2018 Ford F-150 complaints

The 2018 F150 I purchased started out a good vehicle like most vehicle do. The problems then began to come one after the other. Routine oil changes on the vehicle at the dealership with no hiccups turned into “Your motor is low on oil”. The tech tried to find a leak. The motor wasn’t leaking ANYTHING, so naturally the tech told me the motor was burning the missing oil. The tech told me “they all burn alittle oil” and topped it back off. I had another “incident” where I was driving on the highway a few weeks later and my engine light came on, and I lost oil pressure. The red “low oil pressure” message came on the dash and I promptly limped my truck to the dealership once again. The tech diagnosed the truck and found a plugged PCV valve. It was changed for a brand new one from the dealer, followed by another oil change well under the recommended interval naturally, due to the motor burning almost all of the oil. The truck still burns oil, and the issue seems to be impossible to remedy. The issue that followed the engine burning oil is the 10R80 Transmission installed from the ford manufacturer. Once again everything seemed fine when I purchased the truck. After driving it for 20-30k miles, the transmission has developed a flare shift between the 3rd-4th gears. The transmission is getting more and more hesitant to upshift and maintain and gain speed. This is considerably noticeable when attempting to get on the highway. This is unacceptable. It puts me in a very vulnerable spot

Known transmission issue from Ford with 10-speed transmission. Transmission failed at 106,500 miles, and needing to be replaced. Ford has knowingly ignored issue, and is charging for repair.

The transmission is absolutely flawed - it delays shifting in unpredictable ways when in traffic, and often slams into gear when downshifting, which is jarring on the driver. Transmission should absolutely be recalled for the bushing. It is unsafe and unethical that Ford knowingly continued to used this transmission knowing it was causing issues.

The contact owns a Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving, there was an audible noise was heard and observed smoke coming from beneath the hood on the driver's side near the alternator. The contact pulled over and discovered flames coming from the engine compartment. The fire department responded and extinguished the fire. No injuries were sustained and no additional property damages were reported. The vehicle was not destroyed and was later towed to an independent mechanic; however, the vehicle was ot diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was contacted but did not diagnosed or repair the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 151,798

Vehicle shifts hard and sometimes goes to high RPM before it finds a gear. It also slams into gear once it finally does go into gear. It also shudders when downshifting to pass and feels like the truck is about to fall apart while shaking

While driving this vehicle, the brake line was cut after making contact with the A arm assembly, at the highest point on the line. I immediately lost my brakes as the brake pedal went to the floor. I am extremely lucky that I was able to stop within the parking lot that I had just entered and did not have to make an immediate stop.

Body control module catastrophic failure resulting in electrical failure while driving. Horn would not turn off, hazards would not turn off, warning modules firing off messages, burning smell coming from engine compartment. Absolute safety hazard while driving.

The transmission is the 10r80 model and shifts erratically. should be recalled and rebuilt. i only have 40k miles but it jerks when shifting from park to reverse or reverse to forward and when driving it struggles to go into the correct gear causing delayed acceleration. i have to drive carefully to prepare in case the shift delay and i also have to take a lot of extra time parking to avoid the harsh jerking so others can't get out of the road waiting on my truck to operate. Ive been to dealer and paid 500$ for adaptive learning reset as suggested as well as fluid and filter change but did not help whatsoever. The transmission also runs extremely hot. Ford dealer has aknowlged my concern but will not do anything unless ford issues a TSB or a recall but my model year hasn't had either. No warning lights have been present. There's also rattling when the truck shifts gears at lower speeds from transmission area and the truck also moves forward and back when defending down hills from whatever is going on in the transmission. FORD SHOULD REBUILD OR REPLACE TRANSMISSIONS IN 10R80 models!!!!!

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving the vehicle at an undisclosed speed, the AC was being used at 70% power when suddenly, the AC no longer gave cool air and the airflow was weak. The contact stated this happens when he drives the vehicle longer than a 4 hour period. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it could not be diagnosed due to no being able to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 21,000.

