Over 550,000 F-150 trucks are being recalled by Ford in the US due to a problem that might cause the transmission to abruptly and unexpectedly change into first gear at any speed.
The gearboxes on these vehicles have six speeds. First gear is normally only engaged at very low speeds, thus putting the truck in first gear abruptly when moving quickly could cause it to slow down quickly or perhaps lead the driver to lose control.
The trucks in question are 2014 model year older models. However, Ford became aware of the issue with these specific trucks in February of this year after receiving several reports of 2014 F-150s abruptly downshifting at the incorrect moment.
According to Ford spokeswoman Maria Buczkowski, a malfunction alert light in the truck’s gauge cluster may turn on before that. In certain instances, the issue could be resolved quickly and the truck would keep operating regularly. In other situations, the transmission could not function normally again until the truck is turned off and back on.
Ford recalled another 1.2 million F-150s from model years 2011 through 2013 in 2019 due to the same problem. A signal loss between a speed sensor and the control module that manages the automatic transmission is the cause of the issue.
Ford dealers will update the trucks’ control module software at no cost to the owner in order to resolve the issue. In a few days, Ford will begin sending letters to the owners of the implicated trucks.
Within the next three months, a new software update to address the 2014 vehicles will be available, according to Buczkowski.
Call Ford customer support at 866-436-7332 if you have any questions or concerns regarding recall number 24S37.
