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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
13,946 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2018 Ford Expedition drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2018 Ford Expedition Owner Comments (Page 3 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #23

Dec 152022

Expedition

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Transmission shifting is spectacularly (not in a good way) erratic. Early shifts are fine when cold, incredibly hard when warm. Later shifts are extremely sluggish. Sometimes the transmission will disengage completely when accelerating in traffic, leading to nearly being rear ended by following vehicles. This is completely unacceptable and very, very dangerous. I've never owned a vehicle that acted this dangerous! One Google search of erratic Ford 10 speed transmission will send you to many websites with thousands of complaints. Since Ford will not stand behind this product, the federal government needs to take the reigns and protect the consumer purchasing this vehicle. Thank you.

- Sarver, PA, USA

problem #22

Nov 252022

Expedition

  • miles
Powertrain/ Transmission required replacement. Replacement transmission from the factory deemed defective and suffered a catastrophic failure in less than 24 hours after install.

- Howell, MI, USA

problem #21

Sep 092022

Expedition

  • miles
Something is going on with the transmission we got it at dealer now it shifts funny 3 to 4 and 6to8 and sometimes you go to pull out and it revs up to 3000 rpm and don't move then it slam in gear and move and not all the time but sometimes you slow down you hear a crunching noises under expedition. If you stop fast it down shifts hard and if you go to move again it's like it's in a high gear it never shifted down.it's a 2018 10 speed transmission and if you read online ford has problems with them so why is it not a safety recall on this transmission before someone pulls out somewhere and gets kill because it won't move. It's a problem not a accident

- Newport News, VA, USA

problem #20

Sep 112022

Expedition

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

my transmission shifted from first gear to second gear very hard causing the vehicle to lunge. My daughter is a new driver and it scared her so much that she stopped in traffic at a stop sign and I thought the vehicle was hit. my dash cam even recorded it as a possible collision (no one hit us just jerked that bad). I have only owned it for a month and when I took it to the dealer that I bought it from they said Ford knows they have a problem and it sucks. (dealerships words) I had no lamps or warnings come on at the time of the event. when I changed driving modes the vehicle went completely out of gear and would not go back into gear until I shut it down and started it back up.

- Elkhart, IN, USA

problem #19

Jul 222022

Expedition

  • miles
Random gear shifts lead to dangerous changes in speed during normal driving. Example-Driving in 8th gear transmission shifted to 2nd and then jumped back to 6th gear causing near loss of control. Other times transmission sticks in-between gear resulting in a loss of power during driving. Dealer and independent service center have reproduced problem. Replaced value body per Ford's recommendation which did not fix the problem. Vehicle has not been inspected by police, insurance representative or manufacturer. Powertrain warning light did come on but after these issues were affecting the vehicle.

- Lynchburg, VA, USA

problem #18

Aug 012022

Expedition

  • miles
Vehicle with 80k miles. Transmission stuck in 2nd gear resulted in safety issue when merging with traffic. When this occurs the engine revs and then the transmission jumps into 8th gear. Once in 8th gear it is very slow to accelerate. If there-??s any reason I need to decelerate, the transmission remains in 8th gear and will not shift back to 1st gear even if at a complete stop. Have been stopped at a traffic light and had to place the vehicle back in park and shut the engine off so the transmission will reset back to 1st.

- Bentonville, AR, USA

problem #17

Aug 232022

Expedition

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

If I have to decelerate and then quickly accelerate the car will lose power and restart. This typically happens when I-??m driving on the highway in heavy traffic. I originally thought there was problem with the transmission because it would downshift to 5th gear and clunk (feels like the tranny fell off). It would then try and put itself into park and then power down and restart. The only error code ever given is a parking paw error. This makes sense because transmissions aren-??t supposed to go into park at 70mph. Lately the vehicle is sluggish and doesn-??t respond as I try to accelerate which leads to the shut down restart while moving. I recently read about the class action lawsuit and recall regarding ford throttle bodies in F-150s. The incidents in those reports mirror what I-??ve experienced.

