Ford F-150 sudden acceleration problems

Filed Oct 23, 2026 · Acceleration · TN

On XXX at approximately 6:50 AM, I was backing out of my driveway. After entering the roadway, I came to a complete stop and shifted from Reverse to Drive while in Normal drive mode. Immediately upon shifting into Drive, the vehicle lurched forward and rapidly accelerated without any accelerator pedal input. My foot was not on the accelerator. The vehicle accelerated to approximately 15-16 MPH and continued moving under power. I had to quickly steer to avoid striking my brick mailbox. The vehicle continued moving until I applied the brakes and brought it to a complete stop. After stopping, the engine RPM returned to normal and the vehicle then operated normally. No warning lights or messages were displayed. This event created a significant safety hazard and nearly resulted in a collision. In addition, the vehicle has experienced intermittent transmission and driveline issues since it was new. Symptoms include harsh upshifts and downshifts, gear hunting, shuddering, driveline clunks, RPM fluctuations under steady throttle, and jerking during acceleration and deceleration. Some downshifts have been severe enough to make the vehicle lurch as if lightly rear-ended. Other events have felt similar to placing a vehicle in Park while still moving. I have experienced abrupt downshifts while slowing from approximately 40 MPH, rapid multiple-gear downshifts accompanied by shuddering, harsh shifts while coming to a stop at low speeds, and repeated gear hunting in traffic. The symptoms occur intermittently, often at low speeds, during the first few miles of driving, and sometimes while traveling uphill. I have returned the vehicle to Ford of [XXX] three times for these concerns. The dealership has been unable to duplicate the condition and no repairs have been performed. I am concerned that the unintended acceleration event and longstanding transmission/driveline abnormalities may be related to an underlying powertrain, transmission, or electronic control defect. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

Filed Oct 2, 2026 · Transmission · 31,000 miles · MA · 2 injuries

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted and the vehicle decelerated to approximately 15 MPH. The powertrain warning light was illuminated during the failure. Occasionally, the vehicle was coasted over to the side of the road, and the contact attempted to turn off the vehicle, but the vehicle occasionally remained running. The contact waited for several minutes before continuing to drive. During the failure, the occupants inside the vehicle lunged forward. The contact stated that a niece's head struck the windshield, leaving a bruise, and the contact’s partner lunged forward and struck her head on the side door handle bar, which left a bruise. The failure had occurred more than 25 times. The vehicle was taken to four certified mechanics, and the lead frame and all the sensors were replaced. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be repaired under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 26V237000 (Power Train). The dealer performed the update of the powertrain control module software; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed the VIN was no longer under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 31,000.

Filed Sep 17, 2026 · Transmission · TN

After Fords TCM recall the truck’s transmission has not acted correctly, very hard shifts, staggered shifting and warning lights for shifting issues or low power due to loss of signal from computer. It has gotten worse it now is sticking in 4th and 7th gear, acts as if slipping and completely stopped the truck in a busy intersection where I had to shut the vehicle off and restart before it would go in gear manually. Truck has lunged forward in reverse, went into low gear on the interstate and have given codes for fault detection. I’ve had the vehicle look at by a certified mechanic and his computer shows no connection between computer and transmission then shows partial connection and the full connection. Torque Converter shows good and so do the cliches and solenoids. This is dangerous and could cause an accident if not fixed, whatever ford’s update was has made my computer loose connection with the transmission and has put a fault that could possibly cause an accident or fire.

Filed Sep 13, 2026 · Transmission · KS

Started with harsh shifting, lead to no shifting and no movement. Shifting came back and lunged forward and harsh stop. Happened multiple times and now vehicle will not move.

Filed Sep 8, 2026 · Driver assistance, Transmission · IN

I reported transmission issue to my dealer years ago. It started when I would start the truck in the morning and put it in reverse. It would do nothing than al of a sudden lunge in reverse. Than it would clear up and not do it for several months. I pretty much got the blow off from the dealer. Cold Oil, linkage sticking bs. Of course, now it’s out of warranty. The transmission shifts hard and even slips out of gear. It stalled tonight at a stop light because it banged into gear. I have less than a hundred thousand miles on this truck. It’s not even safe to drive down the road. You never know when it’s going to shift out of gear . Or lunge forward when it shifts into the next gear.

