While driving at 55mph in normal traffic, the transmission downshifted from 10th to 3rd gear, then shifted to neutral, then back to 10th gear. While the transmission was hunting I had to brake and pull onto the shoulder to keep from getting rear ended. Once the transmission figured out what gear to be in, I continued to drive the truck home. It has remained parked in the driveway since due to unknown reliability.
2018 Ford F-150 transmission complaints
Page 5 of 35: complaints 101 to 130 of 1,022, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My vehicle stutters and hesitates as I accelerate up to 55moh. This occurs constantly not only during first startup.
Vehicle stalls, slams into lower gear causing truck to slam to a stop. Vehicle will go into neutral and not change gears while going down the hwy at hwy speeds
I have incidents where my vehicle will downshift or upshift erratically causing my truck to jerk and cause unsafe road conditions. For example when going somewhere or driving in traffic, I can come to a stop and the truck will downshift so quickly and jerk to the point to where it increases idle and I'm worried it's going to cause me to hit another car on the road and cause an accident. Very unsafe
The transmission in my f150 sometimes will down shift harshly when coming to a stop causing a sudden jolt that is very alarming. This does not happen very often. What is very consistent are these two symptoms. During acceleration it shifts very hard going to 3rd to 5th, skipping 4th all together. When accelerating up to highway speeds and merging the shift from 7th to 8th is delayed, and the engine RPMS spike. The inconsistency in the acceleration makes me wary that an unalert driver may rear end me.
Purchased my F 150 2017 King Ranch New from Auto Nation in Ft Worth Texas. Started having transmission problems and dealer did several computer updates. Moved in 2020 to Caldwell Texas and problems continued. Very hard shifting between gears (loud bang and jerking of vehicle). Then twice while traveling at about 60 miles per hour the transmission appeared to shift to much lower gear and engine RPM jumped to red line on tack. Required emergency move to shoulder because speed was also reduced. New Ford Dealer in Caldwell was unable to duplicate problem but recommended I take to a transmission expert (Oliver Brothers Transmission, Bryan Texas). Had dealer change fluids in transmission and rear differential before taking to Oliver Bros. Oliver Brothers believed the transmission may have a bad valve body. At that time I was afraid of transmission down shifting at the wrong time and causing me to wreck. Took back to Ford Dealership in Caldwell and told them to replace transmission. They replaced complete transmission and the hard shifting went away and so did the down shifting, this was 06/2023. I later traded in the truck for a new 2024 F 150.
Made an appointment with a Ford dealership to take a look at my 2018 Ford F-150 10 speed transmission on 12th May of 2026 they said everything checked out. I brought it in because the transmission was slipping and shifting very hard .they said everything checked out and was fine on the 12th of May and two days later my truck didn't want to start up. I had a notification from Ford on my Ford app saying I had a malfunction powertrain or transmission issue and a wrench symbol lit up on my dash. I took it back to Ford dealership on the 14th and they took a look at it and they could not get anything to come up on their History check so they did a hard reset after they had it for about a week .I got it back on the 19th of May and it was still continually slipping and shifting hard so I made an appointment with a local transmission shop and they inspected it and told me to transmission was shot so they installed a rebuilt transmission. At that time this said transmission only had 42,668.8 mi on it and truck does not do any towing or hauling
10r80 transmission failure. Ford dealer told me that ford is aware of the defective components in the 10r80 pre 2022, issued guidance on what updated components they designed to replace defective ones, and never issued a recall. Said this is very common but company won’t take responsibility or assist with the $10K repair.
Transmission began shifting very hard into 3rd gear. Later the transmission got stuck in 4th gear and would not shift out of it, even at a complete stop. Was able to manually shift down to 3rd gear after a few minutes, then it started to shift normal. Lately the transmission has shifted from 7th gear to 1st gear and back to 7th gear, from 8th gear to 1st gear back to 8th gear, and twice it has shifted from 10th gear to 1st gear back to 10th gear. This happen while on a major roadway going 30-50 mph. I lose all throttle response for a few seconds during this process. It is a frightening experience. Not being able to control the speed of the vehicle or being able to accelerate is not safe. Many times at stop signs/crosswalks the vehicle will lunge ahead abruptly while shifting up gears. The truck is currently at the Ford Dealer, they say that it needs a new transmission. They said the Ford 10 speed transmission is known to have issues and they are backed up with this type of work. No warning lights or messages ever appeared. The hard shifting into 3rd gear started in the late fall, but the other shifting issues began early spring.
The transmission failed at 108,000 miles, no warning, no lights, nothing. It cost me $10,000 on a vehicle I paid $32,000 for, less than 14,000 miles earlier. Neither Ford directly or the dealership were any help. Ford customer service told me, if it was one mile less than 100,000 miles they would have replaced it at no cost. I also found many other things wrong with the vehicle that the dealership misrepresented to get their top dollar.