Brakes completely failed. Foot went to the floorboard and car did not stop. Drove until is was slowed down enough to throw it into park. Engine light stated low on brake fluid. Filled it up and it went about a mile before brakes failed again. Took to a mechanic who determined that brake cylinder and booster had failed. Called Ford who said my 2018 Ford F-150, built in Kansas City was not in the Ford April 14, 2025 recall (25S37) as the build date on my vehicle was a few months after the May 19, 2017 cut off. However it is clear that later built models also had the same problem with the defective brake cylinder as the earlier builds. I suspect they used the same part. Ford should expand the date of brake failure to cover repair of later models with failed brake booster and master cylinder.

When driving transmission has issues in low gears specificially when starting from a stop and accelerating, often shifts very hard, or shifts into neutral and engine just revs. Very unsafe in all aspects as normal accelration does not take place. I have taken it to my local mechanic who advised that this is just how these transmissions are, and my next step will be to take it to FORD directly. "Check manual" light pops up w// a wrench

I am experiencing a severe safety hazard with my 2018 F-150's 10R80 transmission. While accelerating, the transmission unexpectedly drops into neutral during the 2nd-to-3rd gear shift. The engine revs to the redline, then violently slams into gear, causing the truck to jerk forward unpredictably. This creates a terrifying, uncontrollable moment in traffic. A mechanic diagnosed the issue and stated it requires a complete transmission replacement using the newly updated, redesigned parts to prevent a recurrence. I am the second owner and the previous owner did a transmission flush and filter at 120k miles, currently at 140k miles and the transmission has failed. The previous owner had a detailed service history thats why I bought the vehicle because it was in such good shape.

The contact's son owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while his son was driving on the interstate at 70 MPH, the vehicle downshifted into 4th gear. No warning lights were illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who confirmed there were no recalls. The failure mileage was approximately 8,100.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power train independently downshifted. The contact stated that the power train warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with metal shavings in the oil pan and a failed transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with a recall related to the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

I was driving on a highway going around 75 mph on a curve, when all of a sudden I lost power steering and wheel jerked the opposite way to where I was steering. I had my wife and two boys with me and if I hadn't held the wheel so tight I probably would have went off road . There were no signs prior to that. No dashboard lights at all and no check engine light. Problem is persistent and can be replicated every drive. Truck is at 147000 miles. Seems like a big problem, and hopefully there are no injuries related to this Ford Steering gear issue. Ford dealership has was quoted me $3500 to fix it. Will have to keep driving truck as it's the only car I have

The audio and navigation system with the sync 3 constantly malfunctions and causes immediate distraction of the driver and passengers and fails regularly with intermittent failures, freezes and takes the attention of the driver away from the road. This is a problem with many Ford vehicles and over many production year models. Ford will not address this and admit this common failure the Ford F-150 2018 the navigation and audio panel freezes locks up malfunctions doesn't respond and the navigation system will be working and then skips and puts you into a different location on a different Road or just locks up entirely.

Observed changes in transmission with lack of smooth shifting between gears and hard bang going into drive. While operating on the roadway noticed downshifts were causing issues with braking smoothly. Took vehicle to Ford dealership where diagnosis was CDF drum failure due to bushing movement which was already stated in a TSB. Current mileage on the truck is only 60300 miles.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that upon start of the vehicle, the vehicle would fail to move when placed into reverse(R). The contact would be forced to place the vehicle back into park(P) and wait before being able to proceed in reverse. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle would jerk upon depression of the accelerator pedal as a wrench(transmission) warning light would appear on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that on multiple occasions the vehicle would enter limp mode after the warning light appeared; the contact would be forced to restart the vehicle due to the failure. The contact called the Ford dealer and was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. An independent mechanic was also notified of the failure and the contact was informed that a drum in the transmission does not hold enough pressure which causes the transmission to fail. The contact stated that the manufacturer does not produce the part needed to repair the transmission; therefore, the transmission needs to be replaced. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

Transmission shifted from 6th gear to 1st gear while driving on the highway. Unpredictable hard gear shifts at times.

Slams in reverse and when shifting in some gears with the 10-speed transmission. The CDF drum is a major issue with the 2018 Ford F150 due to the design defect in the drum. Ford recalled some trucks for the drum issue, but my vin # shows no recall. This is a major expense issue due to Ford's design, and I feel should be a recall issue.

My 2018 ford f150 rear back up camera is out and shows a blue screen. Other models around my year has had a recalls for it.

