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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
9 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
11 / 0
Average Mileage:
15,112 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 F-150 drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2018 Ford F-150 Owner Comments (Page 5 of 18)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #279

May 112022

F-150

  • miles

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

10 speed auto transmission is very rough in shifting especially during down shifting at lower speeds (less than 35mph). Usually exhibits a loud harsh clunking sound. Also sometimes while accelerating there is slippage and the rpms will rev up but the vehicle wont accelerate.... can be dangerous when pulling into fast moving traffic when the vehicle wont accelerate. Need a solution from FORD !!!

- Novi, MI, USA

problem #278

Jul 312023

F-150

  • 112,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that after driving at an undisclosed speed and arriving at his destination, the vehicle had difficulty shifting into gear and seemed to shift independently. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle seemed to return to normal functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined a failure with the cam phasers. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the cam phasers were replaced two years prior. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but was unable to provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 112,000.

- Oak Creek, WI, USA

problem #277

May 012018

F-150

  • 64,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while at a stop light, the contact attempted to accelerate however, the vehicle jerked and hesitated before shifting into gear and then accelerating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the malfunction started after the engine was replaced by the dealer. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not under warranty. The manufacturer had not provided any additional assistance. The failure mileage was 64,000.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

problem #276

Jul 222023

F-150

  • 95,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated to 40 MPH. The contact veered to the side of the roadway. The contact continued driving however, the vehicle experienced hard shifts while jerking. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to shift into 10th gear. The power train warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where an unknown computer reset was completed, and the warning light disappeared; however, the vehicle jerked while reversing. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the transmission fluid was flushed a week prior to the failure. The contact related the failure to an unknown recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

- Osage, MN, USA

problem #275

Jun 052023

F-150

  • miles
I was driving in the city, though my miles are typically highway. My truck just shifted in neutral and I had to take it to the dealership. It has always shifted hard from third to fourth gear, but never caused a major issue and was told that was common. At 60,000 miles I did preventative maintenance, which included a complete service of my transmission. At approximately 81,000 miles my transmission failed on me. Endangering my life and others on the road. Ford service stated that my CDF failed in my 10r80 transmission and that, that particular failure was a common one. Ford refuses to acknowledge this failure.

- Rome, GA, USA

problem #274

Jun 252023

F-150

  • miles
Dear Sir/Madam, My only vehicle is a 2018 10-speed Ford F-150. I-??ve been very happy with it until recently when it started having difficulty finding and shifting gears. There have been several instances where I have lost speed while it was searching. This is an obvious safety issue and needs to be corrected. I-??ve even started planning my routes based on where there are less stops. The truck has about 85,000 miles on it and should have a lot more life left in it. I would like to try to explain what-??s been happening. -??The transmission is slipping, can-??t find gears and occasionally revs up in between gears. -??The adaptive learning was reset on July 5 with no improvement. -??When shifting 1-3 is ok. 3-4 sometimes it can-??t find 4th gear. It revs up as the indicator on the dashboard goes between gears 4-2-1-8-4 as it is going through this pattern the accelerator is not responsive. Very embarrassing and unsafe. As it is looking for 4th gear it takes about 10 seconds to find it, the whole time it is decelerating causing traffic back-ups. -??When shifting from 4-5 it slips and engine revs up but finds 5th gear considerable quicker. -??5-6 is a normal shift. -??6-7 or 8 is normal. -??8-9 it slips and revs up just as from 4-5 gear. -??9-10 is the same. Slips and revs up before going into 10th gear. -??When going up a gradual incline and truck downshifts from 10-9 or 9-8 it slams into the lower gear very harshly. -??After the vehicle has been running for a while the shifting pattern will switch. Instead of shifting from 1-3 it will shift from 1-2, which it cannot find 2nd gear for about 5 seconds, again creating a safety issue. I-??ve taken the truck to a local Ford dealership for evaluation. They told me that it needs a new transmission and quoted me $8800 to get the work done. I also understand that this is a common problem with the Ford F-150. As stated before, this is extremely unsafe and must be repaired. The wrench on the dashboard is lit up also.

- Chittenango, NY, USA

problem #273

Jul 232023

F-150

  • miles

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

When pulling out of driveway and starting to accelerate the vehicle feels like it lurches forward from the rear as if rear ended. Dealership notes after review don-??t reflect the issue that actually originally occurred and brought in for. Dealership reset the TCM and stated it resolved the reverse wnngage issue and temporarily resolved the power accelerate issue and drove fine for a day or two. Then on the third day it lurched again and lost all acceleration but engine reeves let foot off gas and then tried again to accelerate and same thing as I began to pull over the vehicle lunged forward again nearly making me drive off the road. This is a safety concern for myself as I live on a major highway and need to accelerate out of my driveway up to 65 and could pose a major accident. It has also dont this daily other times over the past few weeks while driving around town not just as I leave the house.

- Tyler, TX, USA

problem #272

Jul 202023

F-150

  • miles
2018 Ford F150 downshifting from a Highway exit ramp speed of approximately 45 miles an hour from whatever gear that would be fourth or fifth with the 10 speed transmission into first gear. Causing rear end to lock up and car behind me to almost hit me as I came to an unintended complete stop. Took vehicle to the dealer being informed. I now need a complete new transmission and associated parts. The transmission is a 10 R 80. This incident was close to causing an accident, and if it had been wet at all, would have caused the vehicle to span, and possibly would-??ve resulted in injury to occupants of vehicle and other vehicles around. Mileage 68000. No other transmission issues or warning.