This vehicle was purchased from toothman and sowers Ford in west Virginia as certified pre owned. It has never run correctly. The transmission has a cdf drum failure which causes it to lurch forward randomly with several near miss accidents. It is completely unsafe to drive. It hangs up on gears and accelerates on its own with no press of the accelerator. Ford says it's $10000 to fix it but they know about it, created a tsb and never recalled. These trucks are a hazard and should not be driven until fixed. I don't drive the truck anymore and definitely won't put my toddler in the truck since it lurched and almost wrecked in an intersection. More near misses in that truck because of this failure than I care to keep track of. Now, it sits. It runs and looks pretty, but transmission is garbage and a hazard.
Shifting vary hard
I previously had an issue with my 10 speed f150 transmission shifting into first gear at highway speeds and locking into first gear. It was taken to the dealer and had a tail shaft speed sensor replaced. It had been issue free for a few years now, but the issue happened again this weekend while towing a loaded trailer almost causing a loss of control and crash. It was completely unexpected and required the vehicle to be stopped and restarted to get the truck out of first gear
Within the past three years of owning I have had an unfortunate circumstance where my transmission twice now; once at 90,000 and now at 110,000. My vehicle has decided to unexpectedly shift WITHOUT my input from 10th to 1st resulting in the transmission needing to be serviced due to the fact it will dump transmission fluid (a quart or two) and reach temperatures of 215 to 230 degrees Fahrenheit while driving at high speeds for example both instances have been on the interstate doing 75mph. I will loose all power of my vehicle but I still am in control of it. This to me is a huge safety concern due to the fact I am driving at a high rate of speed. Yes I understand it has been twice in three years but this is not a normal circumstance. I have had a local shop take a look at it and both times they have found nothing major except a loss of a quart of fluid. Due to the fact there is multiple information available out there on this similar event so it is not a fluke I believe it is more a coincidence with the 10r80 transmission by ford. I am reporting it because in my personal opinion this is NOT normal or typical behavior for a transmission, I only have 110,000 on my odometer so yes I can definitely see high mileage being a factor but if that is the case why has my transmission not finally given out yet? There is practically an impending doom feeling every time you sit down and put it in drive, you don’t know when or if this can happen again
Known transmission issue from Ford with 10-speed transmission. Transmission failed at 106,500 miles, and needing to be replaced. Ford has knowingly ignored issue, and is charging for repair.
The 2018 F150 I purchased started out a good vehicle like most vehicle do. The problems then began to come one after the other. Routine oil changes on the vehicle at the dealership with no hiccups turned into “Your motor is low on oil”. The tech tried to find a leak. The motor wasn’t leaking ANYTHING, so naturally the tech told me the motor was burning the missing oil. The tech told me “they all burn alittle oil” and topped it back off. I had another “incident” where I was driving on the highway a few weeks later and my engine light came on, and I lost oil pressure. The red “low oil pressure” message came on the dash and I promptly limped my truck to the dealership once again. The tech diagnosed the truck and found a plugged PCV valve. It was changed for a brand new one from the dealer, followed by another oil change well under the recommended interval naturally, due to the motor burning almost all of the oil. The truck still burns oil, and the issue seems to be impossible to remedy. The issue that followed the engine burning oil is the 10R80 Transmission installed from the ford manufacturer. Once again everything seemed fine when I purchased the truck. After driving it for 20-30k miles, the transmission has developed a flare shift between the 3rd-4th gears. The transmission is getting more and more hesitant to upshift and maintain and gain speed. This is considerably noticeable when attempting to get on the highway. This is unacceptable. It puts me in a very vulnerable spot because it doesn’t happen all the time. So I have to be EXTREMELY aware and prepared for the truck to become inoperable while merging into the flow of traffic. On two occasions now, while merging onto the highway with traffic, I have had to pull over to the shoulder of the road and put my hazards on to allow traffic to go around me due to my 2018 F150 with the 5.0/10R80 combination NOT increasing speed, and reving close to 5k RPMs. THESE ISSUES MUST BE ADDRESSED.
My 2018 Ford F‑150 experiences harsh shifting, sudden downshifting, gear hunting, delayed engagement, and shuddering during normal operation. These issues occur regardless of weather, temperature, or driving conditions and present a serious safety concern when accelerating or maintaining speed. Detailed Description of the Problem: The transmission consistently behaves unpredictably, including: Abrupt and harsh upshifts Sudden, unexpected downshifts (including multi‑gear drops) Gear hunting at steady speeds Shuddering or vibration during light acceleration Delayed engagement when shifting from Park or Reverse These symptoms occur every time the vehicle is driven, whether accelerating from a stop or maintaining a constant speed. The behavior is unpredictable and creates a risk of loss of control, especially when merging, crossing intersections, or driving in traffic.
