Transmission sudden downshift. Causing loss of control.

- Hanson, KY, USA

First incident happened yesterday 4/17/21 when driving approximately 25 miles am hour the vehicle would not shift up from first gear, or it into neutral and then back to drive and it worked like normal. Today 4/18/21 I've had two incidents, the first while driving 45 mph the vehicle dropped down to 2nd gear, rapidly slowing. I showed to first gear, put into neutral and back to drive and everything was fine. While driving on the highway at approximately 65-70 mph my truck suddenly downshifted from 6th to 2nd gear, decelerating extremely quickly. I was able to pull over to an exit and put the vehicle into neutral and then back into drive and the transmission resumed like normal. This is extremely concerning that this will happen when driving at highway speeds and the fact this vehicle is my daily driver and I usually have my kids in the vehicle with me. Im very concerned about the safety of driving now especially after learning this exact issue was recalled on the vehicles a year before mine with three same 6 speed transmission, but not on my year.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

Vehicle shifted from 6th gear to first while driving whiched locked up the rear wheels. This was caused by the lead frame on the transmission. There is a current recall for this issue with Ford that stops the year before my vehicle was produced. It has the same trasmission as the earlier model.

- Maurepas, LA, USA

I was on the highway heading out of town going 70 mph, the speedometer went to zero and the RPM rev up to 4000rpm and felt like a downshift, I had a car and semi passing me. It was a scary moment for. I took it to a well known mechanic and ran a test and told me the lead frame was bad. He informed me that my truck was not under recall because my truck was not at the plant where the lead frame was faulty.

- Wichita Falls, TX, USA

Sporadically, over the last 6 months (but with more frequency in recent months), at various speeds or with no other common denominator, the truck loses power to the transmission, the speedometer drops to zero, and the wrench light comes on. The only way to keep the truck functioning is to pull over, turn the vehicle off, and restart it. Most times, this will fix the issue. It's obviously been dangerous in multiple instances. While the truck is a 6-speed, 2014 Ford F-150, it was built in November of 2013. Regardless of this, my VIN is not part of recall 19V433000 or 19V075000, despite the same issue as the recalls. These additional manufacture dates should be included. I was alarmed to see the numerous claims with the same issue, outside of the recall. Ford needs to make additional considerations to that effect. This is our 5th Ford between my wife and I, of which 4 were trucks. Considering Ford's negligent flaw hasn't been considered for any recall, despite overwhelming evidence from its owners, it will definitely be the last Ford purchased by us, our extended family, and any of our business and personal associates to whom we will pass along this concern. It's extremely disappointing.

- Celina, TX, USA

2014 F150 ecoboost: While driving ~50mph, the vehicle abruptly downshifted to first gear causing my rear tires to lock up. I was able to control the skip and reduced my speed to pull to the side of the road. At that time, my vehicle would not shift out of first gear. I turned the vehicle off and restarted it to reset any electronic controls and the vehicle was able to drive normal again. Similar occurrences have happened intermittently, where the vehicle would not shift out of first after coming to a rest. Or the vehicle would remain in 5th gear, if I was already in motion when it acted up and would not shift down even if I came to a rest. From my research, this appears to be similar to the lead frame recall that has been issued for 2011-2013 vehicles. My vehicle was manufactured on 11/13, but appears to be outside of the recall timeframe.

