Ford F-150 Trucks Face U.S. Investigation Over Gear Shift Concerns
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has initiated a preliminary evaluation into approximately 1.3 million Ford F-150 pickup trucks. The investigation is prompted by consumer complaints regarding unexpected gear downshifts, sometimes accompanied by a temporary rear-wheel lock-up.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday it is opening a preliminary evaluation into some Ford F-150 pickup trucks from the 2015 to 2017 model years after receiving complaints from 138 consumers.
NHTSA’s investigation focuses on F-150 trucks from the 2015 to 2017 model years. The agency has received 138 complaints from consumers. These complaints describe unexpected transmission downshifts into lower gears while the vehicles are traveling at highway speeds, without any prior warning or driver input. These downshifts can cause the vehicle to rapidly decelerate.
A Ford spokesperson stated the automaker is “working with NHTSA to support its investigation.” The spokesperson noted that the issue is related to vehicles equipped with six-speed transmissions.
Some owners have reported that the vehicle’s rear wheels have locked, seized, or skidded during the downshift, leading to a potential loss of control. NHTSA has indicated that there have been no confirmed crashes or fires related to the issue.
One 2023 complaint from an Ohio owner of a 2016 F-150 described a situation where, while driving at 70 miles per hour, “the truck automatically shifted from 6th Gear to first gear nearly throwing me through the windshield.”
This investigation continues a series of NHTSA probes into the unexpected downshifting issue in F-150 trucks. In June, Ford recalled 668,000 2014 model year F-150 trucks. This was to address reports of similar downshifting problems that could cause loss of driver control or rear-wheel lock-up. Ford also previously recalled vehicles to address this issue.
NHTSA must now decide whether to advance the investigation to an engineering analysis. If this occurs, it may then seek a recall of the affected vehicles.