I recently had the 10R80 rebuilt due shifting issues and it was discovered that the CDF drum and the outer shell were defective. The transmission would shift erratically and sometimes would shift into a lower gear that should not do causing immediate high engine rpms and throwing passengers forward. In wet conditions this would cause a loss of control. I retained the defective parts and documentation of the rebuild.

The transmission shifted from 10th gear to 9th gear and then to 8th gear on a flat freeway going 70 mph. It quickly reduced our speed causing vehicles behind us to brake hard so as not to crash into the back of us. Ford and the dealership have been no help because of the transmission being out of warranty. Ford knows there is a problem but refuses to fix it. Customer service and safety is not more important to them than profit. There were no warnings before it happened. It has happened more than once. It also happened on I80 in 2024.

Transmission jerks and shifts hard jolting passengers around when it does. This has happened since I bought it as a second owner with 30k miles. I aske ford about it and they said “yep there is a problem but our shop doesn’t work on transmissions” I have not found any where else to take it as I lived in a small town. But I heard there are others with this same problem. 5.0 engine with 10sp automatic

2 times now my truck went from 75mph in 10 th gear to 1 st gear on the highway. I then loose all throttle input. This is my day driver and some how avoided a fatal crash 2 times. I do not have a ford dealer in my town I usually fix everything on my own. I know they have a recall and it's just a software patch. If so can you push it over the air to fix? Or have a dealer swap out trucks and get it fixed. The trany had been shifting very poorly. I did a filter and oil change on it and was much needed. I also reset the tcm logic and that seamed to help but now I am scared to let anyone drive it.

My trucks transmission is not shifting right. One time I pulled out and I wouldn’t shift almost causing me to get rear ended. Another time it just randomly went down like 5 cars cause me to almost get rear ended on the freeway.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while parked and a rental trailer was hooked up to the vehicle, the trailers turn signals and brake lights did not work ad intended and did not illuminate as intended. The vehicle was then hooked up to another trailer where the turn signals did not work as intended and the brake lights did not illuminated as intended again. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the trailer control module needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.

Transmission suddenly jerks into another gear and has randomly downshifted at highway speeds to lower gear including 1st gear, then fails to get back into 10th gear.

Truck has 80,000 miles on it. For the last few thousand miles, the transmission has started to lurch during gear shifts from low speeds causing the vehicle to feel as if it is stalling out. Dealer states it is designed to do this, but due to power loss a collision is a possibility while trying to enter onto a highway with faster speeds. Dealer states the vehicle is learning the driver's driving behavior. After 80,000 miles the vehicle already has learned the driving behavior and there is something else taking place. The vehicle does not throw any warning codes when attaching an OSBII reader to the port. Taken to an independent shop and was told this is a known issue with the 10 speed transmission in the 2018 F-150 vehicles that Ford has not fixed until 2025 and up year models. This is a safety issue at the very least.

I was driving down the road and then smoke started bellowing out of the cupholder area of the center console and it smelled like burnt wires and I could hear it Cizzle so I pulled over as quick as I could and ripped out the center console to find that the connectors going to the glow rings on the cupholders had shorted out and were causing a small flame in melting the plastic so I ripped the wiring harness out that Fed the power to the cupholders .

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, while the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle loss automotive power. No warning lights were illuminated. The failure occurred on several different occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission fluid needed to be changed. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer to get a diagnosis however, the failure cause was unidentifiable. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to get a diagnosis however, the failure cause was unidentifiable. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

When cold the truck is experiencing transmission slippage between first and third gear and hard shifting. The engine will rev up but the transmission does not always engage. You have to quickly remove your foot from the accelerator because it will eventually catch and bang into gear. After the transmission gets warm the shift does improve. After checking online for known transmission issues for the 2018 Ford F150 with 10 speed transmission I discovered that the CDF hub has a defect that Ford knows about but will not repair. The hub has a bushing that moves blocking transmission fluid ports. I called a two transmission shops and they were well aware of the issue and were able to give a quote range over the phone because of the volume of these transmissions that they have seen. I took the truck to my local Ford dealer and they checked the issue and confirmed that the CDF hub was the issue and the transmission would require a total rebuild. The rebuild came in at $7,755 dollars plus tax. A replacement transmission was $9035.26 before tax or just over 10,000 after tax. Ford needs to held liable for the engineering defect and be forced to issue a recall.

