There is an open recall from April 2026 that has yet to be addressed by FORD. APR 14, 2026 Manufacturer Recall Number26S28 the federal safety agency Recall Number26V237 Recall StatusRecall Incomplete, remedy not yet available Summary ON YOUR VEHICLE, AN UNEXPECTED DOWNSHIFT TO A LOWER GEAR MAY OCCUR AND CAUSE AN ABRUPT WHEEL SPEED REDUCTION. THIS CAN CAUSE THE REAR TIRES TO SLIDE UNTIL THE VEHICLE SPEED SLOWS DOWN. YOU MAY EXPERIENCE A MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP MIL ANDOR A POWERTRAIN WARNING LAMP WRENCH SYMBOL IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER PRIOR TO AN UNINTENDED DOWNSHIFT OCCURRING. Safety Risk THIS MAY RESULT IN A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Ford F-150 check engine light comes on
1,964 of the 38,375 owner complaints about the Ford F-150 describe check engine light, most of them for the 2013 model year.
- owner complaints
- 1,964
- worst model year
- 2013
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,806
- typical mileage
- 75,000
Is there a fix? There are 10 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Loss of power 333Stalling 237Misfire 148Won't shift 132Shudder 107Jerking 97Engine failure 93Hesitation 81
Trouble codes mentioned
P0720 40P0722 22P2112 17P0706 15P0707 14P0430 11P1702 10P0721 10P0016 9P0300 8
What owners say
It will lose all power sometimes during 1-2 or 1-3 shift and not complete the shift causing you to be powerless in front of oncoming traffic while turning left on green across traffic. Then eventually slams into gear violently. This last time was not the first but two of my kids were in the truck this time. I have not had it to the dealer yet but after much research online this is a known problem and I have a pretty good idea of what they’re going to tell me. No check engine light.
**VEHICLE SAFETY INCIDENT REPORT & RECALL FAILURE COMPLAINT** **1. COMPONENT FAILURE & INSPECTION** * **System:** 6R80 Transmission Molded Lead Frame Assembly / Output Speed Sensor (OSS). * **Failure:** Intermittent OSS signal loss caused the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) to misread vehicle speed and command an uncommanded, severe downshift from 5th gear directly into 1st gear. * **Inspection Availability:** Vehicle is currently located at the Ford dealership service center and is available for immediate physical and electronic inspection upon request. **2. SAFETY HAZARD & INCIDENT DETAILS** * **Risk:** Severe risk of high-speed rear-end collision, loss of control, and catastrophic injury. * **Incident:** On October 29, 2026, while driving 45 mph on an active highway, the transmission abruptly downshifted to 1st gear without driver input. This caused instantaneous rear-wheel lockup and tires screeching, bringing the truck to a complete halt in live traffic. * **Prior Symptoms:** Following the dealer-mandated software update for Recall 24S37 / 24V444, the truck experienced 5 documented transmission dropouts (5th to 1st gear) with an illuminated Wrench / Service Engine Light. **3. RECALL FAILURE & REMEDY DISPUTE** * **Recall Involved:** Recall 24S37 / the federal safety agency 24V444 (Issue Date: June 14, 2024 - 6R80 Sudden Transmission Downshift PCM Reprogramming). * **Defect/Failure:** The dealership completed Recall 24S37 (PCM software reflash). However, the software fix failed to eliminate the hazard, resulting in full rear-wheel lockup at 45 mph. * **Current Status:** The servicing dealer confirmed the lead frame must be replaced, but refuses recall/warranty coverage and is forcing out-of-pocket payment because diagnostic trouble codes were not active during the initial software flash months ago. The software remedy failed to remediate the unsafe condition, and hardware replacement is required to restore vehicle safety.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated, and the transmission unexpectedly downshifted. The dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where DTC: P0715 was retrieved. The contact was informed that the recall repair could not be completed without additional fault codes. The contact was advised to contact the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The contact stated that the failure was persistent. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 26V237000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The manufacturer was contacted and made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 59,060.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 26V237000 (Power Train); however, the failure occurred after the recall repair. While starting the vehicle, the transmission started out at 5th gear with the engine revving, and while driving at various speeds, the transmission slammed into gear before accelerating. The vehicle then went into LIMP Mode with the transmission and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the lead frame and PCM were normal, but the transmission might need to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure by phone. The failure mileage was approximately 163,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted, the rear wheels locked up, and the vehicle decelerated. The wrench icon was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 26V237000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure by telephone. The failure mileage was approximately 116,500.
