Ford Recalls Some F-150 Pickup Trucks Over Transmission Downshifting Issue

A Ford company logo is shown on a sign at a Ford dealership in southeast Denver in this Oct. 24, 2021 file photo. The Associated Press/David Zalubowski

Ford is recalling 668,000 decade-old F-150 series trucks, including 95,174 in Canada, because of transmission problems that can cause the vehicle to unexpectedly shift into first gear.

The downshifting in some 2014 vehicles is due to “a loss of signal between the transmission output shaft speed sensor and the powertrain control module,” which can cause the transmission to unexpectedly downshift into first gear no matter how fast the truck is moving, according to a document from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

”Unexpectedly downshifting into first gear may result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash,” the document says.

Dealers will update the powertrain control module software free of charge, according to the NHTSA. Notification letters are expected to be sent out by July 1.

Transport Canada issued its recall notice on June 14, according to its database.

The move comes after Ford started an investigation into reports of transmission downshift on the model on Feb. 8, 2024. The company said the issue has been seen in F-150 vehicles with a 6R80 six-speed automatic transmission.

Ford contacted NHTSA about the issue on Feb. 21, according to documents. The organization opened a recall query to investigate on March 27.

F-150 vehicles from 2011 and 2012 were previously recalled over the same issue in 2018, where drivers were reporting unexpected transmission downshifting.

Transport Canada also investigated the issue in vehicles that were not included in the recall, documents say.

“The rate of unexpected downshift reports remains lower for 2014 MY F-150 vehicles than the 2011-2013 MY F-150 vehicles previously recalled,” NHTSA said.

By April, Ford was aware of 300 warranty reports and 142 customer complaints involving 482 vehicles related to the transmission downshifting. Forty vehicles were said to have rear-wheel lock-up or loss of vehicle control related to the malfunction.

Two of the complaints say the malfunction caused injuries and another driver said it caused an accident.

One vehicle owner said the downshift caused his truck to “crash into a concrete barrier and another vehicle, injuring both him and the driver of the other vehicle.”

Ford’s F-series pickup truck has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States for more than 40 years.

In 2016, the car manufacturer recalled 153,000 Ford F-150 vehicles from its 2011-2012 line that were equipped with six-speed automatic transmissions due to the transmission downshift issue.

NHTSA looked into the issue in December 2017, and Ford expanded the recall in February 2019 to include 1.48 million F-150 trucks, including 2013 models.

There was another recall for 107,000 F-150 trucks from the 2013 line over an issue with the fix.

Reuters contributed to this article.