Ford F-150 Trucks Face U.S. Investigation Over Gear Shift Concerns
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating nearly 1.3 million Ford F-150 pickup trucks in the United States following reports of unexpected downshifting issues. The investigation, which covers trucks from the 2015 to 2017 model years, stems from consumer complaints about a potential safety hazard.
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. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)
According to the NHTSA, the preliminary evaluation follows 138 consumer complaints. These complaints allege that the trucks have unexpectedly shifted to lower gears while traveling at highway speeds, leading to rapid deceleration without warning or driver input. Some reports also indicate the vehicle’s rear wheels may lock up temporarily during the downshift, potentially causing a loss of control.
Complaints alleged unexpected transmission downshifts to lower gears while travelling at highway speeds without warning or driver input, followed by the vehicle rapidly decelerating. (Eric Cox/Reuters)
A Ford spokesperson stated that the automaker is cooperating with the NHTSA’s investigation, which pertains to vehicles with six-speed transmissions. Ford has not yet commented on how this issue might impact Canadian consumers, and CBC News has reached out to Transport Canada for a statement.
The NHTSA will first conduct its preliminary evaluation and must then decide whether to elevate the probe to an engineering analysis. That could potentially lead to a recall. However, at this point, the agency has not reported any crashes or fires tied to the issue.
NHTSA is opening a preliminary evaluation into the issue and then must decide whether to update the probe to an engineering analysis before it could seek to require a recall. (Rebecca Cook/Reuters)
This latest investigation is part of a history of NHTSA inquiries into unexpected downshifting problems in Ford F-150 trucks. In 2016, Ford issued a recall for 153,000 F-150 vehicles from 2011-2012 and in 2019, Ford expanded a previous recall to cover 1.48 million F-150 trucks in North America, including 2013 models. In addition, in November, Ford agreed to a $165 million US civil penalty after NHTSA found the automaker failed to recall vehicles with faulty rearview cameras on time.
