Repeated Transmission failures. Abrupt shifting that has been repaired numerous times only to return.
2017 Ford F-150 transmission complaints
Page 6 of 20: complaints 131 to 160 of 560, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 55-60 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted into low gear. The vehicle lost motive power, the brakes locked up, and the transmission failed to shift out of gear. The transmission shifted to neutral and was shifting roughly and erratically. The driver shifted to Manual Mode and was able to continue driving in LIMP Mode. There was smoke coming from the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact linked the failure to the federal safety agency Action Number: EA26001 (Power Train). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who confirmed that there was no warranty coverage for the failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed the warranty status, opened a case, but declined further assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000.
2 years ago i replaced my valve body in my 6r80 transmission due to constant down shifts to first gear at 45 miles an hour and rear wheel lock up with no codes shown. Replacing that part fixed my issue up until today, 2 April 2026, as i was driving to work today and the same thing happened again. Approximately 45 MPH my transmission downshifted to first gear, violently rev'd my engine to 6500 RPMS and locked my rear wheels briefly.
6R80- Unexpected downshifting at highway speeds without driver input causing the vehicle to slow down. Harsh/rough when shifting and sounds like I'm driving on the rudders on the side of the highway. No warning lamps or messages. Occasionally downshifts hard when I'm slowing down and then potentially locking up my rear wheels.
Transmission will jump out of gear. Transmission will shift from 1st to 5th skipping all other gears. Transmission will stay in a high gear even when I’m stopped. transmission will get confused on what gear to be in and jump all around. sometimes the transmission will get stuck in limp mode in fifth gear and I will not be able to move until a loud bang when it shifts back into first. These problems will occur every few weeks and has been going on for more then a year. Sometimes going a month or two without any issues.
Sudden and harsh downshifts happening at speeds above 40mph in normal drivign conditions. The vehicle now shudders while crusing and clunks into and out of gears. The 6R80 transmission now feels like it is slipping when giving the vehicle gas from a standstill.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 75 MPH on the highway, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted from 5th gear to 1st gear, and the rear wheels locked, and the vehicle slid. The vehicle then went into LIMP Mode but was still drivable. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 123,000.
I've had the transmission replaced under fordprotect warranty and subsequently another torque converter and subsequent to that, a new program installed to repair low RPM Shudder. Under mild acceleration at interstate speeds (65 TO 75 mph) it now hunts for gears with random upshifts and downshifts while failing to maintain or increase speed which constitutes a safety hazard.
Sudden downshift at highway speeds.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the gear shift indicator failed to display on the instrument panel. The transmission unexpectedly downshifted from 4th gear to 1st gear. A maintenance warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a transmission range sensor circuit (TRS) failure. The vehicle was repaired with a new lead frame. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 107,179.
Torque converter failed. Started with slipping feeling in the rear end. Then got worse and worse before it was a constant slippage. Local dealer and repair shop both diagnosed as a torque converter and both strongly recommend replacing the torque converter and the transmission. Around $10,000
Transmission started shuddering then it downshifted to 1st gear while driving 45. Almost blew the motor up and scared the living hell out of me. No accident thankfully. 2 days later transmission went out completely. 5300 dollar repair bill from Coburns in shreveport Louisiana.
While driving vehicle shifts from 6 gear to first gear on 6r80 transmission amd hard shifts..wheels lock upbwhen vehicle downshifts abruptly.....spoke with ford mechanic and this is a known issue with lead shield and or speed sensor.. this item need a recalled and repaired...no codes are thrown but it is a well know issue...recalls are on 10r80 transmissions lead shield but not 6 speed. Please help
I slowed down to make a turn, when I accelerated after completing the turn the transmission shifted from 1st gear to 5th gear, skipping 2nd, 3rd, & 4th gear. This caused the truck to stall. I shifted the transmission to neutral and back to drive to try to get it moving again. It moved a little and stalled again. I shifted to park and back to drive, the truck moved a little and stalled again. I shifted the transmission to park and shut off the ignition. I restarted the engine and shifted to drive and the truck started moving, shifting perfectly as if nothing is wrong.
The transmission lead frame failed and was replaced by a repair facility. One morning while driving on the interstate, I noticed the information display would randomly lose the 1,2,3,4,5,6 gear indicators. Within a few miles the transmission slammed down from 6th gear to 3rd. Then the display would become blank again. After leaving work the trans wouldn't shift above 4th and then the info diplay would randomly go blank. Upon exiting the interstate, the trans shifted down hard to 2nd gear and my rear wheels began to skid on the ramp almost causing loss of control. The wheels unlocked once a lower speed occured. Upon turning onto the two lane road and getting back to speed, the trans was stuck in 3rd gear. I slowed down and came to a complete stop, upon proceeding the trans then was locked in 2nd gear and the doors would not lock. I slowed down to 5mph and the doors locked, then the trans would shift up in gears. I stopped by the repair facility and they used a snap-on scanner to determine it was the lead frame issue as they'd repair many prior. When leaving the shop the trans was "stuck" in neutral and the truck wouldn't shift to a gear. With moving the shifter several times I was able to find a gear and proceed home. The trans then shifted extremely hard at times, or slip gears as well if accelerating. Upon driving the truck back for my appointment two days later I once again had the 2nd gear wheel skid from 6th gear slamming down hard into 2nd. The lead frame was replaced and the vehicle has been great since without issue.