218 Ford F150 5.0L 4X4 with 10R80 transmission. While accelerating from stop light and attempting to merge into highway traffic flow, transmission shifted to 4 gear and failed to actually change gears resulting on a massive loss of momentum and causing a dangerous situation for myself and other motorists. This was an unknown problem to me, but after doing some research, a very well known problem to Ford. The company has used this transmission in many models of their vehicles and generally results in a full rebuild of the transmission to properly correct the issue. As of today, there are class action cases for this. Ford has correct the know deficiency in the latest (2025+) versions for the transmission, so there should be a recall to correct the problems with previous versions. Ford Motor Company has known about the defect with the lack of lubrication on the CDF drum, as well as other issues, and sold the defective parts anyway. This incident did not result in an accident, but only because traffic was light enough that other motorists were able to swerve around me. This particular highway access does not offer an emergency lane until after the bridge the the onramp spills onto.

I have a 2018 Ford F-150 Platinum Truck. The truck began hard shifting and jolting the truck while slowing down or speeding up. Threw codes P2707/P2708 (F-clutch solenoid); the CDF played part in this issue. I lost several gears (to include gears 1-3, 5, 7, and 9 in drive, and reverse) WHILE driving. This was extremely dangerous and I needed a follow vehicle to stay at a safe distance to escort my limping truck to a safe place. Ford dealership quoted $11,800 to replace transmission. Mom/pop shop offered $9,000.

In January 2025, Covert Ford [XXX] ) performed a federally mandated PCM recall repair via their mobile service unit. Immediately upon completion, my check engine light (CEL) cam e on. Prior to this service, the vehicle had zero warning lights, fault codes, or symptoms of any kind. The CEL appeared directly and exclusively following the recall work. The timeline is unambiguous. In March 2025, I returned to Covert Ford to have the recall-related fault addressed. Rather than reviewing their own recall work, the dealership charged me a diagnostic fee upfront, followed by additional labor charges, resulting in a bill exceeding $1,100. No diagnostic data, scan results, or technical documentation was ever provided to support their findings. The fault was never resolved. An improperly performed recall can suppress additional fault codes within the vehicle's OBD system, leaving the driver unaware of developing powertrain or safety-critical issues. I operated the vehicle with an active, unresolved CEL for approximately three months — a condition caused entirely by the recall service itself. A federally mandated recall is a manufacturer's commitment to repair a defect at no cost to the consumer. When that repair introduces a new fault and the consumer is billed over $1,100 to diagnose it, the recall process has fundamentally failed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Transmission started shifting erratically, clunking, downshifting from 10th gear to 3rd gear driving at 50 mph. Jumps from 1 to 3 then hesitates every gear after

CDF Drum Failure which is a known issue by Ford on these trucks. It causes the truck to shift on its own no matter the speed and sometimes randomly come to a complete stop. Year model trucks from 17-22 are all at risk of this issue before reaching 100k miles. My issue was diagnosed by the Ford dealership and I called a transmission shop for a second opinion and they immediately knew what I was referring to since it is so common. No warnings or check engine lights when the issue is occuring.

Hard/Delayed shifting up and down shifting. Transmission slipping, jumps into neutral with high revs, no movement. The warning light illuminated yesterday, shifting/neutral was worse. Turning into traffic, transmission went into neutral for seconds then hard shift squealing the tires.

Rear camera is has failed. Safety is at risk, when reversing this full size truck due to lack of visibility. Rear camera failed in early 2025. Rear camera was examined on 6/17/28 at JONES FORD in Shallotte, NC. I was notified that camera failed and needed to be replaced $730. I could not afford and camera and safety are an ongoing issue to this date. WHY HAVE MILLIONS OF FORD VEHICLES BEEN RECALLED/REPLACED FOR THIS SAME ISSUE, BUT NOT MY VEHICLE??

Under normal driving the transmission will slip as if the truck was in neutral. I take my foot off the gas and coast a short distance then the transmission slips back into gear and I can continue driving

When driving My Vehicle, 4 and 5 gear shift very jerky and harsh and sometimes seem to slip. Multiple times now I have had it go to shift into 4 gear to then drop in neutral and stop taking throttle causing me to suddenly stop going forward. Many times when trying to cross an intersection or go from a stop light I have a missed shift in those gears causing a high chance of injury from being rear ended because suddenly I stop moving forward with no reason. I haven’t had any warning lights for this issue and I’ve had a shop look at it and have all the same issues happen. When towing it’s much worse causing it to slam into gear at very high RPMs. When very cold out it happens every time and I have to let my truck warm up for 15 minutes before leaving because it will drop out of gear. I’ve seen many reports of the 10 speed having many problems and I’m afraid one of the times it doesn’t shift right I will end up rear ended because of something I can’t control. The location I will put in when I was towing, crossing a 2 lane highway and trying to get up to highway speeds with the transmission slamming into gear really worry’s me for not only my safety but others driving on the road.

