while driving on the highway, my 2020 Ford F-150 equipped with the 10R80 transmission experienced a sudden and catastrophic loss of power. The transmission failed to shift slipped gears, and left the vehicle completely neutralized in traffic. This sudden loss of propulsion created an extremely hazardous situation on the road, nearly causing a severe collision before I could safely pull over.
2020 Ford F-150 owner complaints
506 complaints filed with NHTSA on this vehicle , including 3 reporting a crash, fire, injury, or fatality. 20 of them are reproduced below in full, most recent first, grouped by category.
powertrain 10 complaints shown
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed with children inside the vehicle, the transmission shifted erratically and began shuddering. The vehicle decelerated unexpectedly. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The manufacturer and the dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000.
I am writing to formally report a severe and dangerous safety defect regarding the 10R80 10-speed automatic transmission in my 2020 Ford F-150. While driving, the vehicle routinely experiences a complete "neutral-out" or severe shift flare when attempting to transition out of 1st gear. Instead of engaging 2nd or 3rd gear, the transmission completely drops out of gear into a false neutral. During this failure, the vehicle experiences an immediate and total loss of forward propulsion for several seconds while the engine revs freely. After a dangerous delay, the transmission violently slams back into gear. This is an acute safety hazard. Losing all forward acceleration unexpectedly—specifically when pulling out from a complete stop, navigating intersections, or merging into fast-moving traffi
Transmission shifting very harshly. Especially in gears 3-4-5. Transmission will stop with no control, then abruptly slam into gear. 80,000 miles. Issues since new. Dealership says vehicle needs new transmission. Will factory assist at $3,700, my share $5,600. Ford has history with this transmission. Why didn’t they replace when in warranty?
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the transmission jerked while shifting gear. The failure was a recurring failure. The dealer was contacted and the vehicle was diagnosed with CDF drum failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted by phone and made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,500.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a delay in the transmission shifting, and the vehicle hesitated while accelerating with the accelerator pedal depressed, and the vehicle jolted. The engine revved to 7,000-8,000 RPM. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the transmission needed to be rebuilt or replaced. The contact associated the failure with Technical Service Bulletin: 25-2301 (Harsh/Delayed Engagement and/or Harsh/Delayed Shift) and Technical Service Bulletin 25-2475(Harsh/Delayed Engagement and/or Harsh/Delayed Shift). The failure mileage was approximately 88,000.
Truck suddenly shifted from gear 8 to gear 2 then 4 reducing my speed suddenly causing other vehicles to almost hit me at around 40 mph. I drove home with the transmission erratically shifting up and down Even though I kept my speed under 30 mph. That was about 10 days ago and I made an attempt to drive it a few days ago after researching and in the same result happened. It seems I have been victimized by the CDF drum crawling out of its space leading to an imbalance of transmission fluid pressure. About 2 miles after the initial problem. A wrench symbol appeared on the instrument cluster with a message under it that says see manual. Just as every time I've tried to find something in the manual. After spending several minutes of frustration, I still never found the wrench symbol or what it
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle jerked abnormally, experienced a transmission shifting delay between gears, and occasionally slipped out of gear. The contact stated that after slipping out of gear, the transmission failed to re-engage gear and slipped continuously. The vehicle was inspected by a transmission specialist, who confirmed the failure and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The 10R80 transmission failed internally due to the defective CDF clutch drum assembly. Vehicle experienced dangerous gear dropping/slipping. Forced to pay out of pocket at an independent shop for a total rebuild. I have not seen anything from dealer. It was inspected by an independent shop. There was no warning prior to the failure. This happened right over 100,000 miles.
Transmission slips gears and sometimes shifts violently. I took the truck to a Ford dealership for an assessment and was told I need to replace the whole transmission. I also have a problem with oil consumption from the engine. I was told by the same dealership that this was a known problem with the 5.0 engines built from 2019 to, I believe 2023 and that it would require an engine replacement. I bought this truck from an individual and now I am stuck with it.