- Monclova, OH, USA

problem #16

May 232022

Expedition

  • miles
Transmission seems to get stuck in 2nd and 8-9 gear when driving and I have lost all ability to accelerate at both slow and high speeds. I am able to see the gear it gets stuck in since there is a visual on what gear the vehicle is in on the dashboard. When it appears to be stuck in a gear, if you hit the gas it does not respond and you lose your speed. RPMs increase. After a delay which there is no acceleration, it then kicks into the next gear with a large jolt that shakes the whole vehicle pretty harshly. I have expressed to Ford Corporation my concerns on safety and no one was behind me during the times this has happened. If there was someone behind me I feel that I could have easily get hit from behind especially at the higher rates of speed. SUV is currently at the dealer since the first 2 service bulletins have not corrected the issue. I have been dealing with this for almost 3 months.

- Bedford, NH, USA

problem #15

Jun 132022

Expedition

  • miles
Driving thru Atlanta traffic stop and go. One time I took off and all of a sudden vehicle jerk and didn-??t go. NExt time it lunged forward. I notice the vehicle shutters between 20-30mph Tried to get a appointment with ford nothing available till august. Went to Panama City shopping the other day with my son he could not believe how bad the vehicle lunges sometimes and sometimes it stalls before take off. Makes me very nervous to drive am I gonna get stranded in heavy traffic ? Call ford they said needs PCM reprogrammed she tried to make appt to no avail. She knew what I was talking bout when I called her.said you need to get it in right of way.Well dealerships say they are months out what do I do now. Ford is a disgrace 80,000 for vehicle and I have had numerous issues

- Port St Joe, FL, USA

problem #14

Apr 162022

Expedition

  • miles
During a routine trip on the highway, as I was trying to overtake a vehicle the SUV shifted from 10th gear to 1st and locked up the wheels. This left my vehicle unable to move for a few seconds while on the highway. I lost all throttle response, the vehicle lit up the wrench icon on the dash. The issue has been replicated at the ford dealership and there are currently 3 others in for repair for the same issue.

- Oklahoma City, OK, USA

problem #13

Jul 212021

Expedition

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The vehicle "chatters" when starting first thing in the morning and sometimes after it sits for a few hours(when engine has had time to cool down). It started about two months ago. We recently took our Expedition to an independent mechanic to have it checked over prior to a road trip. Their diagnosis was a loose timing chain and their recommendation was to take it to a licensed Ford dealership. I contacted three local Ford dealerships and their estimated next available service dates were between 4 and 6 weeks. Plus they are having problems getting some parts. We bought vehicle used with 68,000 miles and did not buy extended service plan. We currently have 95,000 and local dealer advised this repair is not covered by Ford even though Ford Issued TSB 21-2119 acknowledging the problem and recommended fix.

- New Richmond, WI, USA

problem #12

Apr 062021

Expedition

  • 74,000 miles
I pulled out of my driveway taking a left and as I pressed the gas to accelerate up the hill it seemed as though my car went into neutral. It would not go. I took my foot off the gas and waited a second or two and then pushed down on the accelerator again and then the car took off as normal. Since that first time this situation has begun happening almost daily sometimes several times a day. I have taken my vehicle to the dealership and of course they can never get it to duplicate what it does to me. Concerning to me is if this happens when I pull into traffic and can't get out of the way of an oncoming vehicle.

- Jefferson City, MO, USA

problem #11

Feb 152021

Expedition

  • 69,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, a rattling sound was present coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was examined by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission vtc solenoid and cam-phaser were faulty and needed to be replaced and reprogrammed. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer Ford college station located at 1351 earl rudder fwy, college station, tx 77845 and the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The contact was informed that a manufactures field service campaign was available for the failure however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was 69,000.

- College Station, TX, USA

problem #10

Feb 222021

Expedition

  • miles
We have a 20018 Ford Expedition platinum, 2wd (rear wheel drive). Bought brand new. For the past month we've been having what seems like transmission issues. Car has 45,000 miles on it. A few times a day the transmission fails to shift at all; essentially goes in-between gears, revs high, but absolutely no movement. Usually soon after moving from a start, so maybe 2nd to 3rd gear or 3rd to 4th gear. It happens without any warning. Has nothing to do with the care being hot or cold. It is very scary because one of the times, I had pulled out from a gas station onto a highway, accelerating normally to keep up with oncoming traffic with I lost all power to the wheels. Engine continued revving. There was no tire slipping - just no movement whatsoever. Took it into the Ford dealer (golden circle Ford) in jackson tn where they evaluated the vehicle and found nothing wrong with it. They apparently put it on the computer and drove it; and were unable to duplicate the problem. They gave me a ridiculous explanation that the vehicle is 'learning' (aka "adapting") to my driving style and that it was normal behavior. That was last week. Since then, the shifting between low gears has become someone rougher/ with some hesitancy. I did research these vehicle and apparently there may be an issue with the 10 speed automatic transmissions now being used in the F150 trucks with many people describing similar transmission problems. I just wanted to let you know that there is a potential issue, that can also be very dangerous if the car stops moving in the middle of the road with oncoming traffic. Thank you.