Vehicle shifts hard and sometimes goes to high RPM before it finds a gear. It also slams into gear once it finally does go into gear. It also shudders when downshifting to pass and feels like the truck is about to fall apart while shaking
The transmission is the 10r80 model and shifts erratically. should be recalled and rebuilt. i only have 40k miles but it jerks when shifting from park to reverse or reverse to forward and when driving it struggles to go into the correct gear causing delayed acceleration. i have to drive carefully to prepare in case the shift delay and i also have to take a lot of extra time parking to avoid the harsh jerking so others can't get out of the road waiting on my truck to operate. Ive been to dealer and paid 500$ for adaptive learning reset as suggested as well as fluid and filter change but did not help whatsoever. The transmission also runs extremely hot. Ford dealer has aknowlged my concern but will not do anything unless ford issues a TSB or a recall but my model year hasn't had either. No warning lights have been present. There's also rattling when the truck shifts gears at lower speeds from transmission area and the truck also moves forward and back when defending down hills from whatever is going on in the transmission. FORD SHOULD REBUILD OR REPLACE TRANSMISSIONS IN 10R80 models!!!!!
When driving transmission has issues in low gears specificially when starting from a stop and accelerating, often shifts very hard, or shifts into neutral and engine just revs. Very unsafe in all aspects as normal accelration does not take place. I have taken it to my local mechanic who advised that this is just how these transmissions are, and my next step will be to take it to FORD directly. "Check manual" light pops up w// a wrench
I am experiencing a severe safety hazard with my 2018 F-150's 10R80 transmission. While accelerating, the transmission unexpectedly drops into neutral during the 2nd-to-3rd gear shift. The engine revs to the redline, then violently slams into gear, causing the truck to jerk forward unpredictably. This creates a terrifying, uncontrollable moment in traffic. A mechanic diagnosed the issue and stated it requires a complete transmission replacement using the newly updated, redesigned parts to prevent a recurrence. I am the second owner and the previous owner did a transmission flush and filter at 120k miles, currently at 140k miles and the transmission has failed. The previous owner had a detailed service history thats why I bought the vehicle because it was in such good shape.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power train independently downshifted. The contact stated that the power train warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with metal shavings in the oil pan and a failed transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with a recall related to the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
The contact's son owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while his son was driving on the interstate at 70 MPH, the vehicle downshifted into 4th gear. No warning lights were illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who confirmed there were no recalls. The failure mileage was approximately 8,100.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon start of the vehicle, the vehicle would fail to move when placed into reverse(R). The contact would be forced to place the vehicle back into park(P) and wait before being able to proceed in reverse. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle would jerk upon depression of the accelerator pedal as a wrench(transmission) warning light would appear on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that on multiple occasions the vehicle would enter limp mode after the warning light appeared; the contact would be forced to restart the vehicle due to the failure. The contact called the Ford dealer and was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. An independent mechanic was also notified of the failure and the contact was informed that a drum in the transmission does not hold enough pressure which causes the transmission to fail. The contact stated that the manufacturer does not produce the part needed to repair the transmission; therefore, the transmission needs to be replaced. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
Observed changes in transmission with lack of smooth shifting between gears and hard bang going into drive. While operating on the roadway noticed downshifts were causing issues with braking smoothly. Took vehicle to Ford dealership where diagnosis was CDF drum failure due to bushing movement which was already stated in a TSB. Current mileage on the truck is only 60300 miles.
Transmission shifted from 6th gear to 1st gear while driving on the highway. Unpredictable hard gear shifts at times.
Slams in reverse and when shifting in some gears with the 10-speed transmission. The CDF drum is a major issue with the 2018 Ford F150 due to the design defect in the drum. Ford recalled some trucks for the drum issue, but my vin # shows no recall. This is a major expense issue due to Ford's design, and I feel should be a recall issue.
The transmission shifted from 10th gear to 9th gear and then to 8th gear on a flat freeway going 70 mph. It quickly reduced our speed causing vehicles behind us to brake hard so as not to crash into the back of us. Ford and the dealership have been no help because of the transmission being out of warranty. Ford knows there is a problem but refuses to fix it. Customer service and safety is not more important to them than profit. There were no warnings before it happened. It has happened more than once. It also happened on I80 in 2024.
I recently had the 10R80 rebuilt due shifting issues and it was discovered that the CDF drum and the outer shell were defective. The transmission would shift erratically and sometimes would shift into a lower gear that should not do causing immediate high engine rpms and throwing passengers forward. In wet conditions this would cause a loss of control. I retained the defective parts and documentation of the rebuild.
My trucks transmission is not shifting right. One time I pulled out and I wouldn’t shift almost causing me to get rear ended. Another time it just randomly went down like 5 cars cause me to almost get rear ended on the freeway.
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