The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 15 MPH, the transmission independently shifted into park and the wheels screeched to a stop. The dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure, and the contact was informed that the parts were unavailable to repair the vehicle. The failure became persistent with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The contact had very important doctor’s appointment scheduled, and the vehicle was the only source of transportation. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 26V402000 (Power Train); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The manufacturer was contacted, and several cases were filed. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.
I purchased my truck in XXX. Shortly afterwards as I was driving at approx 45 mph, the rear end just locked up and felt like something had snapped inside the transmission or transfer case. I had an extended warranty which Ford took full advantage of claiming that the rear end had locked up due to a bad 4 wheel drive switch and I knew I was being lied to. They got the extended warranty to pay for they're transmission leadframe recall that they didn't fix. They also added 4 degree pinion angle shims under my leaf springs and claimed that I put them on my truck and I did not, they did. They also lied to me and said they hadn't removed my transmission yet I could see fresh tool marks on every bolt on my transmission. They installed a thermal bypass valve in my transmission, I believe so that they could claim that I had installed aftermarket parts therefore ford isn't liable. Not long after Corning ford rebuilt my rear differential that had been destroyed due to the rear end lock up, I got a check engine light for turbine speed sensor fault. Corning ford denied any recall however bomarito ford in [XXX] confirmed that there was a recall for the lead frame that was issued 1 year after the truck was manufactured. Which is false because I bought the truck from a Chevrolet dealer in [XXX] and we went over all recalls and carfax online together and they printed everything. NO RECALL FOR LEAD FRAME OR TRANSMISSION. Corning ford employees were rude and had horrible attitudes towards me from the first visit. They claim to have fixed my vehicle but the rear axle housing is bent and I removed the rear drive shaft and placed it in 4 wheel drive and the vehicle wouldn't move indicating that the transfer case was damaged and they confirmed it should drive without the rear drive shaft but claimed there was nothing wrong with the truck. I had to spend my own money to replace the lead frame and I took it for the recall finally after it's 10 years old and t INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5
Ford finally sent me a recall notice just this year in May. I have called multiple dealers and Bomaritto ford in [XXX] told me 2 and a half years ago to bring my truck in and they'll replace the Lead frame free of charge however any dealerships I contacted in [XXX] denied any such recall. When I received the recall letter from ford it stated the transmission lead frame would be covered for 10 years or 150,000 miles. The truck was already 10 years old when I finally received a notice from ford. I ended up rebuilding the whole transmission myself and it cost me over $1500.00 in parts, not to mention I was without a vehicle for approx 2 months waiting on all the back ordered parts. The lead frame I installed was not a ford oem part. The service team in [XXX] told me either way, fird has to replace it with oem parts. I took it to crown ford in [XXX] and they refused to replace the Lead frame which had a check engine code as well. They claimed it was a software update was the problem. I believe that they deleted it from the tcm and ecu. Ford has done everything they possibly could to cover this up and they got the extended warranty to pay for the damaged rear differential which they used the old axle housing that was bent from the lock up and I have spent thousands of dollars in parts and alignments and the vehicle will not stay in alignment because of the damaged rear axle housing. The transfer case was never repaired or replaced also. They treated me completely horrible and lied about my vehicle ever having any recall for the transmission. They installed the 5 degree pinion angle shims to compensate for the rear axle shafts being twisted from the rear end locked up. Ford is not allowed to install them because it is a liability issue for them. They claimed that they were already on my vehicle which is a complete lie. I wouldn't even know where to get them since I can't even locate any online or at any auto part stores... INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Was Driving my truck on the highway, when it slammed into 1st gear on its own, was going about 65 MPH and almost lost control of the vehicle. I have taken it immediately to a FORD dealership for repairs, and they are saying that they are unable to replicate what happened. At the time it showed a Wrench Icon and check engine light, and I am certain that this is from a Molded Lead Frame Failure issue. I did have mine reprogramed by the dealership service center a few years back due to recall, but I think this just pushed the problem down the road, and did not actually fix the ACTUAL problem causing the safety issue. People are going to lose lives over this issue, and it seems FORD is trying to bypass having to actually FIX the problem.
Related recalls
Engine and engine cooling: cooling system: hoses/lines/piping/fittings
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 F-150 trucks. Contact with the engine coolant hose may chafe the engine wire harness or cause a pull out of the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) connector pins, causing the engine to stall.
- Risk
- An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect, replace the engine wire harness as necessary, and relocate the engine coolant hose, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 12, 2025. The parts are anticipated to be available the third quarter of 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S63.
Recall number 25V398000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: engine: hard parts internal/mechanical
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 Transit, F-150, and Explorer vehicles. The connecting rod and rod bearing components may have manufacturing defects that can lead to engine damage and engine failure.
