon” message was displayed on the instrument cluster. The vehicle was turned off and restarted, and the message was cleared. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Action Number: PE25002 (Power Train). The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, who confirmed that the VIN was not under recall and there was no recall related to the failure. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle with transmission valve body failure. The transmission valve body was replaced. The manufacturer was contacted but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000.
Transmission downshifted unexpectedly during normal driving .
Sudden downshift from 4th to 1st gear. Rear end locked up, had to manually select 1st gear in order to get power back to the wheels.
The truck suddenly downshifted to 6th to 2nd gear on the highway. Engine rpm hit more than 7000. Transmission now grinds, shudders and slips. Almost caused a wreck. Hasn't been documented to anyway, just by word. Has not been inspected as there is no way to inspect. No warning before incident, transmission now grinds 4th to 3rd gear, shudders in every gear and slips.
Approximately a year ago I started having trouble with the shifting in my transmission. Had the fluid changed thinking this may be the problem. My engine light continued to stay on and has been on ever since. Periodically the truck will down shift or not shift into another gear without the rpms going above 3000.
I have a 2016 f-150 5.0 L sport edition truck. Last year I had to replace the OSS on the transmission due to rear wheel lock up and transmission slipping/ down shifting while driving. I don’t see that my truck VIN is under the current recall or investigation that is taking place but I do have receipts of where I paid for a certified mechanic to replace that sensor. The truck has less than 100k miles on it currently and even less when that sensor was replaced. Any help regarding the current investigations or recalls so that I can be reimbursed would be great.
Sudden downshift from 4th to 1st gear, rapid deceleration and loss of traction. Unable to accelerate until manually shifted back into 2nd gear.
Several times while at highway speed and while towing, the transmission suddenly downshifted into a very low gear causing the rear wheels to lock up and skid. This happened randomly and also left me stranded for a bit at a stop light. The vehicle was towed to porter ford and they replaced the lead frame harness
Transmission issue with the shift from 3rd to 4th gear. While accelerating, i,ve experienced grinding and a drop from 4th down to 1st gear, then jumping back up. This causes the RPM to rapidly increase and the truck to lose acceleration immediately. This problem has happened more than once, less than ten times over the past two years. I have not had the local dealership diagnose this yet.
Vehicle showed wrench lite and went into safe mode when stopped went back to normal continue to drive and then vehicle showed wrench lite lite and engine check lite went into safe mode stopped vehicle and engine died would not restart checked codes received 706,708,and 1702. Prior to this no indication of problems
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.
Transmission will get stuck in 5th gear. Downshifts when traveling at highway speeds. Sometimes hard shifts.
Vehicle would get stuck in gear while driving, then randomly downshift harshly. Occurred in Feb 2025 and immediately brought in for service at 98730 miles. Service advancetrack, wrench light, and no hill start assist light illuminated on dash. Truck would go into limp mode. P0715:00-64 and P0717:00-6C codes were pulled at 1st mechanic shop. 1st shop did not work on transmissions and referred me to ford dealership. Dealership wasn’t able to reproduce hard shifting, but while test driving it went into limp mode with all previously mentioned lights on the dash again. Code P0717 was thrown again. Determined bad lead frame and needed replacement. Paid out of pocket for lead frame, pump adaptor, bulk head connector, and filter replacement. Problem has not occurred again since repair.
Multiple times while driving my 2016 F-150 I would lose all power to my wheels. The RPMs would rise but no power would be transferred to the wheels. This happened one time while on the on ramp at 50+ MPH, a second time while drive down a city street at about 30 MPH, a third time while starting from a stop light, and a fourth time again when driving in the city at about 45 MPH. The check engine light would come on for a minute or two and then turn off. After the vehicle did this for the fourth time the check engine light stayed on. After reviewing there are two error codes the vehicle relayed that the mechanic said are related. During these 4 instances there were two time (highway on ramp and city street at 30 MPH when the loss of power to the wheels caused the vehicle directly behind the F-150 to have to swerve around to prevent a collision. P0722 (Output Shaft Speed Sensor Circuit No Signal) and P061A (Internal Control Module Torque Performance). The vehicle is available as well as the Scan results from the OBD2 sensor from 4 February 2026. The vehicle was not taken to an auto shop due to the check engine light not remaining lit prior to the 4 February incident at that point it remained lit and an OBD2 scanner was used to read the error.
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