engine 4 complaints shown
The contact owns a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that after the check engine warning light illuminated on two occasions, the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the catalytic converters were replaced under warranty. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was determined that one of the catalytic converters needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the manufacturer would provide partial financial assistance for the repair. Additionally, the contact stated that the fuel efficiency had decreased after the failure started. The manufacturer was notified of the failure by phone. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
Brought my 2020 Ford F150 2.7L EcoBoost in for mandatory emissions recall 24E12. Vehicle had zero dashboard lights or performance issues prior. Immediately upon completion of the PCM flash, the check engine light activated. When the truck was scanned I am now receiving a P0420 and P0430 catalytic converter efficiency codes. The dealership is now requiring $6000 for replacement of qty 2 catalytic converters caused by the recall parameters. This is a predatory compliance software update designed to shift manufacturing component failures onto the consumer after the 80k mile warranty window (truck has 105k). I have filed a complaint with Ford and asked for a P01 Financial Review for After-Warranty Assistance and have been told there is nothing Ford can or will do to assist and I must pay the
The contact owned a 2020 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked with the engine running, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The contact's spouse, who was seated in the front passenger seat, saw smoke coming from under the dashboard. The contact's spouse exited the vehicle. The contact stated that while attempting to open the front driver's door, the front passenger's side of the dashboard and the windshield caught on fire. Additionally, the front passenger's door was on fire. The contact's two dogs were seated in the rear seat. The contact entered the vehicle through the fire and removed the dogs from the vehicle. The contact used a neighboring building's water hose and extinguished the fire. The contact stated that within two minutes, the vehicl
My 2020 Ford F-150 (5.0L V8) experienced a sudden loss of engine power and stalled completely while I was driving. In the days leading up to this, the check engine light had illuminated, and I later discovered the vehicle had consumed a severe amount of engine oil — the dipstick read below the "add" line. Critically, no low oil pressure warning light or audible chime alerted me to the oil loss before the stall occurred. After the initial stall, the engine continued to struggle to maintain idle and stalled repeatedly whenever RPM dropped to approximately 1,000, making the vehicle unsafe to drive. I had the vehicle towed to a Ford dealership for diagnosis. The dealership's estimate confirmed the need for a full engine (long block) replacement, at a cost of approximately $19,824.56 (total est
steering 2 complaints shown
It had been raining hard for a few days. Husband was taking truck down hwy 98 to a drs appointment an hour away. Driving 50 when the steering wheel starting going in and out, the seat started moving forward and back, running boards going in and out, lights flashing on and off and horn blaring and the 2020 F150 sputtered, almost stopped in the middle of the road; to name a few things. Frightened he was able to pull into a gas station, wait a bit then try another time when same happened. He eventually made it to his appointment. Came out and truck doing same. Was towed to Group 1 Ford dealership in in Pensacola. They had it a week and their mechanics could only say it was the BCM, Body Control Module that was wet and malfunctioned. Recommended an $8,000 dollar replacement but as they could n
My [XXX] son was at a stop light and when the light turned green he started to turn left. As he was turning left, the steering wheel started to pull left to the point that he couldn't steer it back, almost as if it was stuck and kept pulling left. He fought with it and tried to press the break. This caused him to hit the center median of the street ([XXX]) and the truck flipped and landed on driver side. My son took off his seatbelt and climbed out of passenger window. Another person that helped him told him that they saw him struggle with the steering wheel. However, since my son is [XXX], he didn't know to gather witness information. A police report was completed and I'm waiting to receive it. However, he was not cited as he was not speeding and had only simply turned left at the signal
cruise control 1 complaint shown
The Transmission has failed. Hard shifting, random gear switching while driving at any speed. i put it in reverse and it went forward while in reverse. it slows itself down while on the highway. it acts like it wants to turn off while running, its a matter of time before I'm driving down the road and it decides to stop suddenly and cause an accident. I got it diagnosed by truck works garage and they confirmed that the shifting was all over the place with random high rpms. The dealership quoted me $2500 just to diagnose the problem so i had it diagnosed at truck works garage for $160 to confirm the issues matched the tsb's and recalls that they wont acknowledge my VIN for. The failure 1st appeared 5 years ago when i was under warranty, i took it in (and have the work order still dated 10/2
brakes 1 complaint shown
I put my truck in reverse to get out of a driveway and it kept going and accelerating...the brakes did not work. I ended up goign through a fence at the end of the street and into a shed and my truck finally stopped. I have significant damage to my truck as well as to the homeowners property...the Police classified it as equipment failure and I did not receive a ticket.
electrical 1 complaint shown
I have noticed that my turn signal lights work sometimes, and sometimes they give me the rapid-fire warning light indicating that one of them is out (front or back). The outage may or may not last the entire duration of when the turn signal is deployed - sometimes it fixes itself, and other times it remains out. Sometimes, it even fixes itself and goes back out in the same signal instance. Additionally, I have noticed that one or both of the headlights will sometimes fail. I have learned to turn on the fog lights in order to ensure some sort of light remains working to illuminate my path forward. I've not yet experienced the fog lights going out as they seem to be unaffected by the intermittent outages. If it wasn't for this, I would have stopped driving at night altogether. I hav
suspension 1 complaint shown
2020 Ford F-150 Raptor supercab with 47,500 miles. Front right coil spring broke into several pieces while sitting in the driveway. Rust on one half of the piece that fell on the driveway indicates rust coating failed and caused the initial break in the coil spring. The way the coil spring broke and the vehicle lost ride height could have killed me if I were underneath changing the oil. If it had broke while driving, it would have caused an accident from loss of control endangering vehicle passengers and others on the road.I will keep all parts and have available for inspection. In hindsight, the only sign this was a problem was noise while driving over speed bumps and it was inspected by several different shops (Ford, VA inspection, two auto body shops) over the last year while it present