- Schererville, IN, USA

I purchased this vehicle February 2020 from snyder motors-bozeman, and drove it from approximately 107K to 110K miles with no issues. This vehicle first performed this major safety issue on approximately May 10th, 2020. I was attempting to pass a vehicle on the two-lane Montana highway from norris, mt to four corners, mt. I quickly accelerated from 65mph to 80mph and passed them in the left lane during a passable stretch. Just as I had almost finished passing, I noticed the light that indicates my mode of drive (park, neutral, reverse, etc.) flicker very quickly and erratically between the different drive modes. When the light first hit the reverse position, it violently shook the vehicle with me and my two good friends within. I then lost all control of the vehicle's power as if it had shifted itself into neutral. I was then forced to very quickly brake and get back into my lane as I had no power and another vehicle came around a turn in the passing lane and approached towards us. I had to shut the vehicle off briefly to regain control, and then had to get on the highway. The truck then performed the issue again while going up a steep hill despite slowing to 60mph. I have since had the vehicle perform the issue a myriad of times, usually due to hills going 30-40 mph since I've had to avoid highways. Each time, I am sincerely scared for my life and well being. I took it into bozeman Ford from 6/22/20 to 6/29/20 after first taking the vehicle to foster's mastertech and having them replicate the issue and agree it is a safety concern. I was able to replicate the issue with a bozeman Ford tech and he also agreed that it was a scary experience and stated this to a service rep. Ford replaced the molded lead frame, but to no avail as the truck performed the issue again that day. It is now back with bozeman Ford, attached are my documents from the initial service.

- Bozeman, MT, USA

Vehicle would lose all ability to accelerate or use any type of throttle control while driving on highway. Had to continually drift to a shoulder on the highway to turn off vehicle because the throttle body went bad. Extremely dangerous, vehicle became inoperable and unsafe to be on any roadway.

- Ellicott City, MD, USA

Issue occurs when starting the truck, putting the truck into drive to leave from where the truck was parked. The truck will sometimes shift into 5th gear as soon as you put it into drive. As you move forward it will not shift down into first, it will stay in 5th gear. If you stop the truck, shift into park, shut the truck off, then restart the truck and put it back into drive it will function properly. It will start out in 1st and then shift as needed depending on the speed you are going. When driving the truck above 40 and then coming to an intersection and slowing down to about 20 miles an hour to make a left hand turn the truck will down shift into 1st gear suddenly (should be running in 3rd gear at this point) and the engine will rev up substantially, once the truck has turned the corner and you step on the gas the truck will then shift back up into the proper gear (3rd gear or so). On occasion when you start the truck and try to drive the truck from a parked position it will act erratic by shifting from 1st to 5th (going less than 5 miles an hour at this point), then down to 3rd even though the truck is only going 5-10 miles an hour. Generally stopping the truck, shutting the truck off and restarting the truck will cause it operate properly. This issue has happened on and off over the past 6 months.

- Webster, NH, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. While driving various speeds, the engine suddenly shut off. After restarting the engine, the vehicle operated normally; however, the check engine indicator remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the throttle actuator control system was faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 216,000.

- Kentwood, MI, USA

The speedometer dropped to zero while traveling 50 mph and the truck downshifted to 1st gear causing the tires to squeal, fishtail, and the RPM's redlined.I was almost rear ended. This has happened several times in the past couple weeks.

- New Franklin, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. While the vehicle was at a car wash with the key in the ignition, the contact placed the transmission into neutral, applied the seat belt, depressed the brake pedal, and released the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated without warning into heavy traffic. The contact attempted to apply the brakes as the vehicle crashed into a building. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center for the body damage and was then taken to tom denchel Ford country prosser (630 wine country rd, prosser, wa 99350, (877) 221-5696) to be diagnosed, but a failure code could not be found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 45,783.

- Kennewick, WA, USA

Periodically speedometer starts moving erratically at constant speed. As a result of this the engine starts shifting gears rapidly. This week while driving 60mph on the highway, the engine shifted abruptly from 6th to 1st gear causing a very dangerous situation.

- Mendham, NJ, USA

I was merging onto the highway and when I went to accelerate my truck lost all power and decelerated and a wrench icon appeared on the display. I pulled over luckily safely without causing an accident turned my truck off and back on and did not experience this issue again. This is the 4th time this has happened. Hopefully my family does not get harmed with this vehicle it is only a matter of time until someone does with this issue happening.