- Risk
- A damaged engine can result in engine failure and a stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the connecting rods and replace the engine long block assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 15, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S55.
Recall number 25V344000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: engine: oil/lubrication
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2024-2025 F-150, Expedition, and 2024 Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI engines. The engine may have a misaligned engine cup plug, which can result in a rapid oil leak.
- Risk
- A rapid oil leak can result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, an oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the engine cup plug alignment, and replace the plug if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 22, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S30.
Recall number 25V198000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: engine: oil/lubrication
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2024-2025 F-150, 2024 Expedition and 2024 Lincoln Navigator vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine. The engines may have a misaligned engine cup plug, which can result in a rapid oil leak.
- Risk
- A rapid oil leak can result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash. In addition, an oil leak in the presence of an ignition source such as hot engine or exhaust components, can increase the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the engine cup plug alignment, and replace the plug if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 23, 2024. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24S70.
Recall number 24V851000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling: engine: hard parts internal/mechanical
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Bronco, F-150, Edge, Explorer, Lincoln Nautilus, and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with either a 2.7L or 3.0L Nano EcoBoost engine. The engine intake valves may break while driving, which can result in engine failure and a loss of drive power.
- Risk
- A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will perform an engine cycle test and replace the engine as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 3, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24S55.
Recall number 24V635000 · Recall details
Engine
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2016 F-150 pick-up trucks equipped with 3.5L GTDI engines and block immersion heaters that were potentially relocated from their originally installed location. The incorrect location could put the heater too close to hot engine components, possibly resulting in a damaged cable.
- Risk
- A damaged cable could cause a resistive short, increasing the risk of overheated or melted wiring, increasing the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the block heater's location and its cable, replacing components as necessary, free of charge. If the replacement parts are not available, dealers will disable the existing block heater cable from being used until parts become available. The recall began April 9, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S08.
Recall number 20V098000 · Recall details
Engine
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Ford F-150 and 2017-2019 Ford F-250 Super Duty, F-350 Super Duty, F-450 Super Duty, and F-550 Super Duty pick-up trucks equipped with an engine block heater and previously remedied under recall 18V894. During the previous repair, the block heater cable's splice connector may have been damaged.
- Risk
- A damaged cable could cause a resistive short, increasing the risk of overheated or melted wiring, increasing the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will disable the engine block heater from being used. When replacement cables become available, a second notice will be mailed and dealers will replace the engine block heater cord, free of charge. The recall began May 31, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S11.
Recall number 19V278000 · Recall details
Engine
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Ford F-150 and 2017-2019 Ford F-250 Super Duty, F-350 Super Duty, F-450 Super Duty, and F-550 Super Duty pick-up trucks equipped with an engine block heater. Water and contaminants may get into the block heater cable's splice connector causing corrosion and damage.
- Risk
- When the heater is plugged in, prolonged corrosion could cause a resistive short, increasing the risk of overheated or melted wiring which can increase the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will disable the block heater cable, free of charge. Once parts are available, Dealers will replace the engine block heater cable, free of charge. The recall began June 3, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S45.
Recall number 18V894000 · Recall details
Engine
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 F-150 vehicles equipped with 3.5L engines. The cylinder heads may have been machined without lubrication supply holes for the camshaft bearing journals.
- Risk
- Without a proper supply of lubrication, the engine will fail, causing a stall and increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Ford is not aware of any affected vehicles outside of dealer control. Should owner contact subsequently be required, arrangements will be made to transport their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the engine replaced.The recall began October 24, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S37.
Recall number 17V672000 · Recall details
Engine and engine cooling
- What is wrong
- Roush is recalling 213 my 2007-2008 ford f-150 trucks altered to operate using liquid propane injection. The hydro-carbon paper affixed to the inside of the airbox lid with adhesive may become dislodged during operation.
- Risk
- This failure may result in a loss of performance, illumination of the malfunction indicator lamp (mil) and, in extreme cases, a stalling of the vehicle during operation without notice, which could result in a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the airbox lid with a new one that includes the hydro-carbon paper which has been affixed using an adhesive promoter and greater pressure as recommended by the manufacturer free of charge. The recall began on october 21, 2008. Owners may contact roush at 1‑866‑307‑6788.
Recall number 08V523000 · Recall details
Questions about the Ford F-150 check engine light
Why does the check engine light come on in the Ford F-150?
Owners who report it most often also describe sudden loss of power, engine stalls while driving and misfire or rough idle, and the codes they mention most are P0720, P0722 and P2112.
Which Ford F-150 years have check engine light problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2013 (338 complaints), 2011 (256 complaints) and 2012 (196 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix check engine light on the Ford F-150?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,806 (median of 162 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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