- Jackson, TN, USA

problem #9

Nov 152019

Expedition

  • 17,000 miles
Expedition will not tow bumper pull trailer, 2000lbs. Entire truck shakes terribly, dealer cannot fix after multiple tries including last week, crossroads Ford, doesn't know the cause, agrees its terrible, unusable, dangerous.has been worked on for over a year. I have a farm, cannot get hay etc. Cannot trailer horses, etc. Have tried multiple trailers, same problem. $65,000 truck that can't meet my business needs. What will Ford do about this?

- New Hill, NC, USA

problem #8

Jul 012019

Expedition

  • 32,478 miles
My 2018 Ford Expedition max 4X4 was diagnosed with the issue described in tcb-20-2315 in Aug 2019. The repair was done per the tcb and completed in Oct 2019. The vehicle was in the shop for 10 weeks and I had to return it 4 times for additional repairs until the issue was temporarily resolved. The problem reoccured in Jul 2020 and it took over 5 visits to the dealership and intervention from Ford cust service to get the vehicle repaired in Dec 2020. I have already returned the vehicle again this time because the issue was not resolved and now will need to return the vehicle a third time. This will make 7 total attempts to get the vehicle fixed for the same issue. Ford refuses to replace the vehicle and denied my buyback request. This vehicle is a lemon plain and simple. I followed the procedures per state law in notifying Ford and allowing them to repair the vehicle. Clearly, the root cause of the issue has not been determined and the repair just completed is just a repeat of the first. This time, I was on vacation with my family in the mountains of West Virginia in the dead of winter with windchills of minus 15 degrees. The check engine light and power train lights came on, the turbo shut down, and white smoke started billowing out of the tailpipe. We could barely maintain speed on inclines and had to stop for low oil pressure multiple times. We could have been stranded in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception. A problem I anticipated and expressed to Ford when I returned the vehicle for the sixth attempt. I want the vehicle replaced with the same vehicle that is not defective. That is all. Why is this such a challenge for Ford to solve? I have literally invested hundreds of hours attempting to navigate this nightmare. Attached is the letter I sent Ford in Sep 2020. The vehicle cannot be operated safely and is stuck in my driveway. I am now without a car.

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #7

Jul 112020

Expedition

  • 35,000 miles
Power train failure indicator light came on about 800 miles into a road trip. Vehicle was being driven on city streets in extreme stop and go traffic after recently exiting the interstate. Vehicle started downshifting extremely roughly, jerking the entire vehicle forward and transmission started to overheat. Vehicle has always been a little rough up shifting since purchase but this was the first time any indicator lights came on. Vehicle was taken to Ford dealership where we were told transmission needed to be replaced. Vehicle has 36,000 miles.

- Blanchard, OK, USA

problem #6

Apr 202020

Expedition

  • 29,375 miles
Upon startup, the dashboard monitor will not light up and the transmission will not go into gear. This includes no backup cameras, radio, mapping feature, or hands free bluetooth on the monitor, while the dashboard (directly in front of the steering wheel area) flashes on/off that "transmission not in park", or "oil needs to be changed", yet the transmission is stuck in park. After trying several times to manually put the car into "drive" it will finally start moving forward with a grinding sound, before coming to an abrupt stop. This sequence occurs several times, until I turn the car off and try again. It sometimes takes 4-5 attempts over 5-10 minutes to get the car moving with all items working properly. It seems electrical, since it always involves both the dash monitor and the transmission at the same time.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #5

Feb 012020

Expedition

  • 17,000 miles
Transmission shift very hard and bangs. Transmission is currently out and been at the dealer for 2 weeks

- Keyser, WV, USA

problem #4

May 012019

Expedition

  • 2,000 miles
The vehicle has an issue down shifting from 5th gear to 4th gear. It causes the vehicle to actually shake and feels as if the vehicle was jarred. It is worse when you have the break applied to come to a stop. The dealership informed that this is an issue with the new 10 speed transmission and it's functioning normally. However it's very alarming when this happens and startles passengers in the vehicle.

- Blue Ridge, GA, USA

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