Filed Sep 2, 2026 · Acceleration · OK

On [XXX], I was driving westbound from Missouri into Oklahoma in my 2021 Ford F-150 XL. While traveling approximately 75 mph on the highway, I moved into the passing lane to overtake another vehicle. As I accelerated and applied additional throttle to pass, the transmission downshifted into passing gear. After completing the pass, the vehicle continued to accelerate on its own even after I released the accelerator pedal. The engine remained at a high throttle setting, and the truck increased speed to approximately 85 mph. At that time, I was not using cruise control, nor had I pressed the cruise control switch, which was involved in a previous acceleration-related incident I experienced with this vehicle. To regain control, I carefully created distance from surrounding traffic, applied the brakes, and maneuvered the vehicle onto the shoulder. After coming to a stop well off the roadway, I shifted the vehicle into Park and turned off the engine. I then restarted the truck, and the unintended acceleration condition was no longer present. Because of the incident, I did not attempt to use the cruise control system again during the trip, and I avoided using heavy throttle or passing gear out of concern that the condition could reoccur. The vehicle has since been inspected by a Ford dealership. As of this report, their evaluation has not identified the cause of the problem, and no fault has been found despite the incident occurring on the highway. This incident created a significant safety concern because the vehicle continued to accelerate after the accelerator pedal was released, resulting in an unexpected increase in speed and requiring me to pull off the highway and shut off the vehicle to regain normal operation. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Aug 21, 2026 · Transmission · 148,000 miles · IN

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the vehicle lunged forward. Additionally, while attempting to slow down to stop the vehicle, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted while driving. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and serviced under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 26V237000 (POWER TRAIN). After retrieving the vehicle, the vehicle lunged forward and independently accelerated, and the transmission failed to properly shift into the intended gear. During the failures, the vehicle was restarted, and the failure was self-corrected. The cause of the failures was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failures, but no assistance was offered. The contact was later sent a letter from the manufacturer stating that additional service to the powertrain leadframe might be needed after the recall remedy was performed. The contact was informed that the additional service was not covered under the recall. No additional information was available. The failure mileage was 148,000.

Filed Aug 15, 2026 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · TX

When using cruise control (Blue Cruise fully automated driving or just regular cruise control), The truck changes the speed setting to 90MPH without any driver input and begins sudden acceleration. This has happened multiple times in speed limit areas from 70-75 on the interstate. The truck clearly displays the correct speed limit on the dash. The driver set speed of 70-77 is suddenly changed to 90 MPH (you can see it on the dash) without any driver input. This has happened multiple times (I live in a rural area). The vehicle only has 1,100 miles. No warning lights come on. Breaking will stop the sudden acceleration. This is a very dangerous situation and needs to be fixed.

Filed Aug 14, 2026 · Transmission · 150,000 miles · NY

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 driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, but the vehicle hesitated to accelerate and then lunged forward. The transmission warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the transmission intermittently failed to shift to first gear while driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and scheduled an upcoming appointment for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Filed Jul 30, 2026 · Engine, Transmission · MI · crash

I was practicing backing up while turning my new approximately 3,000 lb equipment trailer for safety & maneuvering skill purposes. There was no payload in my trailer that I was towing. While slowly maneuvering & turning my equipment trailer in reverse at 1–3 mph, our 2023 Ford F-150 XLT suffered a commanded, abrupt, unexpected sudden acceleration while in reverse, which was not via the gas pedal or my input. The trailer violently jackknifed, made a loud noise on impact to the truck resulting in damage to the truck bed’s right quarter panel at the rear, and a broken right tail light. It happened so fast I had to slam on the break hard, since the truck felt like it would keep backing into the jackknife position with powertrain seeming to struggle to overcome the break for a short instant. I believed at that instant that a mechanical or software or both malfunction caused this since this happened so fast and abruptly. Also to note, the parking break has often turned on or off automatically both during this incident and prior to, both while the vehicle was moving motionless. After looking at the damage, it first appeared to me to be less than a $1,000.00 repair bill, since only a small portion of the right rear corner of the fender was dented and the tail light broke. On Monday and Tuesday however I was surprised to learn after getting estimates that the damage is around $4,000 or more, since the entire quarter panel needs to be replaced - aluminum Quarter panels cannot be welded, and it’s is an 8 foot bed with a huge quarter panel and lots of painting required. I have learned Ford Motor Technical Service Bulletin’s TSB 24-2070 and TSB 24-2176, or possibly other TSB(s) could be the cause. No other vehicles were involved. I drove truck to Bill Brown Ford service department, Livonia, MI 7/29 for a diagnosis. I’m Referencing XXX report number XXX taken XXX on this situation, and [XXX]'s "Reccomended Service" write up # XXX. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 5