- In 2019, Ford recalled 1.5 million vehicles and fixed their malfunctioning gearbox.
- Now, however, NHTSA says that it has received 86 complaints from owners of 2014 F-150s, who say that they too are experiencing this issue.
- To eliminate the problem, dealer technicians will reprogram the powertrain control module so the transmission won’t downshift on its own.
A series of consumer complaints and reports of at least one crash linked to unexpected downshifts in decade-old F-150s have reignited an issue Ford believed it had resolved, prompting an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The story starts back in 2016, when issues relating to the six-speed automatic transmission in 2011 to 2012 F-150s started presenting themselves. At the time, drivers complained that the truck could suddenly, and inappropriately, shift down into first gear.
Read: Ford Recalls 1.5 Million F-150s Because They Might Downshift On Their Own
That’s more than just an annoyance, as the shift was so aggressive that it could cause the wheels to lock up and cause drivers to lose control of their pickups. By 2019, Ford issued a recall on 2011-2013 F-150s equipped with the transmission — 1.5 million vehicles in all — which everyone agreed seemed to address the issue affecting them.
While the recall fixed those vehicles, it may not have fixed every F-150 that was experiencing transmission troubles. Now, NHTSA says that it has received 86 complaints from owners of 2014 F-150s, claiming that they too are experiencing this issue.
Among those complaints, NHTSA highlights one that was particularly bad. The driver alleges that after they experienced the unexpected downshift, their wheels locked up, sending them crashing into a concrete barrier, and into another vehicle. Ultimately, the accident led to injuries for both the driver of the 2014 F-150 and the driver of the vehicle with which it collided.
As a result, the safety regulator is opening a “recall query” to see if Ford’s initial action sufficiently addressed the risk to the F-150’s drivers. Fortunately, since the investigation seems to be looking at whether or not the recall included enough vehicles, not whether the repair was effective, it is possible that Ford’s initial fix may work on these vehicles, too.
To eliminate the issue on 2011-2013 model year F-150s, Ford tasked dealer technicians with reprogramming the powertrain control module, which should prevent the transmission from downshifting unexpectedly.