Automatic 6 speed transmission has down shifted to 1st gear 3 times this week while traveling 30 to 40mph locking the rear wheels and red lining the motor in traffic.
Torque shudder , involuntary downshifts , gets stuck in 2nd ,
10 speed transmission. Hard downshifting, skipping gears and producing the check engine light when it goes into 10th gear. Yes it is available for inspection. Yes, the problem was reproduced, has not been inspected by the manufacturer. it is a $9,000 fix. There were no warning lamps, messages etc, prior to failure.
6r80 lead frame failure causing erratic shifting and hard slamming and getting stuck in one gear on the interstate
Whenever I am going at highway speeds the truck sometimes does some erratic shifting it’ll be in 5th gear and it will downshift all the way down to second gear and I lose power so it’s dangerous being on the highway and losing power and it’s also happened while trying to merge on the highway I’ll lose power because of the random shifts so I really can’t predict what my car will do. Even when regular driving on the streets when trying to step on the gas a bit from a stop it will start accelerating and it will suddenly down shift also it just feels like something is going to break and I’ve had it happen twice where one of my rear wheels locks up.
My torque converter was worn out due to improver down shifting by my transmission, causing me to have a complete transmission replacement. All work was inspected and then replace by a transmission expert.
While driving my 2017 Ford F-150 equipped with the 10-speed automatic transmission, the vehicle began experiencing progressive slipping and delayed shifting between multiple gears, including failure to upshift beyond higher gears during normal driving. The transmission would flare between shifts and hesitate before engaging. During one drive, the vehicle would not shift properly and displayed a wrench warning message instructing the driver to see the owner’s manual. The transmission appeared to enter a reduced performance or limp mode. The issue has worsened over time despite a recent transmission fluid service and computer relearn/flash performed by a service center at a cost of approximately $1,100. No overheating occurred, but slipping continued and spread to additional gears. Prior to purchasing the vehicle, abnormal shifting and clunking were noticed during the test drive and brought to the dealer’s attention. The behavior was described as normal operation for the 10-speed transmission. The transmission has since deteriorated into failure requiring replacement. This malfunction creates a safety risk due to unpredictable acceleration, delayed power delivery when merging or crossing traffic, and loss of normal shifting operation. Independent repair facilities have diagnosed the transmission as internally failing and recommended full replacement with estimated repair costs of approximately $8,000. Symptoms began gradually and progressed to active fault behavior with warning message activation.
While driving my truck erratically shifts. I’ve gotten multiple indications stating that Elite frame sensor is bad. I have been traveling 70+ miles an hour down the interstate and my rear wheels lock up the transmission drops in the second gear. This is a major safety hazard as it could cause major accidents. While looking through other complaints, this is a major ongoing condition with the 6R 80 transmissions in 2017 Ford F1 50s that has been reported on numerous occasions.
Out of no where I was stopped at a traffic light and just before the light turned green, a yellow wrench appeared on my dash for a moment and stated only "see manual". I cleared the dash screen and pressed ok, the traffic light turned green and when I applied my foot to the gas peddle the RPM's went up but the car did not move. I pressed just a little harder to give a bit more gas and the RPM's continued to increase until the car's transmission threw itself into second gear quite forcefully and the car moved. I had it inspected by my mechanic and when he scanned the car's trouble codes he discovered the following: P0722-00, U0155-00, U0401-82, U0452-82, B1081-07 All those codes are tied to the transmission's lead frame failure which is a well known issue. Ford has extended additional warranty coverage up to 2016 models with the same 6R80 transmissions but will not cover my 2017 which was manufactured in 2016 with the exact same transmission having the exact same problems.
The transmission control module in the 10R60 transmission is no longer communicating with the vehicle. This caused the vehicle to not be able to determine which gear it is in causing it to not start.
I was driving 70 mph down the interstate when my truck unexpectedly shifted into 1st. A couple weeks later, I was driving down the interstate when my truck unexpectedly shifted into neutral and then the reverse camera came on. I took it to a local mechanic shop yesterday when the truck unexpectedly shifted into neutral again. This is completely unacceptable and is very dangerous. It is currently being worked on to replace the lead frame but this is a huge safety issue and id like Ford to cover my repair cost. It has left me stranded three times now. I did the recall not too long ago and this DID NOT fix the issue. Ford clearly knows about the issue and decided to only update the software. Id also like to add my truck is only driven maybe once a month so its not heavily driven.
While driving down the road all of a sudden vehicle slams then shifts down indicator lights for gear selection starts flashing. It has happened 4 times so far this week February 17, February 19 of 2026.
Downshift in transmission, now shudder when going 45-70. Started around 65,000 miles now I have around 87,000 miles on it.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was stopped at a stop light, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the driver’s and passenger’s side rear wheels locked up. The contact stated that after several seconds, the vehicle started operating as intended. Neither an independent mechanic nor a dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 78,684.
10 speed transmission hard shifting, sudden power surges, during shifting it’s getting stuck in gear. Sudden shifting while driving. It’s come to my attention this is a known issue for my 2017 Ford F150 EcoBoost 3.5L V6, 10 speed automatic transmission. I need help with repairs. Was told to report this on this site.
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