- Cuba, NY, USA

We were leaving to get lunch, came up to a stop sign at about 30mph with a car coming downhill on the road we were getting ready to take. I attempted to use my brakes to stop at the stop sign, I was unable to stop and had lost my brakes. There was a grinding noise and my foot that was on the brake was fully pressed. We rolled through the stop sign, cutting off the car. I found the brake booster, vacuum / master cylinder to be an issue after taking it to a mechanic and dealership. This was the second time I've had these parts replaced with about 9,000 miles difference between the two instances (the first instance was unreported to NHTSA). Ford was contacted but I was informed there was nothing that could be done due to my state's (Ohio) lemon law.

- Saint Clairsville, OH, USA

While driving on an interstate highway using cruise control, I needed to slow down for an exit. When I applied the brake pedal, the cruise control did not release and I had to apply quite a bit of brake pressure to slow down. I also hit the off button for the cruise control which did not deactivate the cruise control. When I braked, the speed was decreased but the cruise control was still on at the reduced speed. I kept hitting the off button, but the cruise control was still in operation. After doing this for about ten minutes, the cruise control finally deactivated. I used the cruise control later on this trip to test it and it worked as it should. I took the truck to the dealership on 3/6/19 and was told they would check it for a charge and would fix it for an additional charge; that charge depending on whether it was under warranty. I have an extended warranty to 100,000 miles and the vehicle only has a little over 20,000 miles. I told the service manager that it was a safety issue. He replied that a bald tire was a safety issue also, making the point that they did not intend to treat this as a safety issue where a repair would be done with no charge. He professed ignorance of any vehicles having a problem with the cruise control not deactivating. I showed him an article on the internet where Fiat Chrysler had several million vehicles recalled with this problem. He still said he had never heard of it. The dealership said they could not find a problem, but if it did it again, to bring it back.

- York, SC, USA

Wiper motor, radio/ ignition system, remote locking/ unlocking & cruise control. 1st issue: Wiper motor will not turn to off, the wipers run intermittently in the off position every 20-30 seconds the wipers will run. Pulled fuse until repairs can be made to switch and/or module. 2nd issue: When ignition is turned off & key removed, and the radio is playing or off, a low battery warning message appears: Remove ignition key and turn off the radio. The issue will not cure unless truck is vacated & locked. Dealer can't replicate issue no repairs made but still occurs from time to time. 3rd issue: Power lock/ unlock by remote does not communicate with truck intermittently, replaced both remote batteries still having issues getting truck to unlock/ lock. Dealer can't replicate problem & no repairs are made. 4th issue: Cruise control will not disengage when pressing brake pedal, have to turn off cruise control from steering column. This issue never returned to date of this complaint, no repairs made. This issue should be a safety concern. With all the issues with truck no warning dash messages or lights. Thanks, (xxxx) parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Readstown, WI, USA

Had to repair the "lead molded frame & gasket" ! truck would jump threw gears while moving at any speed. Final draw was when truck dropped to 1st gear while traveling 70 mph on I-64 East nearly causing truck to flip over after screeching tires and running other cars off the road! Ford dealership maintenance dept. Told me there were recalls for same problem on F-150's but not for the year 2014 as mine is!.. please note if it were wet/raining at the time this happened to us, there would have been a severe accident with possible casualties...!!!

- Crestwood, KY, USA

Etb. We lost power on are 2014 F 150 eco boost doing 50 plus miles an hour.. out of no where it started to not accelerate and just shut down. Check engine popped on we managed to move to the side. It started up after two attempts then check engine light came on. It drove to nearest shop to have code checked they said oh its the etb.. that's recalled. So we explored and researching why it's not on recall. We were about a moment away from being slammed into the concrete medium from behind.

- Kearns, UT, USA

Was driving 70 mph on the interstate in heavy traffic when the wrench light indicator started flashing. The truck throttle became unresponsive and I had to coast to a stop crossing 2 lanes with no acceleration. Very dangerous! had to turn the truck off and restart to gain back acceleration

- Tuscaloosa, AL, USA