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.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving various speeds, the vehicle shifted gears intermittently. There were no warning indicators illuminated before or after the failure. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. There were no recalls associated with the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 97,000. The lead harness replacement has been covered by a recall for other VIN numbers. Consumer VIN number was not included.
Automatic transmission downshifted to first gear with no warning when I was traveling at 70 mph on a busy interstate. It jumped between gears a couple times so I was able to get to the side of the road before it fell back to first gear and the truck came to a full stop. At that point, the automatic transmission stopped responding completely and would no longer engage. I was stranded on the interstate and had to wait over an hour for tow truck to arrive.
I will be going 70 mph and the truck will down shift hard to 3rd gear the speed odometer will show zero mph and odometer will show dashes. When I stop the vehicle it will either stay in 3rd gear or will shift up hard to 5th gear. If I cycle the ignition key a few times it will clear for a few seconds and will again slam into a lower gear when this happens it is like slamming on the brakes creating a huge hazard. There are some vehicles built in 2012 that have a recall from Ford with same issue but for some reason my vehicle is not covered by this, . I am reaching out to you for assistance with this matter since it is a great safety concern. It will be in the shop March 10th, there is a long wait time for the Ford shop where I live.
While in motion on a rural road. My vehicle shifted into 1st gear suddenly and I almost lost control of the vehicle. A big wrench light came up on the dash. I wash unable to pull the vehicle over as I was a a hill with commercial trucking and it was not safe to pull over. I also lost all my gauges. I pulled over at the first safe place. Shut my vehicle off and restarted it and it ran fine. A week later I was traveling on another rural road going about 50 and it suddenly downshifted into first again. This time no lights on the dash it just started up shifting.
- Lowell, ME, USA
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Unexpected shift into first gear at highway speed causing inconsistent driving. Could cause dangerous slip/skid. Congruent with recall involving same model year vehicle however not listed for specific VIN.
My trucck began to downshift on its on and jerk real bad. I could watch my speedometer drown instantly as it downshifted. It downshifted at different speeds and a loud clunk.
I have an F150 that will downshift way down no matter the speed and is not covered under recall. Why would the same year vehicle with the same problem not be covered? I put it on a computer and it is the same thing. Output speed censor.
Power train:automatic transmission recall: This problem has occurred while the vehicle is in motion traveling over 45 mph and at 70 mph. There is a sudden and quick, what seems to be a downshift or very loud pop from the transmission/rear axle and feels like the backend has run over a large object like a telephone pole. Sudden and hard jerk of the vehicle from the rear end while driving over 45 mph. This issue has occurred sporadically over the last 5 years, at least 4 different times.
There have been multiple instances while driving in which the truck seems to lose power and shifts to a lower gear. The speedometer and odometer do not display when this happens. On some occasions the wrench has shown. One one occasion while accelerating to enter a highway the gear shifted down and the tires squealed and the truck dramatically slowed down. Some occasions when this has happened the shifting between gears is extremely rough. These occasions have happened while in motion, on city streets, on highways, and entering or exiting highways.
The timing chain in the engine gets prematurely stretched and requires replacement so timing chain failure does not occur. I had the chain replaced in Jan 2017 completely and the issue was supposed to be completely resolved. 1 year later the same issue is back and the chain needs to be replaced again. It is a loud rattling noise that occurs on start up and can cause complete engine failure. Several hundreds of complaints can be found about this well known issue. Ford refuses to acknowledge it. The early model 3.5L ecoboost engines are causing the stretching of the timing chain and a recall needs to be placed on them to ensure customer safety
Vehicle would shift from 1st to 5th gear and stay there. Vehicle would shift from 5th to 1st at highway speeds. Loss of power as vehicle went not 'limp mode'. saw multiple recalls on other trucks for the molded lead frame but when I called Ford they concluded my truck was not in the recall even though it was the same part and problem. Pulling out in 5th gear could have gotten me or others killed!
I have a 2012 Ford F150. On 3 occasions within the last 2 weeks I have been driving on the highway at 60-70 mph when suddenly my speedometer would fluctuate up and down and my motor would rev up as if the transmission was downshifting on it's own. My vehicle would violently jerk and my rear wheels would lock up. I took the vehicle to my dealer. They indicated that my #6 ignition coil needed replaced as well as all of my spark plugs. I had them do the work and my vehicle continues to have the same problem creating a danger for myself and/or others.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. On several occasions, while driving or idling, the vehicle unexpectedly downshifted into third gear and then back into first gear and caused the vehicle to slow down without warning. The contact stated that the transmission malfunctioned. Also, the wrench indicator appeared and the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the molded lead frame needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called autonation Ford frisco at (972) 763-5523 (located at 6850 tx-121, frisco, tx 75034) where the dealer confirmed that no recall was associated with the VIN and referenced the molded lead frame connector. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number 16V248000 (power train). The manufacturer was notified and the contact was advised to call NHTSA. The failure mileage was unavailable.
I was leaving a stop sign in the county road I live on making a right had turn. Suddenly I heard a loud bang and the truck locked up and slid across both lanes of the county road because the of the weather conditions of the road. Fortunately no one was coming the other way at the time. So there was no damage. This was the second time the transmission down shifted to 1st gear unexpectedly. The first time I going straight coming up to a stop sign and the truck just sopped. Again no damage. I took it to my local Ford dealer they said there was nothing wrong with it.
I previously submitted a complaint, but happened to notice that I had a typo on my VIN. I have had multiple experiences with the issue outlined in Ford recall 16S19. NHTSA case 16V248. I have had the transmission shift gears unexpectedly at low speed while accelerating from a stop. More recently, I have had it down shift at higher speeds(approx 50-70mph). When cruise control is on, it cancels it out automatically. I have had on time when the mil wrench appeared briefly and all numbers on the center screen went to dashes until a restart of the engine. I have spoke to dealers and Ford customer service, and looked on the NHTSA site and all have told me that my VIN is not included in the recall. The recall states the affected dates are February 11,2011 to September 8, 2012 at the dearborn plant. My truck was built on August 2, 2012 at dearborn. I have yet to receive an answer from anyone as to why my truck is not included when it meets the deadline by over a month.
My truck does two things, both with the transmission. 1rst this is random and happens at any unsuspecting time and at all speeds. The truck goes into limp mode (killing all power) starts to clunk in and out of gears to the point it locked up the tires once going 55 mph for a second as this is happening my mph needle goes to 0, also the wrench light comes on. The other problem is random as well. The truck displays the airbag light while driving along, the transmission will get stuck in third and won't shift, some times it gets stuck in first and never make it up to 6th gear it will eventually shift through the gears as this is happening the miles, avg fuel display goes to all blanks. Both very unsafe and very scary, as I don't know when it will happen. I will not put my daughter in the vehicle until I feel it's save to do so.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford F-150. While driving 30 mph, the advance track system indicator illuminated. Also, the turn signals and steering control became inoperable. The vehicle was pulled over to a shoulder lane where the vehicle was able to restart normally. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer (jc lewis Ford, 9505 abercorn street, savannah, ga 31406) where it was diagnosed that the electronic steering gear failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 16V248000 (power train). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.
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- College Station, TX, USA