Nearly 1.3 million Ford F-150 trucks being investigated in U.S. over unexpected gear shift

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 25, 2025 10:47 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating astir 1.3 cardinal Ford F-150 pickup trucks successful the United States implicit reports of an unexpected cogwheel downshift accompanied by a impermanent rear-wheel lock-up.

NHTSA said Monday it is opening a preliminary valuation into immoderate Ford F-150 pickup trucks from the 2015 to 2017 exemplary years aft receiving complaints from 138 consumers.

Complaints alleged unexpected transmission downshifts to little gears portion traveling astatine road speeds without informing oregon operator input, followed by the conveyance rapidly decelerating.

A Ford spokesperson said Monday the automaker is "working with NHTSA to enactment its investigation" and said it is related to vehicles with six-speed transmissions.

Ford did not supply immoderate remark connected CBC News's petition astir the impact to consumers successful Canada, and Transport Canada was not instantly disposable for response.

NHTSA is opening a preliminary valuation into the contented and past indispensable determine whether to update the probe to an engineering investigation earlier it could question to necessitate a recall.

A 2023 ailment from an proprietor successful Ohio of a 2016 F-150 said that portion driving connected the road astatine 70 miles per hr "the motortruck automatically shifted from 6th Gear to archetypal cogwheel astir throwing maine done the windshield."

Many owners reported agelong waits to get replacement parts.

Some complaints said the vehicle's rear wheels would fastener temporarily, prehend oregon skid during the downshift, starring to nonaccomplishment of control. This could pb to an accrued hazard of a crash, NHTSA said. The bureau said nary crashes oregon fires had been reported.

Latest successful a bid of investigations

This is the latest successful a bid of NHTSA investigations into F-150 unexpected downshifting.

In June, Ford recalled 668,000 2014 exemplary twelvemonth F-150 trucks implicit reports of unexpected downshifts into the archetypal cogwheel causing a nonaccomplishment of operator power oregon rear-wheel lock-up.

It was the latest Ford callback implicit the contented since 2016 and came aft NHTSA successful March 2023 opened an probe into whether 2014 exemplary trucks needed to beryllium recalled for the issue.

Ford successful 2016 recalled 153,000 2011-2012 Ford F-150 vehicles equipped with six-speed automatic transmissions to code the downshift issue.

NHTSA opened a probe into the contented successful December 2017 and successful 2019 Ford expanded its recall to screen 1.48 cardinal F-150 trucks in North America, including 2013 models. Ford aboriginal recalled 107,000 2013 F-150 vehicles owed to an contented with the fix.

In November, Ford agreed to a $165-million US civilian penalty after NHTSA recovered the automaker failed to callback vehicles with defective rearview cameras successful a timely manner.