— Ford F-150 downshift problems have caused the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to open an investigation into nearly 1.3 million trucks.
Safety regulators didn't release many details, but the Ford F-150 downshift problems affect 2015-2017 Ford trucks.
Nearly 140 complaints have been filed about sudden unexpected downshifts while driving highway speeds. F-150 drivers complain they had no warning before the transmissions suddenly downshifted to lower gears.
A sudden uncommanded transmission downshift cam cause the rear wheels to lock and the tires to skid, not counting what it will do to a driver's nerves. None of the 138 Ford F-150 downshift complaints allege any crashes or injuries occurred.
Ford has been down this road before when the automaker recalled 2011-2012 F-150 trucks in September 2016 following complaints about sudden transmission downshifts. Those trucks were equipped with 6-speed (6R80) automatic transmissions.
The problem was allegedly caused by a loss of signal from the transmission’s output shaft speed sensor because of circuit board solder problems.
However, NHTSA opened an investigation into Ford F-150 downshift problems in December 2017 to determine if the recall repairs were good enough. This led to another Ford F-150 downshift recall for about 1.2 million trucks.
This time Ford dealers were told to reprogram the powertrain control modules to prevent sudden transmission downshifts, a repair that didn't work.
This caused another Ford F-150 downshift recall in June 2019.
But F-150 downshift problems continued and so did complaints from truck owners, sending NHTSA back to the investigation table to examine sudden downshifts in 2014 F-150 trucks.
Add another Ford F-150 downshift recall to the list, which caused safety regulators to close their investigation.
At that point Ford had received nearly 2,200 complaints about F-150 downshift problems, including incidents that locked the rear wheels.
CarComplaints.com will update our website if another Ford F-150 downshift recall is announced.