There are 22 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 1996 Ford F-150in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 FORD F-150. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE BEGAN ROLLING AFTER BEING PARKED FOR APPROXIMATELY FOUR MINUTES. THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO A DITCH, WHICH CAUSED MODERATE VEHICLE DAMAGE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WOULD NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FAILURE BECAUSE THERE WAS NO RECALL. THE VEHICLE IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING REPAIRED. THE CONTACT HAS A COPY OF THE POLICE REPORT. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 187,000. UPDATED 04/21/09. *LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE JUMPED OUT OF GEAR. THE VEHICLE WAS IN IDLE AND RUNNING. UPDATED 04/21/09.*JB
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 FORD F150. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE CLUTCH WOULD NOT RELEASE WHEN THE SLAVE CYLINDER DEVELOPED A LEAK. HE PULLED UP TO AN INTERSECTION AND DEPRESSED THE CLUTCH PEDAL, BUT THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO MOVE. HE KEPT DEPRESSING THE PEDAL, BUT IT WOULD NOT RELEASE; THEREFORE, HE APPLIED THE BRAKES AND TURNED OFF THE ENGINE SIMULTANEOUSLY TO PREVENT A CRASH. THE SAME FAILURE RECURRED THE FOLLOWING DAY SO THE CONTACT STOPPED DRIVING THE VEHICLE. THROUGH ONLINE RESEARCH, HE NOTICED THAT MANY OTHER CONSUMERS EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER HAVE NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 140,000. UPDATE 12/16/08 *CN UPDATED 12/18/08. *JB
DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 7 MPH, THE CLUTCH WAS DEPRESSED TO SLOW THE VEHICLE. UPON DEPRESSING THE CLUTCH, THERE WAS A POPPING NOISE, AND THE CLUTCH PEDAL FELL TO THE FLOOR. UPON INSPECTION, THE CONTACT NOTED THAT THE PLASTIC CLUTCH LINKAGE RETAINER HAD DETACHED AND FALLEN ONTO THE FLOORBOARD. THE CONTACT THEN REACHED BELOW THE FLOOR OF THE VEHICLE, AND FOUND WHAT HE ASSUMED WAS THE CLUTCH LINKAGE RETAINER BUT IT WAS NOT DURABLE ENOUGH TO SERVE AS A SAFE RETAINER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT SEEN BY A DEALER. UPDATED 12/5/2006 - THE ITEM INDICATED IS THE SELF LOCKING BUSHING WHICH FORD RELEASE AS A RETAINER TO THE CONSUMER MARKET. *NM
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1996 FORD F-150. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED WITH A 15 AMP ELECTRICAL FUSE FOR THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. WHEN THE FUSE BURNS OUT, HE IS UNABLE TO SHIFT THE VEHICLE OUT OF PARK. WHEN HE PLACES THE GEAR FROM PARK TO DRIVE, THE VEHICLE FAILS TO OPERATE OR MOVE. THE FAILURE HAS CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND ALMOST CAUSED NUMEROUS CRASHES. THE MANUFACTURER IS AWARE OF THE FAILURE, BUT STATED THAT THE CONTACT IS FULLY RESPONSIBLE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 100,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 99,000. UPDATED 09/05/07 *TR
WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH WITH CRUISE, VEHICLE SUDDENLY DROPPED INTO A LOW GEAR AND SLOWED QUICKLY. ALSO, INTERMITENTLY WILL NOT SHIFT OUT OF FIRST GEAR WHEN FIRST STARTED.*AK
FORD F150 1996 MODEL YEAR,300 CUBIC 6 CYLINDER WITH 5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION. VERY COLD MORNING STARTED TRUCK HAD IT IN GEAR PARKING BRAKE ON AND THE CLUTCH PEDAL ON THE FLOOR. STARTED ENGINE STILL HOLDING THE CLUTCH PEDAL TO THE FLOOR THE CLUTCH ENGAGED TRYING TO MOVE THE VEHICLE FORWARD. SINCE THE BRAKE WAS ON THIS KILLED THE ENGINE. I LET UP ON THE CLUTCH TH PEDAL STAYED ON THE FLOOR . I KICKD THE PEDAL IT CAME BACK UP. I PUMPED THE PEDAL A FEW TIMES AND RESTARTED THE ENGINE, IT WAS FINE THEN AND THE CLUTCH SEEMED FINE FROM THEN ON OUT. I DID CHECK THE CLUTCH FLUID IT WAS FINE. 2 YEARS LATER VERY COLD MORNING ABOUT 7 F THE CLUTCH DID THE SAME THING IT ENGAGED AND WOULD NOT RELEASE UNTIL IT HAD WARMED UP.