- Worthington, OH, USA

problem #271

Mar 282023

F-150

  • miles
Transmission slips out gear, slams between gears and creates dangerous situation when entering intersections slipping out of gear and potential whiplash slamming between gears. Have taken to dealer on three occasions to fix problems with no success. This defective condition can cause an accident due to its unpredictable faults during normal driving.

- Martinez, GA, USA

problem #270

Apr 072023

F-150

  • miles
Over the course of approximately four months, my 2018 F-150 transmission progressively shifted more and more abruptly resulting in enough physical damage to warrant the replacement of the entire transmission. It began as a rough shift from 1st to 3rd gear and got worse, eventually becoming a shift from 1st to 3rd, losing power, dropping back to 1st, and then violently slamming into 4th gear. This occurred primarily in the lower gears, within 5 minutes of startup, and traveling up a small incline. No dashboard signals were observed until the day of my Ford appointment at which they decided to replace the entire transmission.

- Martinez, CA, USA

problem #269

Apr 202023

F-150

  • miles

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

Upon acceleration vehicle struggles to downshift, and jerks harshly while doing so. 10 speed automatic transmission. Causing ones head to move in such a way that vision can be impared.

- Argyle, TX, USA

problem #268

Jun 142023

F-150

  • miles
The cam phasers went bad and due to the result the vehicle shut down on it's own with no warning. It was a scary situation having my my 7 & 9 year old Nieces and nephews. I'm attaching the known service bulletin that Ford issues for this repair. Ford is now coming back telling me since i'm 2 months out of warranty I have to pay the $3200 repair for a known issue that they've extended the warranty on as well as issued tow more recent service bulletins before. My biggest concern is if something would have happened when it came to a complete stop and another vehicle crashed into us causing harm if not fatal injuries.

- Palmyra, WI, USA

problem #267

Jun 232023

F-150

  • miles
2018 Ford F-150 Platinum Supercab 2x2 began to leak transmission fluid that hit hot muffler and began to smoke. Vehicle towed to Kelly Ford in Melbourne FL. Upon inspection, tech says that the transmission was "overfilled" and hot oil escaped from the top vent. I was then told that Ford now recommends ONE LESS quart of transmission fluid in the 10 speed transmissions. There is no TSB or recall I can find for this. Kelly Ford performed a transmission service 2 years ago and refilled the case. I have had no issues with it until now. They did say it "could" also be an air leak causing the oil to foam. I have also had numerous oil changes there and with ALL FLUID inspections. At no time was I informed on an "overfill" I amout the cost of a tow at $165

- Melbourne, FL, USA

problem #266

Aug 112020

F-150

  • miles
We purchased our Ford F-150 June 2020 and began having issues with it running hot August 2020. After having it checked numerous times and having to add extra coolant weekly the dealership checked and there was an issue with the Turbo-exhaust converter leaking coolant, eventually leading to a catalytic converter issue as well as the spark plugs having to be replaced due to having coolant leaked all over them. Recently, the dealership checked, and they also discovered an issue with the ERG cooler leaking and that had to be replaced as well. The dealership had the replacement parts on back order for 2 years.

- Hartsville, SC, USA

problem #265

Nov 012022

F-150

  • 28,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at a slow speed, the vehicle shut off with the "Auto START/STOP - Shift to Park - Restart Engine" message was displayed. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle resumed normal operation. The contact also stated that while driving at a high speed, the vehicle shuddered while depressing of the accelerator pedal. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer on several occasions; however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.

- Rehoboth Beach, DE, USA

problem #264

May 192023

F-150

  • miles
difficulty shifting into and out of 4th gear, and skipping gears. Ultimately would not shift into 3rd gear and was taken to shop where mechanic told me a complete rebuild/reman was required. The mileage is only 78K. ridiculous.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #263

May 062023

F-150

  • miles
My 2018 Ford F-15 XLT has been having transmission severe issues. This model has a 10 speed transmission and it will randomly go into neutral and abruptly jerk into gear. This happens when it's shifting into multiple gears. When at an intersection, taking off from a complete stop, it jerks into the first gear then goes into neutral (preventing the vehicle from moving while traffic is coming and going from multiple directions) until it ultimately abruptly jerks into the next gear. This behavior is consistent and severe. From limited research, this is apparently a known issue with Ford; however, they have not issued any recalls. One suggested fix is to have the dealership "re-program" it; however, reviews on results show it's either the same or worse after the re-programming.

- Mobile, AL, USA

problem #262

May 112023

F-150

  • 83,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate with the transmission warning light illuminated. Additionally, the transmission experienced rough shifting. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 83,000.

- Wiscasset, ME, USA

problem #261

Nov 012022

F-150

  • miles
the transmission slips and gives no power when starting from a stopped position. during driving it slips gears including during highway driving. the issues started after 58000 miles.

- Conroe, TX, USA

problem #260

May 012023

F-150

  • 46,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced unintended surging and engine revving. During the failure, the driver had difficulty stopping the vehicle while depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated that the failure occurred while driving at various speeds, while the vehicle was stationary and idling. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 46,000.

- Warwick, RI, USA

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