What 1,686 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Ford F-150 Super Cab

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle suddenly decelerated, and the warning messages "Service Advance Track" and "Hill Brake Assist Unavailable" were displayed. The power train warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The local independent mechanic was contacted and advised the contact that the vehicle was likely experiencing a throttle body failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 132,000.

NHTSA ODI 11678452

Our truck has been switching gears while driving. It jumps from 2nd to 5th or 1st while in use. There are a few times we end up “stuck” making a turn at an intersection with vehicles coming towards us, almost hitting us due to the truck not switching gears fast enough. It has been happening frequently with the last incident today.

NHTSA ODI 11678026

Transmission is no longer working correctly. Downshifting to low gear for no reason and refusing to shift to higher gear with rpms reaching 8000rpm at 35 mph. Onky 73k miles on vehicle . No check engine light. No error codes using reader.

NHTSA ODI 11677524

While driving on the Interstate, my transmission suddenly had a dramatic downshift. A few miles later as I was exiting the freeway, it went into a limp mode for about 3 miles. I barely could pull into a fast food parking lot immediately off the exit ramp. After letting the truck sit for about an hour, I restarted the truck. It seemed to drive fairly well and drove it to a parts store to see if any OBD code was apparent. It read PO722-00 (Output Shaft Speed Sensor Circuit No Signal). I had about 57 miles to home (this is Sunday 7/27/2025 at about 5pm). Made it home but am seriously concerned about allowing my wife driving this!

NHTSA ODI 11676558

Vehicle has random sudden and violent downshifts to first gear when at highway speeds. Severe risk of accident and/or engine damage.

NHTSA ODI 11676852

Intermittent flashing of gear selectors (PRNDM) and gears 1-6. When putting in park it loses what gear it is in and nothing highlighted, so then the truck will not start. While driving and this begins, it gets stuck in gear and gear selectors start flashing as it does not know what gear it is in. Lead frame problem in the 6r80 is what detect it is showing. Please help with getting this covered under a recall!

NHTSA ODI 11676349

The molded lead frame, a part ford claims they fixed, failed at 81,000 miles. This lead to my truck going into limp mode and slamming into 3rd gear while driving on the highway. Luckily it didn’t cause an accident. $1000 to fix. Called ford corporate and they didn’t care at all. They said nope, we fixed that. Obviously not!

NHTSA ODI 11675221

Started [XXX] transmission jumping from 6 gear to first gear and rear tires to lock up. Carried to Rock Hill ford for repair and they had to replace the lead frame… same repairs make on same recalled transmission. The Tech at Ford said sorry and charged me $1443.29. Hope I can at least get some kind of response from you guys why that is possible. Thank you, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11674113

While driving at 65 mph the Orange drive selection indicator on the dashboard started flashing. In addition, the column listing the gears on the right side of the screen started flashing as well. Now there is no orange drive selection indicator light and no column listing the gears on the right side of the screen. I attempted to use the tiptronic shifting switch on the shifter and I was getting no response. When I brought the vehicle to a halt while still in drive, the vehicle moved into neutral. I had to shift the vehicle into "M" manual mode to get it to shift into a driving gear. The vehicle still drives and is able to automatically travel through the gears however I have no way of visually confirming if I'm in drive. I ran a diagnostic scan and the results were as followed "P0705 transmission range sensor a circuit (PRLDN input). When I place my vehicle in park the radiator fans turn on high until I shut the vehicle off. I'm at a gas station now, I can turn the truck on however I am unable to turn the engine back on. I can hear a clicking noise coming from the center console next to the shifter. After 2 min of this noise the orange drive selection light has returned on and is illuminating "P". I can turn the truck engine on, however when I shift I to "D" drive the orange selector light turns off. When I shift back to "P" park, the orange light returns. I shift to "D" press the accelerator and the engine RPM increases. However the vehicle does not move forward. When I shift to "M" the vehicle is in gear and begins to move forward. I still have no control over tiptronic shifting while in "M".

NHTSA ODI 11673731

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed highway speeds, the vehicle stalled after the transmission shifted to the sixth gear. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as needed; however, the failure recurred while accelerating and shifting to the sixth gear. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 79,000.

NHTSA ODI 11666559

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate from a stop, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while the accelerator pedal was depressed. In addition, while accelerating the vehicle jolted forward. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with an output shaft speed sensor fault related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 17E01 and 24E03; however, the VIN was not included. The contact stated that several local dealers were contacted however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 168,000.

NHTSA ODI 11665733

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted, causing the vehicle to dramatically decelerate. The contact then pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The “Service Transmission” warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the powertrain control module. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V075000 (Power Train); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 145,000.