1996 F150 WITH LESS THAN 51,000 MILES, CLUTCH SEEMS TO BE GOING OUT. CAN NOT SHIFT INTO 1ST GEAR WITHOUT GREAT FORCE, SAME WITH OTHER GEARS INCLUDING REVERSE. TRUCK HAS NEVER BEEN USED SO CLUTCH WOULD BE UNDER EXTREME CONDITION. 2ND HAS ALWAYS BEEN HARD. *JB
WHILE DRIVING UP A HILL VEHICLE WILL LOSE POWER AND COULD SHUT OFF. CONSUMER BELIEVED THAT WAS CAUSED BY THE CLUTCH.*AK MECHANIC FOUND MICE NEST IN BELL HOUSING, NOT ALLOWING THE CLUTCH TO ENGAGE ALL THE WAY.*JB
LOCK UP TORQUE CONVERTER SHIMMIES(WASHBOARD EFFECT)CONTACT, DEALER SAID NO RECALL. *AK
ENGINE CHECK LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON, AND THE ABS SYSTEM LIGHT IS ON. ALSO, OVERDRIVE LIGHT BLINKS OFF AND ON. FINALLY, SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER ISN'T WORKING, AND CONSUMER CAN'T DETERMINE HOW FAST THE VEHICLE IS GOING. *AK
CONSUMER'S CHILD GOT INTO THE VEHICLE AND WITHOUT THE KEY IN IGNITION, VEHICLE WENT FORWARD, AND CONSUMER HAD TO STOP VEHICLE. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK
TRANSMISSION AND TORQUE COVERTER LOCKED UP CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO JERK AND STALL AT AN INTERSECTION.
DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTIONED, VEHICLE MAKES SEVERE POPPING SOUNDS.
DIFFICULT TO SHIFT INTO 2ND GEAR WHEN COLD IN THE MORNING. FORD IS AWARE OF PROBLEM AND IS DOING NOTHING TO FIX VEHICLE. *AK
WHILE DRIVING AT 55MPH THE VEHICLE SHIFTED INTO A LOWER GEAR AND SUDDENLY LOST POWER. PLEASE DESCRIBE. *AK
OVERDRIVE SOLENOID FAILED.
THE TRANSMISSION FELL OUT OF THE VEHICLE WHILE BACKING OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY. PLEASE DESCRIBE. TT
DIFFERENTIAL UNIT WITH LIMITED SLIP FOR TRACTION IMPROVEMENT; WHEN LOCKED IN THE VEHICLE PULLS TO THE LEFT OR TO THE RIGHT DEPENDING ON ROAD CONDITIONS. WHEN ROAD IS SLIPPERY THE PROBLEM IS MORE SEVERE THAN UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS. *AK
LEFT FRONT MAKES ALOUD BANG AND SHAKES THE ENTIRE BODY DUE TO 4-WHEEL DRIVE LOCKING HUBS TRYING TO ENGAGE, ALTHOUGH DRIVER HAD NOT ENGAGED THEM.
MY DAUGHTER PLACED THE TRANSMISSION IN PARK. SHE GOT OUT OF THE TRUCK WHICH WAS PARKED ON A SLIGHT INCLINE AND WALKED BEHIND THE SMALL TRAILER SHE WAS PULLING TO CLOSE A GATE. THE TRUCK TRANSMISSION FAILED OR RELEASED AND THE TRAILER AND TRUCK BOTH RAN OVER, RESULTING IN HER DEATH. DT
Showing 1–20 of 22 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026