Ford announced that it is recalling 668,000 F-150 pickup trucks worldwide from the 2014 model year due to a transmission defect that can cause the vehicle to unexpectedly downshift into first gear. This defect can result in a loss of driver control or rear-wheel lockup, posing significant safety risks.
The recall affects 552,000 vehicles in the United States. Ford explained to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that a signal loss could trigger a downshift regardless of the vehicle’s speed. To resolve this issue, dealers will update the powertrain control module software in the affected trucks.
The automaker acknowledged 300 warranty reports, 96 field reports, and 124 customer complaints involving 482 vehicles related to this issue. Among these were two injury reports and one crash potentially linked to the defect. NHTSA highlighted one incident where a driver experienced an unexpected downshift, causing a collision with a concrete barrier and another vehicle, injuring both drivers.
The F-series pickup truck has been the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for over 40 years, making this recall particularly significant.
Furthermore, this recall follows Ford’s actions since 2016 to address similar issues with F-150 models. In March, NHTSA initiated an investigation to determine if the 2014 model-year trucks needed to be recalled after receiving multiple complaints about unexpected downshifting.
In 2016, Ford recalled 153,000 F-150 vehicles with six-speed automatic transmissions from the 2011-2012 model years due to similar downshift problems. NHTSA opened an investigation in December 2017, leading Ford to expand the recall in February 2019 to include 1.48 million trucks from the 2013 model year. Later in 2019, another recall was issued for 107,000 2013 F-150 vehicles due to issues with the initial fix.
Since March, Ford and NHTSA have held several discussions before Ford agreed to this latest recall. Despite the ongoing problems, Ford noted that the rate of unexpected downshift reports is lower for the 2014 vehicles compared to the 2011-2013 models previously recalled.