NHTSA ODI 11665767

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle failed to start. The contact’s husband went underneath the vehicle to maneuver the gear shifter cable and the vehicle was able to start. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and started to decelerate. The contact coasted to the side of the road where the vehicle was turned off. After waiting and after several attempts the vehicle was restarted, and the contact continued driving. The failure had occurred several times intermittently. The contact stated that the gear indicator lights on the instrument panel failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The manufacturer transferred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

NHTSA ODI 11665860

After passing a car on a two lane highway 120 miles from home a wrench light came on and the transmission got stuck in 5th gear. We pulled over, stopped the truck and then it got stuck in 3rd gear and then the check engine light came on. The truck then proceeded to on into limp mode. At that point with the transmission clunking we and the truck shutting down we didn't feel safe driving the vehicle to our weekend destination nor did we feel safe driving it home as we had no idea if the transmission would completely fail. These were two lanes roads with not much shoulder and steep cliffs along the road in many areas and it was very unpopulated so any number of things could have happened to put us at risk. We had the truck towed 120 mileshome and taken to the nearest Ford Dealership, which was Larry H Miller Ford in Mesa, Arizona. The wrench and check engine light did go off but the service center was able to find the codes when they checked and it was determined to be lead frame failure. They removed and replaced the lead frame. There was no warning or codes prior to this happening - only on the day it happened.

NHTSA ODI 11664665

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted to first gear. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V444000 (Power Train), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 215,000.

NHTSA ODI 11664347

Throttle body failure lead to loss of power right as I pulled out into traffic. Serious safety issue. No light appeared on the dash after turning truck off and back on and the same thing happened again.

NHTSA ODI 11663791

Transmission will unexpectedly downshift on its own while driving at highway speeds causing significant RPM increase and wheel slowdown.

NHTSA ODI 11663806

After vehicle warms up. There is a "shudder" in either the engine or the power train. It is random and makes the truck vibrate. RPM gauge also fluctuates.

NHTSA ODI 11663510

Truck Shifts from 6th gear to 1st gear at freeway speeds. This only takes place for a matter of seconds and then shift back to 6th gear. During down shift all throttle response is gone and then regains throttle as if it was resetting. My fear is its going to happen and lock up the truck causing a major accident. I recently had the trucks transmission serviced (Fluid, filter and flushed) thinking old fluid may be causing the issue. But sadly the problem is still there with nothing looking broke or out of place according to FORD. Then today i find my trucks year is apart of a Investigation opened into nearly 1.3 million Ford F-150 trucks over unexpected gear shifts [XXX] . This is a major safe concern not to mention very expensive repair,. Looks like ford is back to old ways, this similar Problem was in the 2012-14 model I believe and eventually ford recalled the vehicles. Now i ask what about the rest of us???? INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11662821

Truck suddenly downshift into 5th gear and bucked for second starting out to get up to 60 mph Wrench light comes on transmission at 60 mph. holding back due to communications from the output sensor and the PCM. Took it to a ford dealer and had transmission flushed it was diagnosed with code PO722. Dealer said earlier years of these type of transmission on F150 had same problems.

NHTSA ODI 11662225

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the transmission warning light was intermittently flashing on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the transmission unexpectedly downshifted while driving at various speeds. In addition, the vehicle occasionally shut off while driving, with the "Transmission not in Park" message displayed on the instrument panel, while the gear shifter was in park(P). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was discovered that the molded lead frame had caused the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and stated that the VIN was not under recall. The contact was then referred to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

NHTSA ODI 11661859

Transmission issue. Driving in 3rd or 4th gear at about 40 MPH when vehicle dropped down into 1st gear. Additionally, Multiple occasions of 1st and 2nd gear not being available while vehicle is at full stop, only 3rd gear and higher.

NHTSA ODI 11661127

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that occasionally while driving at various speeds, the transmission unexpectedly downshifted from 6th gear to 1st gear, with the service vehicle's soon-to-be warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V444000 (POWER TRAIN) as a possible cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

NHTSA ODI 11661046

Driving on freeway at 70mph and suddenly the truck shifted to a lower gear causing my RPM's to shoot to over 6,000rpm. I was able to get to the shoulder and turn off vehicle. I waited about 10 minutes and restarted the truck. When it happened the wrench light came on and then went away before I got to the shoulder. I checked for stored codes and it was showing PO720 Out put speed sensor (lead frame in transmission).

NHTSA ODI 11660620

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while exiting a highway at an undisclosed speed, the transmission downshifted hard, and the vehicle jolted forward. The contact stated that simultaneously, the power train warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the molded lead frame needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was 114,476.

NHTSA ODI 11659436