Our vehicle has 79,500 miles and the transmission is slipping between 2nd and 3rd, and causing rpm surging. We had a diagnostic done and need the cdf drum replaced with the newly designed part as the current part has a defect. This is apparently a known issue and should be a recall so the defective part can be replaced. This will cost me 7k to 9k to either rebuild or replace my transmission.

The vehicle has 57000 miles and i am reporting a commonly known issue with the transmission. Despite multiple service appointments with Ford explaining the issue, I was informed there was nothing wrong. Now, 10 months post extended warranty, Ford is telling me it needs a full transmission replacement. Thoroughout, the vehicle shifted eradically up and down, including on the interstate, quickly dropping speed. It was particularly bad a lower speeds when the engine was cool. Sometimes, at low speed or at a stoplight, the vehicle would disengage the drive train and roll in neutral while the RPMs revved when the throttle was pressed. The vehicle was not operating safely, would roughly bounce around gears, when reported to Ford, told that there was nothing wrong and now being told post warranty that the transmission is a total fail that will require replacement. The latest service appointment one month ago, where I was again told that an oil topoff was all that was needed. This is a well reported safety issue by numerous owners and Ford has failed to take any action or initiate a recall.

The 10R80 transmission has failed at 86k miles. Very erratic shifting especially when cold. Complete loss of power coming out of 3rd gear. It would shift from 3rd to 7th then back to 1st then back to 3rd and repeat this behavior. I had a complete loss of power trying to go uphill and had to hit brakes before rolling backwards. Shifting upper gears extremely slow and causing excessive revving between shifts. It would stay in a higher gear when coming to a stop and I would have to press gas hard to get it to shift and it would slam into 1st. Very unsafe driving. I know this is the CDF drum failure but didn't know how unsafe it would be when it started failing.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the transmission unexpectedly downshifted; however, the vehicle failed to drive forward as needed. The contact stated that after several seconds, the vehicle drove forward as needed. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that later, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was a known failure with the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

I have a 2018 Ford F150 and the 10R80 transmission has failed on my truck. It started with hard shifts and missed gears. The Ford dealership in Tracy, CA quoted me $13k to replace the transmission because of known issues with this transmission. There are multiple tech service bulletins but they are making Ford owners pay for these costly mistakes from the manufacturer. I was at a 3 way intersection on a busy highway in the morning and the transmission all of a sudden had a loss of power and wasn't in a gear when it said it was in 4th gear. Very dangerous to lose power like that in the morning at a busy intersection. I had to have my truck towed home as I couldn't not make home with all the problems that started occurring.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2018 Ford F-150. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 97,839. At the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 150,176.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 - 45 MPH, the brakes became inoperable. The low brake fluid message was displayed. There was an audible chime coming from the vehicle. The brake fluid reservoir was very low. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that the brake fluid reservoir was empty, and there was no indication of a leak. The brake fluid reservoir was empty within 5 minutes. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the brake master cylinder was leaking fluid into the brake booster. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V150000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 201,000.

Transmission failure from cdf drum. Well known issue with Ford F150 at this point. Vehicle was purchased new with standard regular maintenance. Only 56k miles. Safety issue if I hadn’t caught it early with some rough shifting.

The BRAKE light came on right as I parked with the warning that my brake fluid was low. Opened the hood and noticed the reservoir was low but could not see any sign of a leak. When I pushed the brake to put the truck in reverse, the pedal went to the floor. After testing it in the parking lot, the truck eventually stopped after having pressing the pedal all the way down. I was able to get it to the auto shop down the street. That is where they told me there was a recall out for the master cylinder leaking internally (recall 25V-236) but my VIN is not part of it. Took it then to the Ford dealership where they confirmed I needed a new master cylinder and booster but it was not covered under the recall.